Urinary incontinence - Causes, symptoms and treatment. MF.

Urinary incontinence is the spontaneous release of urine from the urethra, which occurs without conscious control.

Causes of urinary incontinence in women

Urinary incontinence is more common in women, which is explained by the peculiarities of the structure of the urethra in females. The female urethra has a larger diameter and a smaller length, so that women are more likely to have a disorder of the sphincter condition.

The most common cause of female incontinence is , weakening of the pelvic floor muscles , as a result of borne births. Gaps in the perineum, which often accompany the process of childbearing, contribute to the development of large keloid scars in this area of ​​the body. The scar, which replaces muscle tissue, leads to a disruption of the function of the latter, which affects the consistency of the external sphincter of the urethra. This is what causes urinary incontinence.

Pelvic floor muscles

The next cause that causes urinary incontinence is infectious diseases of the urethra

.In the midst of the infectious process, they appear painful during the urethra and in the bladder. In fact, incontinence occurs already in the later stages of the process, when the connective tissue and sphincter begin to lose their consistency on the site of the inflamed mucosa.

In addition, urinary incontinence in women often develops against the background of hormonal disorders that accompany the climacteric period. In addition to this symptom, menopause is manifested by constant hot flashes, increased or decreased blood pressure, fatigue and other symptoms.

Also, do not forget about the possibility of of the neurogenic origin of urinary incontinence .The causes of this pathology can be frequent stress, psychological trauma or constant nervous overexertion.

Neurogenic urinary incontinence

Causes of urinary incontinence in men

It is much less common to find such a disease as urinary incontinence in men. As already mentioned, the explanation of this is the peculiarities of the anatomical structure of the genitourinary system of men.

One of the leading causes in the development of urinary incontinence in men is surgery for the removal of the prostate .The mechanism of this incontinence is explained by the fact that with a constant obstruction in the urethra, the bladder seems to adapt to the increased tonus of its own muscle layer. Immediately after the obstruction is removed operatively, the urine is automatically pushed out, unable to stop under the obstruction of the weak and exhausted external sphincter of the urethra.

Like in women, urinary incontinence in men may develop against the background of neurological disorders of , which are most often associated with unsuccessful sexual experiences.

When talking about the causes of urinary incontinence, it is worthwhile to allocate primary and secondary incontinence. If the first is caused directly by defects of the sphincter apparatus, then the second one can tell us about the violation of the person's mental state or the innervation of this part of the body.

Causes of urinary incontinence in children

This symptom in children, which is referred to as enuresis, stands apart from all urinary incontinence. Its difference is that this disease often has psychological causes and the ability to self-resolution.

Urinary incontinence tests

All diagnosis during incontinence is aimed at finding out the root cause of the disease, which is not always possible to be known. Much attention is paid to the subjective signs of the disease when, by questioning the patient, they try to find out the frequency of urination for the day, the transferred diseases of the genitourinary system and the earlier treatment on these organs.

After this, they begin laboratory diagnostics, which includes a general urine test, a urine residue in the bladder and a culture on the microflora. This diagnosis provides an opportunity to determine the presence of a pathological infection in the urinary system, which can be the cause of incontinence.

In the case when traditional laboratory diagnostics do not produce the desired results, psychological counseling is used. Quite often, a single visit to a psychologist gives not only information about the exact cause of the disease, but also helps to get rid of the latter.

Symptomatic treatment of urinary incontinence

Because in most of the cases urinary incontinence is just a separate symptom of a disease, then in its treatment symptomatic remedies are used to eliminate this pathological process.

There are many ways of popular treatment of urinary incontinence, but at the present stage of the development of medical science it is safe to say that they are not only ineffective, but also harmful to human health. The fact is that all herbs and tinctures, which folk healers recommend to use when urinating incontinence, are aimed at relaxing the walls of the bladder, which leads to stagnation of the urine in this organ. Naturally, urination decreases, and incontinence can, and does, disappear, only very often the pathological microflora develops in the bladder, which leads to the occurrence of concomitant diseases.

The main direction in the treatment of urinary incontinence today is lifestyle change and physical training of pelvic floor muscles. Injection treatment methods are also widely used, during which Urodeks gel or Collost is introduced into the area of ​​the sphincter of the bladder. They create a kind of mechanical block in the path of urine outflow from the bladder.

Do not lose their relevance and surgical methods of treatment, which consist in the plastic of the internal or external sphincter of the bladder.

When treatment of such a symptom is not possible, patients are recommended to use special pads that reliably absorb urine and eliminate odor. As an alternative to gaskets, it is possible to put a urinary catheter through which the urine flows into a separate hermetic reservoir.

Danger of a symptom of an incontience of urine

The basic danger of a symptom consists in disturbance of a normal way of life and a social status of the patient. Against this background, psychological disorders of varying severity often arise. There are even cases when incontinence leads to suicidal attempts.

In addition, the constant irritation of the skin around the genital organs leads to the attachment of a secondary infection followed by the development of purulent inflammation.

Urinary incontinence tactics

Urinary incontinence is one of those symptoms in urology that requires immediate attention to the urologist. The fact is that it can be a sign of a serious organic pathology of the pelvic organs, which needs immediate correction. In addition, urinary incontinence, which develops against the background of infectious inflammation, tends to progress continuously. Thus, the result of his treatment directly depends on when it will be started. All organic pathologies leading to urinary incontinence are performed by the urologist, while neurogenic incontinence is treated in the therapist's office.

Doctor urologist Startsev V.Yu.