For individuals who are unfamiliar with the terminology or lack experience in this area, urinary incontinence may be simply viewed as loss of bladder control.
While this holds true, bladder control only accounts for a small fraction of incontinence cases.
Without knowing the proper definitions, patients, clinicians, and family members cannot accurately identify, treat, and manage the functional complications that incontinence poses on an individual.
With that in mind, review the following types of urinary incontinence:
Stress incontinence: This occurs when there is an involuntary release of urine often due to coughing, sneezing, jumping, or laughing.
This encompasses any type of physical exertion that might put pressure on the abdominal muscles.
Many women who have given birth struggle with stress incontinence due to a weakening of the pelvic floor muscles (Harvard Health, 2018).
Urge Incontinence: Urge incontinence refers to incidences when someone experiences an uncontrollable and immediate need to urinate on a frequent basis.
This is often referred to as having an overactive bladder, which sends of signals to urinate even if the bladder isn’t necessarily full.
Such urgency is often caused by nerve or brain damage which causes poor communication between the brain and the bladder,
Overflow incontinence: This occurs when urine flow is inconsistent or comes out like a small drip. This means that the bladder is full, but an individual is unable to fully relieve themselves.
Usually this occurs because there is some kind of blockage such as seen in men with prostate-related conditions.
Mixed Urinary Incontinence: This means an individual has at least two types of urinary incontinence. For women, it is common to have both urge and stress incontinence (WebMD, 2018).
Functional Incontinence: This is probably the least heard of type of incontinence since it doesn’t necessarily involve problems directly with the bladder or pelvic muscles.
Functional incontinence means that an individual has trouble getting to the bathroom on time due to functionally limiting conditions such as dementia, severe joint pain, muscle weakness, surgical anesthesia, etc.
Physical limitations lead to urination in atypical places like a bed-pan or a brief.
Given the breakdown, it’s clear that urinary incontinence has multiple etiologies thus treatment approaches will vary per person.
If you suspect that you have some type of urinary incontinence, consult with your primary physician in order to properly identify the issue.
Some medical conditions resulting in urinary incontinence can be resolved with prescriptive and non-prescriptive treatments.
Other-times, urinary incontinence is a life-long condition which requires adaptation and self-management.
References
WebMD (2018). Types of Urinary Incontinence. https://www.webmd.com/urinary-incontinence-oab/types-of-urinary-incontinence#1. Viewed on March 26, 2018.
Harvard Health Medical School (2014). Types of Urinary Incontinence. https://www.health.harvard.edu/bladder-and-bowel/types-of-urinary-incontinence. Viewed on March 22, 2018.
