Health Facts   Urinary Incontinence

In the United States, at least 13 million people have problems with Urinary Incontinence. Incontinence is the loss of bladder or bowel control. There are five basic types of incontinence:

1. Stress incontinence occurs when pelvic muscles have been damaged, causing the bladder to leak during exercise, coughing, sneezing, laughing, or any body movement which puts pressure on the bladder.
2. Urge incontinence, the urgent need to pass urine and the inability to get to a toilet in time, occurs when nerve passages along the pathway from the bladder to the brain are damaged; causing a sudden bladder contraction that cannot be consciously inhibited.
3. Overflow incontinence refers to leakage that occurs when the quantity of urine produced exceeds the bladder's holding capacity.
4. Reflex incontinence, the loss of urine when the person is unaware of the need to urinate, may result from an abnormal opening between the bladder and another structure, or from a leak in the bladder, urethra, or ureter.
5. Incontinence from surgery follows such operations as hysterectomies, caesarian sections, prostatectomies, lower intestinal surgery, or rectal surgery.

Urinary Incontinence is a very common and generally treatable disorder affecting men, women, and children in the United States every year. This disorder is characterized by the unwanted leakage of urine. Individuals with this disorder may suffer the emotional consequences of Urinary Incontinence, including poor self-esteem and social withdrawal. Other consequences include skin diseases and urinary tract infection.

Urinary Incontinence has a variety of causes. Certain individuals with neurogenic problems (i.e. multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, stroke, and diabetes mellitus) may have Urinary Incontinence as a consequence of a disease of the nervous system that leads to problems with control. In addition, diseases affecting the bladder, such as urinary tract infection, cancer, and other inflammatory diseases, can cause problems with bladder control as well.

Many children with bedwetting (nocturnal enuresis) may have this problem as a consequence of the inability to concentrate the urine at night, which results in larger quantities of urine at night.

Not all people that suffer from incontinence awake at night when the leakage occurs. It is important that bedding remain as dry as possible to protect the skin from urine, which can cause skin disease. Bedding should be protected with fitted mattress protectors that directly cover the mattress and are topped with a fitted sheet. The mattress protector will absorb and retain urine to keep the incontinence sufferer dry and comfortable.