The feeling of urgency to urinate can be quite embarrassing, especially when you are in a public place. It often occurs in people diagnosed with urinary incontinence, a medical condition that makes it difficult for the patient to hold their urine.
It can be caused by pelvic floor diseases, during pregnancy and childbirth, and due to an enlarged prostate (to name a few). You must see a urologist in Navi Mumbai to pinpoint the exact cause of urinary incontinence and choose a treatment that suits your needs and health.
Causes and Risk Factors of Bladder Leakage
The causes can be temporary, such as pregnancy or a chronic medical condition. Sadly, the symptoms last until the root cause is treated. Here are the short-term and long-term causes of bladder leakage:
- Pregnancy: The weight of the baby plus your uterus pressing your bladder down can make it hard to hold urine, thus causing bladder leakage. The symptoms resolve after delivery.
- Urinary Tract Infection: A UTI is an infection of the bladder and kidneys. Your doctor will prescribe antibacterial medication to treat it.
- Diabetes: Diabetes increases your urine frequency, increasing the risk of bladder leakage.
- Menopause: Your pelvic floor muscles get loose and weak during menopause. This affects your bladder function and can lead to urinary incontinence.
Symptoms of Bladder Leakage
The common symptom of bladder leakage or urinary incontinence is the uncontrollable urge to urinate and the leakage of urine (in small amounts or large volumes). This can be occasional or regular, depending on the cause. You might notice the leakage when coughing, sneezing, laughing, or when you are engaged in physical exercises or sports.
Treatment Options for Bladder Leakage
Treatment for urinary incontinence depends on the underlying cause. Your doctor might recommend a combination of treatments to relieve your symptoms.
1) Lifestyle Changes
Sometimes, incontinence occurs because of certain lifestyle habits. For instance, drinking certain beverages in larger than recommended dosages or taking certain medications can cause bladder leakage. Changing these habits can help relieve your symptoms. Moreover, practicing pelvic floor muscle exercises can strengthen your pelvis and improve bladder function.
2) Medications
Medication helps relax your bladder and improves its ability to hold more urine. It also helps empty your bladder at once, so you need fewer trips to the washroom. Anticholinergics are commonly used to reduce urge incontinence. Other medications that may help are alpha-blockers, topical estrogen, and mirabegron.
3) Surgery
If the noninvasive urinary incontinence treatment in Navi Mumbai fails to deliver results, you might require a surgical procedure. A sling procedure involves placing a mesh under your urethra.
It prevents urine leakage due to stress incontinence. If the incontinence is caused by pelvic organ prolapse, surgery to fix the prolapse plus a sling procedure is required to treat the incontinence.
Conclusion
Urinary incontinence occurs because of an existing medical condition or an underlying issue that makes your bladder too weak to hold urine. Talk to your urologist about different treatment options. They will help you identify the best procedure for urinary incontinence based on the underlying cause and your health.