Urinary Incontinence in Older Adults
Urinary incontinence is not an inevitable or normal part of
aging. Women are more likely to experience urinary incontinence.
The problems that can occur are: Skin breakdown, embarrassment,
frustration, depression, and loss of self-esteem. These
secondary problems of urinary incontinence can lead to social
isolation, and loss of independence.
Urinary incontinence can be successfully treated.
Be honest with your private physician. Don't hide your problem
from embarrassment and continue using peripads after menopause.
Take note of how long you have been experiencing the problem and
let your doctor know this fact. There can be many different
causes of urinary incontinence. The most common type is "stress
incontinence." Stress incontinence occurs when small amounts of
urine leak from an increase in intra-abdominal pressure. This is
more common in women who have had multiple pregnancies. This
might happen while coughing, laughing, sneezing and exercising.
Let your doctor know if your urinary incontinence occurs during
these times. It could be "stress incontinence." You might write
down the times it occurs. Keeping a journal of your symptoms and
times they occur is a great resource to refer to while talking
to your doctor.
You can strengthen the muscles that control urine flow by doing
pelvic floor muscle exercises called Kegal exercises. Kegal
exercises can be done by women and men. One way is to tighten
the pubococcygeal muscle (ask your doctor how to locate this
muscle). Count slowly to three, then relax. Repeat the exericse
10 times for a set, 5 times per day and gradually increase to
sets of 15 to 20 done 5 times per day. Your abdominal muscles
should not move if you are doing the exercise correctly.
Biofeedback therapy may also help. If these conservative
therapies do not work, your doctor may prescribe an
alpha-adrenergic agonist such as pseudoephedrine or a tricyclic
antidepressant like imipramine might be prescribed.
Whatever the cause of your urinary incontinence problems, if you
will keep a journal of your symptoms and times the problems
occur, it will be much more helpful to your doctor in diagnosing
your problem and prescribing an appropriate treatment.
Remember....urinary incontinence can be successfully treated and
it is nothing to be embarrassed about. You just need to be
honest with your doctor with your descriptions of the problem so
he/she can prescribe an appropriate treatment for you. Urinary
incontinence is not a normal and/or inevitable part of aging.
Don't isolate yourself and let yourself become frustrated and
depressed over it. Seek help openly with your private physician,
and continue to enjoy time with your shih tzu and continue those
long, soulful walks without the worry of urinary incontinence.