Help For Male Incontinence

Urinary incontinence (“UI”) is almost considered normal, both in women and men. Even though it is associated with the aging process, young men aged 15 can be diagnosed with UI. Older men have a higher percentage of this disease who are over 50. Urinary incontinence is the sudden urgency to urinate but when person troes, only a trickle may emerge.

Before we get more in-depth with its causes, let's immediately share that there are treatments like the ones on Men's Liberty, including a device that is similar to an external catheter that directs urine away from the skin if it slips out. Wearing this comfortable, discrete, innovative device eliminates the use for pads, condom catheters, or diapers.

Now let's introduce Bill, who is like so many other older adults with UI. Bill works every day to help his child, who he is trying to raise by himself. He attends all the activities that his child is involved in, but he states that there have been times when he has missed a key achievement that his child accomplished because he had to run to the restroom, which ended in total disappointment.

Bill finally went to see a urologist to see what help was available and to find out if there is anything that he is doing wrong that could cause his UI. His doctor asked him a number of questions that are commonly associated with urinary incontinence. At the top of the list, the doctor asked if Bill was under unnecessary stress.

Granted, there is a certain amount of stress at his office, but nothing that he brings home. His urologist said that while mental stress can have an affect, physical stress, like lifting heavy things or playing strenuous sports, can also cause UI.

Urologists understand the common causes of UI, which includes the following:

*nerve damage from various illnesses and diseases
*prostate issues that cause changes, both as we age or changes from a surgery
*urinary tract birth defects
*lack of activity and weight gain are factors of UI. This means that as you gain weight, without some type of exercise, it affects the urinary tract system
*aging causes the body to change, including the bladder, urethra, and pelvic muscles, which can get weaker and enlarged
*coughing or deep laughter places stress on the bladder causing UI trickles

Male incontinence has a variety of causes, but the first exam by a urologist will usually perform is a prostate check. The prostate has proven to be the most likely cause of UI in older men. Then after taking the patient's history, a urologist will determine what type of UI he has:

a. Stress incontinence: As previously discussed, stress incontinence occurs when you are sneezing, running, walking fast, lifting heavy objects, or coughing. All of these actions place stress on the bladder and as we age, the bladder cannot hold urine very well.

b. Urge incontinence: Just like its name, urge incontinence is the result of having a sudden need to urinate. Urge incontinence can be the result of an infection, diabetes, or a neurological disorder.

c. Overflow incontinence: Unfortunately and often embarrassingly, the bladder cannot hold its urine. If there is a medical blockage, then urine dribbles down without your ability to control it. Overflow incontinence is a daily experience accompanied with the urgency to urinate.

d. Functional incontinence: If you have arthritis or a condition that will not allow you to move quickly enough to make it to the restroom, causing you urinate on the way, then you might have functional incontinence.

e. Mixed incontinence: Mixed incontinence means that a man even as young as 50 can have more than one type of UI.

Men and women will receiving treatment depending on the type of UI they have. Since UI is the blockage of the bladder, surgery usually the last treatment option a urologist will perform. Non-surgical treatment options include the following:

*Lifestyle: changes in diet and lifestyle is proving to be a positive treatment in many cases

*Medication: new medications are available to treat UI, to control its frequency, and to control spasms within the bladder muscle walls

*Biofeedback: the pelvis muscles are given biofeedback treatments to strengthen them which helps to control urinary frequency.

*Nerve stimulation: The tibial nerve communicates with the spinal cord. When the tibialis stimulated with acupuncture it sends a signal to the bladder to stop sending urgent messages to urinate.