Questions about what to do with urinary incontinence in women arise in the fair sex both in young and old age. If girls have this problem after a difficult birth, then in adulthood it is due to menopause. Because of it, the production of the estrogen hormone, important for women, decreases, which is responsible for tissue elasticity, the muscular and ligamentous apparatus of the pelvic floor. As a result, the tone of the urethra is reduced. This provokes uncontrolled urination even with minimal exertion. Such a nuisance can happen when coughing or sneezing. In this article, you will learn about the causes of this condition, symptoms, and treatment methods.
Types of incontinence
If you know what to do with urinary incontinence in women, you can recognize the problem in time and take the necessary measures. There are many ways to deal with this trouble. The main thing is to do everything in a timely manner. In this case, you can quickly cope with this condition, do without negative consequences for your body.
Scientifically, female urinary incontinence is called incontinence. Doctors conditionally divide this condition into three types, depending on the symptoms that appear. Below we consider each of them.
The first type is stress incontinence. It occurs exclusively with an increase in intra-abdominal pressure. It can be caused by sports, weight lifting, sex and even such stresses as coughing, sneezing and laughing, which at first glance may seem insignificant.
The second type is urgent incontinence. In this case, the woman has the urge to urinate, which she can not overcome. In some cases, she does not even have time to react. Predicting such conditions is very difficult, since the bladder may be completely empty.
Finally, the third type is mixed. It combines the two previous varieties of this disease.
Most importantly, whatever type is diagnosed, you need to know what to do with urinary incontinence in women. In this case, in no case should not be nervous, since stress in all cases turns into one of the causes of pathology.
Symptoms
As a rule, finding this disease is not difficult. The most important symptom is the involuntary leakage of various portions of urine. In addition to these types, enuresis also occurs. These involuntary acts of urination mainly occur in a dream. They do not have a gender attachment and begin in childhood.
Due to involuntary urination , a woman increases emotional and psychological irritability, which worsens her overall health and aggravates the problem. Against this background, various unpleasant complications may develop. The most dangerous of these will be psychosomatic diseases.
Causes
What to do with urinary incontinence in women depends on why she had this problem. In some cases, the elimination of provoking factors helps, if not completely get rid of the disease, then significantly alleviate the patient's condition. It is worth noting that most of the reasons for the development of this disease are directly related to overwork and nervous tension.
Among the causes of this condition at a young age, as a rule, traumatic and difficult births occur. This is one of the key factors for stress incontinence. This disease is affected not only by rupture of the soft tissue of the perineum, but also by overstretching of the pelvic muscles.
Among the provoking factors of stress incontinence are called overweight. If you try to bring the kilograms back to normal, then the condition will improve significantly.
Gynecological surgery can also lead to incontinence. In particular, removal of tumors in the ovaries or uterus.
Incontinence in women after 40 years of age in most cases appears due to hormonal changes associated with menopause. Due to insufficient muscle elasticity, the sphincter is weakened. Muscles weaken with age, we have to admit that this is an inevitable process that sooner or later affects everyone. Of course, fundamental changes in the female body, as a rule, come later. In this case, it is more relevant to talk about urinary incontinence in women 50 years of age and older. But for some, hormonal disruptions occur at a relatively young age.
It is no secret that urinary incontinence in women after 40 years, and at a different age, is more common than in men. The structure of the female body affects this. The fact is that the urethra of the fairer sex is only three to four centimeters long. At this time, in men, its size varies from 24 to 30 centimeters. Moreover, in women it is much wider (from six to ten millimeters), compared to four to seven millimeters in the stronger sex. It is for this reason that pelvic muscles are so important for women. Otherwise, through a wide and short urinary canal, urine flows faster and easier from the bladder.
Finally, urgent incontinence is associated with the presence of a woman's syndrome of neurogenic or overactive bladder. With this type of disease, an unforeseen situation can occur at the most unexpected moment, even if the patient, knowing about such a problem, visits the toilet at every opportunity and deliberately reduces the amount of fluid consumed. Caught in this position, a woman constantly has to be in the immediate vicinity of the ladies room. She begins psychologically intrinsically afraid of being unable to visit her, as the urge arises with enviable regularity - every 1.5-2 hours. The cause of urinary incontinence in women after 40 in this case lies in neurology. Moreover, the disease can manifest itself at any other age. The root of evil should be sought in damage to the spine or traumatic brain injury, in some cases, the consequences result in a stroke. Another cause of urgent incontinence is a genitourinary infection. In this case, having cured her, the woman will be able to forget about her trouble forever.
Therefore, it is so important at the first signs of a disease to figure out what caused it. In this case, together with the attending physician it will be possible to determine one or another method of effective therapy.
Non-drug methods
After determining the exact cause of the disease, treatment should be started immediately. In some cases, you can do not only without surgical intervention, but even without pills. Of course, non-drug methods are effective only in case of complications after childbirth or hormonal disruptions. If the cause is a tumor or urogenital infection, these methods will remain powerless. Before starting exercise for the pelvic muscles, be sure to consult with a specialist. The doctor will advise which set of exercises is best suited exactly in your case, based on the severity of the disease and the characteristics of the body.
The main non-drug methods with which you can get rid of incontinence are complexes of exercises that strengthen the pelvic floor, physiotherapy.
An accurate urination plan will help you train your bladder. You will need to learn how to do it, but this is quite realistic, especially if you act under the guidance of a doctor. Gradually, the intervals between urination will need to be increased, with time it will be possible to finally get rid of urinary incontinence for a woman after 60 years.
