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Health > Adult Incontinence
There is an estimated 13 million Americans who
suffer from adult incontinence with over 11 million
being females (survey done by the Agency for Health
Care Policy and Research AHCPR). More than 50 % of
the elderly living at home or in long-term care
facilities are incontinent, Urinary and fecal
incontinence is not merely linked to age, but can be
associated with caffeine intake, certain
medications, colitis, IBS, pregnancy and childbirth.
Adult Incontinence is broken into 4 main categories.
Stress incontinence, urge incontinence, mixed
incontinence (a combination of stress and urge
incontinence) and lastly overflow incontinence.
Stress incontinence is incontinence that is caused
by actions such as laughing, sneezing, exercising,
coughing or any other movement that can increase
inter abdominal pressure and thus increasing
pressure on the bladder. Stress incontinence is the
most common from of incontinence in women and it is
highly treatable. For females, stress incontinence
can worsen during the week before the menstrual
period. At that time, lowered estrogen levels might
lead to lower muscular pressure around the urethra,
increasing chances of leakage.
Urge incontinence is an involuntary loss of urine
occurring for no apparent reason while suddenly
feeling the urge to urinate. The most common cause
of urge incontinence is involuntary and
inappropriate detrusor muscle contractions.
Overflow incontinence occurs when a person’s bladder
is always full and it expels urine. Weak bladder
muscles or blocked urethras can cause this type of
incontinence.
Persons who experience incontinence should be
referred to a medical practitioner specializing in
this field. Urologists for example, specialize in
the urinary tract, and some urologists further
specialize in the female urinary tract
(gynecologists and obstetricians).
Physical examinations of incontinence may be
required, and these focus on looking for signs of
medical conditions causing incontinence such as
tumors that block urinary tracts, stool impaction or
poor reflexes.
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