WHAT IS URGE URINARY INCONTINENCE?

What Causes Stress Urinary Incontinence?

There are several causes for Stress Urinary Incontinence, these include:

Alcohol and Caffeine

Alcoholic drinks and caffeine cause your bladder to fill more quickly and can trigger a strong uncontrollable urge to urinate.

Bladder Irritants

Carbonated drinks, citrus juices, artificial sweeteners, tea, and coffee can irritate your bladder and worsen urge incontinence. Even teas and coffees without caffeine are irritants. Nicotine is also a bladder irritant.

Dehydration

When dehydrated, your urine becomes very concentrated. This highly concentrated urine can irritate your bladder and worsen urge incontinence.

Urinary Tract Infection

During a urinary tract infection, bacteria can irritate your bladder. This can result in strong urges to urinate, increased frequency, and incontinence.

Constipation

The bladder and rectum have a common nerve supply. Constipation causes compacted stool in the rectum which over-activates these nerves, increasing urinary urgency and frequency.

Overactive Bladder

Overactive bladder is when nerves send signals to the bladder at the wrong time, causing it to contract at an inappropriate time leading to incontinence.

Aging

As you age, the capacity of your bladder to store urine decreases and the frequency of overactive bladder symptoms increases. The risk of an overactive bladder also increases with various blood vessel disorders, seen more commonly in the elderly.

Interstitial Cystitis

This is a painful condition that involves inflammation and scarring of the bladder wall. Symptoms include painful, frequent urination as well as urinary incontinence.

Hysterectomy and Other Surgery

The bladder and uterus are very close together and have common supporting ligaments and muscles. Surgery to, or removal of your uterus as in a hysterectomy, risks damage to the supporting structures of your bladder. If these supporting structures are damaged, a cystocele is likely to occur. Symptoms of a cystocele include urinary incontinence.

A Cystocele

Symptoms of a cystocele include urinary incontinence. Additionally, surgery may damage the nerves that supply the bladder, also leading to urinary incontinence.

Bladder Cancer or Bladder Stones

Symptoms of bladder cancer or bladder stones include urinary incontinence, urgency, frequency, and painful urination. Other symptoms include blood in the urine and pelvic pain.

Neurological Damage

Any neurological disorder such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease or stroke can cause urinary incontinence by interfering with the nerve signals that control your bladder. Additionally, if the nerves that supply your bladder or pelvic floor muscles are damaged, urinary incontinence may also result.

Next Steps

Urge Urinary Incontinence can cause embarrassment, fear, anxiety, and social isolation. So it’s important to take steps to address the problem. Seeking treatment from a trained Pelvic Health Physiotherapist can help with the problem and also improve self-esteem and restore confidence.