Incontinence – What you need to know
“Gotta Go, Gotta Go, Gotta Go, Gotta Go….” Anyone else remember that commercial? It's an American ad selling a prescription drug to help with frequent trips to the bathroom. Sensitive Bladder, Overactive Bladder and Bladder Leakage are all terms used to describe urinary issues. Although both men and women can be affected, it is a very common issue in women's health. In fact 33% of women will experience the stress type of urinary incontinence at some point in their lives. For such a common issue, it is still somewhat of a taboo topic of discussion. You won't see too many people hanging around the adult incontinence product department of your local pharmacy.
Urinary incontinence is a loss of bladder control. It ranges in severity from little leaks to a sudden and severe urge to urinate that hits so fast that you don't have time to get to the toilet before there is an accident.
Urine leakage can be broken down into several categories depending on cause. These categories include: Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI), Urge Incontinence (UI), Mixed Incontinence and Functional Incontinence.
Stress Incontinence is by far the most common type of urine leakage experienced by women. It happens when the pelvic floor muscles that support the bladder have become weakened. This weakening could be due to pregnancy or childbirth. When we laugh, cough, do jumping jacks, or bounce on a trampoline, this increases pressure on the bladder and the pelvic floor muscles are unable to tighten enough to keep all of the urine in. This results in a small amount of urine leakage. Non-drug treatments like physiotherapy and Kegel exercise can have a major impact on this type of incontinence.
Urge incontinence is also known as overactive bladder. The exact cause of this type of leakage is not known but is thought to involve signals to the brain indicating that the bladder is fuller than it is. These signals tell your bladder to let you know that you really “gotta go '. The urge can be so strong that you are unable to make it to the bathroom in time. The average person empties their bladder between 4 and 8 times a day. If you find you need to go more often than this or that you are getting up frequently at night to go, then you may be experiencing urge incontinence. There are some prescription options to help calm the signals so that they don't come so urgently or frequently. These medications can help but won't completely eliminate the problem.
This is where finding a good incontinence product can make all the difference. The pads and pull ups used for urine are different than maxi-pads used for feminine hygiene. Incontinence products are meant to hold larger volumes of fluid and to help keep your skin dry and prevent odor. At Cheetham's Pharmacy we can help with the selection and fit of these products. We have access to special products not available to most pharmacies and retailers. We will sit down with you and determine your needs and give you samples to try before you make a purchase. Cheetham's Pharmacy is a good fit for your good fit.
1-800-695-4788, www.cheethamspharmacy.ca.
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