It’s critical to identify the type of urine incontinence you have, and your symptoms can frequently inform your gynecologist in Ahmedabad, someone whom KD Blossom Hospital has in its repertoire, of this information. This data will guide treatment decisions.
Diagnosis
Usually, your doctor will begin by taking a complete medical history and examination. After that, you can be asked to do a basic action, like coughing, to show that you are incontinent.
Following that, your physician will probably advise:
- Urinalysis: Your urine sample is examined for anomalies, blood traces, or indications of infection.
- Bladder Diary: You keep track of your drinking habits, frequency of urination, volume of pee produced, urge to urinate, and number of incontinence episodes for a few days.
- Postvoid Residual Measurement: The goal is to route urine (also known as “void”) into a urine output measurement container. The amount of urine that remains in your bladder is then measured by your doctor using a catheter or ultrasonography. A large amount of remaining urine in your bladder may be a sign of a urinary tract blockage or a problem with the bladder’s muscles or nerves.
Treatment
The kind, intensity, and underlying cause of urine incontinence all influence the course of treatment. It could be necessary to use a mix of treatments. If your symptoms are being caused by an underlying condition, your doctor will address that first.
If less intrusive therapies don’t work for you, your doctor can suggest trying some alternative approaches first.
Behavioral Techniques
Your physician might advise:
- Bladder Training: To postpone urinating once you feel the desire. To begin, you may try to resist the urge to urinate for ten minutes each time. The idea is to gradually reduce the frequency of your bathroom breaks until you’re only using the restroom every 2.5 to 3.5 hours.
- Double Voiding: To teach you how to avoid overflow incontinence by learning to empty your bladder more thoroughly. Double voiding is the practice of peeing, waiting a little while, and then trying again.
- Scheduled Toilet Trips: Instead of waiting for the urge to urinate, do so every two to four hours.
- Management Of Fluid & Diet: To take back control of your voiding. You might have to limit or stay away from acidic foods, caffeine, and alcohol. Cutting less on liquids, getting in shape, or doing more exercise can all help to alleviate the issue.
Pelvic Floor Muscle Exercises
To build stronger muscles that aid in controlling your urine, your doctor could advise you to perform these exercises regularly. These methods, which are often referred to as Kegel exercises, are particularly useful for stress incontinence but may also aid with urge incontinence.
Exercise your pelvic floor muscles by visualizing that you are attempting to halt the flow of pee. Next:
- The muscles you would use to urinate should be tightened or contracted. Hold the position for five seconds, then let go for the same amount of time. (If you find this too challenging, try holding for two seconds and then letting go for three.)
- Gradually increase the duration of the contractions to 10 seconds at a time.
- Make an effort to finish three sets of ten reps or more each day.
Medications
Medications for incontinence are frequently prescribed to treat:
- Anticholinergics: These drugs can reduce excessive bladder activity and may be beneficial for urge incontinence. Oxybutynin (Ditropan XL), tolterodine (Detrol), fesoterodine (Toviaz), darifenacin (Enablex), solifenacin (Vesicare), and trospium chloride are a few examples.
- Mirabegron (Myrbetriq): This medicine relaxes the bladder muscle and can increase the amount of urine your bladder can hold. It is used to treat urge incontinence. It might also make it possible for you to urinate more frequently, which would aid in a more thorough bladder emptying.
- Alpha Blockers: These drugs relax the muscles in the prostate and the bladder neck, which facilitates easier bladder emptying in males with overflow or urge incontinence. A few examples are doxazosin (Cardura), silodosin (Rapaflo), alfuzosin (Uroxatral), and tamsulosin (Flomax).
- Topical Estrogen: Tone and revitalize the tissues in the urethra and vaginal areas by applying topical estrogen at low doses in the form of a ring, cream, or patch.
Lifestyle & Home Remedies
Urine leakage issues could necessitate particular caution to avoid skin irritation:
- Take a washcloth and wipe yourself clean.
- Let the skin dry naturally.
- Douching and frequent washing might overpower your body’s defenses against bladder infections, so try to avoid them.
- To shield your skin from pee, try applying a barrier lotion like petroleum jelly or cocoa butter.
- Consult your physician about urine-specific cleansers that are designed to be less drying than other products.
Make the restroom more convenient if you experience midnight or urge incontinence:
- Move any rugs or furniture to avoid tripping over or colliding with furniture while heading to the restroom.
- To make your path more visible and lower your chance of falling, use a night light.
If you are incontinent on a functional level, you may:
- Maintain a commode by the bed in your bedroom.
- Put in a raised toilet seat.
- Enlarge the current bathroom doorway.
Conclusion
Your gynecologist can suggest more complicated procedures, like pelvic ultrasonography and urodynamic testing if more information is required. If you’re thinking about having surgery, these tests are typically performed.
They may also recommend that you work with a pelvic floor physical therapist or attempt biofeedback treatments to help you locate and contract the appropriate muscles.