The principle of training is based on the fact that the representatives of the weaker sex who have such a problem eventually develop certain stereotypes of visits to the toilet. They tend to go small, even if the urge is not yet, or it is very weak. So to speak, in reserve or for prevention, in order to avoid embarrassment in the future.
Adhering to the plan drawn up with the doctor, a woman should make efforts to restrain urges. The intervals between each urination are recommended to be increased by about 30 minutes every week until they reach a duration of three to three and a half hours. With urinary incontinence in an elderly woman, this will help her to change the erroneous stereotype of behavior, having developed a fundamentally new one. In most cases, training should be accompanied by conservative therapy with drugs, which you can find below. Acceptance of drugs is designed for three months.
Muscle training
It is also worth paying attention to training the pelvic floor muscles. This method becomes the key to success in the prevention and treatment of urinary incontinence in women after 60 years.
At the same time, only a few consciously work on the muscles of the pelvis, although this is a very effective method. It is generally accepted that this is the most effective prevention of this condition that you can think of. For example, Kegel exercises help.
In addition to them, one should not forget about physiotherapy. Using this method, you can strengthen the muscles, making the ligaments more elastic. An important role in this is played by the regulation of blood supply to the pelvis. For this, there are several types of physiotherapeutic effects - heating, microcurrents, electromagnetic impulses.
Kegel exercises
When performing this set of exercises, it is important to eliminate the stress of other muscle groups - hips, buttocks, abdominal cavity. You need to perform the exercises systematically, the effect will come in one and a half months. They will help cope with urinary incontinence for women in their 60s.
The main complex consists of only five exercises.
- "Hold". Reduce muscle for five to ten seconds, and then gradually relax. Take a break and then do three to five sets of ten repetitions. The duration of muscle retention should be gradually increased to ten seconds.
- "Elevator". Imagine that you got into an elevator, which either goes up or down. Tighten your muscles during an imaginary lift, and when you reach the top, slowly relax, stopping on each floor.
- "Reduction". Vigorously contract muscles for five seconds, relax them and rest for another five seconds. Do three to five repetitions of ten sets.
- "Waves". Performing this exercise, you should use not only the muscles of the vagina, but also the anus. Begin to contract the muscles of the vagina, and after the anus. In the same order, relax them. The duration of contractions after training should be 10-20 seconds.
- "Positioning". This exercise is ideal for pregnant women. Before its implementation, you need to cleanse the intestines. Hold your breath, push, and then repeat the same exercise in several poses - sitting, lying, on all fours, squatting.
Medical methods
High efficacy is demonstrated by medical methods, especially when urgent. To treat this type of incontinence, doctors prescribe antidepressants and antispasmodics for patients.
According to reviews, with urinary incontinence in women, the drug "Driptan" has proven itself well. It helps to relax the muscles of the bladder, while eliminating impulses that come from nerve cells, stimulating to go to the toilet.
"Driptan" - tablets for urinary incontinence in women, contributing to an increase in the volume of the bladder, relieving imperative urges that the patient was not able to cope with earlier. As a result, she needs to go to the toilet much less frequently. It is worth noting that the full effect of tablets from urinary incontinence in women will appear after a month's course. But do not take the medicine yourself. Each doctor determines the specific dose for the patient individually, based on its anatomical features and health status.
Surgery
In some cases, surgical surgery is indispensable. As a rule, an operation has to be done when a stressful form of incontinence occurs. Sometimes the operation is done with an urgent view. Young patients are advised to refuse the help of a surgeon, limiting themselves to conservative treatment.
In general, there are currently about 250 all kinds of surgical methods that can help overcome stress incontinence. Most of these methods are used in the Russian Federation. Including operations do minimally invasive way. A widespread operation is to stitch a loop of synthetic fabric. Recovery periods after such an operation are minimal. In most cases, the woman the next day has the opportunity to go home.
85% of patients after such surgical intervention return to a full life. The only risk factor that arises is the danger of earning cystitis due to hypothermia.
As you can see, there are many ways to get rid of this problem. The main thing is to know what to do to an elderly woman with urinary incontinence.
Hygiene
If you encounter such a problem, you need to remember about hygiene products. Urological pads will facilitate socialization. They will make this trouble invisible to others.
In pharmacies, a large selection of urological pads that effectively neutralize odor and absorb liquid. The main requirements for gaskets are ensuring the dryness of the surface, the ability to hold on to the discharge and absorb them, bacterial safety and anatomical compliance.
Many women are embarrassed to seek help with such a delicate problem, for far-fetched reasons postponing a visit to the doctor. In no case should this be done. The sooner you seek help, the faster you will be able to cope with the problem and prevent possible complications.
Instead of a conclusion
In the end, it is worth noting that female urinary incontinence is the same medical problem as any other disease. There is nothing shameful or reprehensible in him.
Its causes lie in violations of certain body functions, this can be effectively eliminated in various ways. After childbirth, a woman must undergo a consultation with a urologist and gynecologist, pass all the necessary tests to make sure that everything is in order with her health. It is worth doing even if there is no urinary incontinence.
In older people, this ailment is considered one of the signs of the inevitable aging of the body. In any case, there is always a solution, regardless of age. It is important to consider that effectiveness directly depends on timely request for help. The sooner you come to the doctor, the more productive you will be able to achieve.