Incontinence can be embarrassing, especially for adults who suffer from it. According to Urologychannel.com, three main types of incontinence exist: stress incontinence (loss of urine during physical activity), urge incontinence (urgent need to urinate with involuntary bladder contractions) and overflow incontinence (bladder is never empty and constant dribbling of urine occurs). While the solutions for these problems vary slightly, they all have common treatment options. These options include injection therapy, nonsurgical treatments and medications.
Injections
Used to treat stress incontinence, injection therapy uses various substances such as collagen, excess fat from the patient's body and synthetic compounds (Durasphere). The goal of injection therapy is to create more bulk around the urethra, which improves the function of the urethral sphincter, the muscle that controls the release of urine.
During collagen injections, the doctor may opt to perform the treatments over a period of time, such as weeks or months. He may also choose to only give the injections when a leakage occurs. The results vary and depend on both the patient and her physician. In some cases, bladder control may be achieved for 12 to 18 months, while others experience continence for three to five years.
Fat injections are especially helpful for those with weak urethra muscles (sphincter). Before the treatment can be performed, liposuction is required to remove excess fat from the patient's abdominal area. It is then injected under local anesthesia, usually in one appointment. As the Urology Channel states, long-term effectiveness of this procedure is not known.
Durasphere implements the use of carbon-coated beads that are injected with a hollow needle into the neck of the bladder. This bulks up the area around the sphincter, strengthening it. Durasphere can be performed under local anesthesia; however, some doctors prefer to use general anesthesia. Urologychannel.com states that nine out of 10 women walk away from the procedure with improved continence.
Nonsurgical Options
As the doctors at Mayo Clinic state, urinary incontinence may be treated successfully with lifestyle changes such as changes in your diet and reducing the amount of liquids consumed before bedtime. Another popular treatment option is strengthening the pelvic floor muscles through Kegel exercises.
During Kegels, the patient is required to find her pelvic muscles; the easiest way to do this is to stop urinating midstream. The muscle that tightens as urinary flow is stopped is the same muscle exercised during Kegels. Three times a day, every day, is all that's needed to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles. Simply tighten the muscle and hold for a count of 10, then release. Repeat this 10 to 15 times.
For those who cannot find the pelvic floor muscle, electrostimulation devices may be needed to retrain the bladder. During this procedure, low-dose electrical currents are sent to the pelvic floor muscles, forcing them to contract. The more they contract, the stronger they become, thus preventing incontinence from occurring. Both Kegel exercises and electrostimulation can be used to treat stress and urge incontinence.
Medication
Medication may be the next step in preventing urinary incontinence when the above-mentioned treatments fail. According to the doctors at the Mayo Clinic, these medications tighten or relax the bladder muscles, whichever is necessary for the individual, and stop unnecessary bladder contractions. The goal of prescribed medications for incontinence is to strengthen the sphincter muscles, making the bladder capable of holding more urine. According to IncontinenceNetwork.com, medications work best for urge incontinence, although they can be prescribed for stress and overflow incontinence as well.
