Causes of urinary incontinence
Urinary incontinence is the involuntary leakage of urine for various reasons.
There are normally three types:
stress incontinence
urge incontinence
mixed incontinence
Stress urinary incontinence occurs when a small amount of urine leaks when coughing, lifting heavy objects or doing intense exercise. The primary cause is vaginal deliveries.
Why is vaginal delivery the main cause of stress urinary incontinence? Vaginal delivery significantly stretches and loosens the surrounding tissues and also increases the mobility of the urethra (the tube that carries urine). This increased mobility often leads to urinary leakage when exerting pressure.
However, there are also cases of women who have not given birth vaginally and who do very intense physical exercise, which means they work their abdominal muscles a lot without exercising their pelvic floor, and ultimately end up with this type of urinary incontinence.
Urinary incontinence, as its name suggests, occurs when you experience a sudden urge to urinate and cannot reach the toilet in time.
Vulvovaginal atrophy is a common cause of incontinence for women who are going through menopause. Advanced vaginal dryness can also cause this type of urinary incontinence, that feeling of needing to go to the toilet very frequently. Other causes of urge urinary incontinence may include problems with the muscle surrounding the bladder or neurological issues.
Finally, mixed incontinence is a combination of the two previous types and involves both stress and urgency components. To select the most effective treatment, it's essential to determine which of the two conditions is more dominant. Regenerative therapies are highly effective for stress urinary incontinence and can also alleviate urge incontinence.
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Symptoms
How can you tell if you have urinary incontinence?
There are different degrees, but if you experience involuntary urine leakage, you probably have it. It depends on the situation in which it occurs, but the most common is mild, when a small drop of urine simply escapes when the bladder is very full or when sneezing or coughing while standing. It is considered mild when it is a small amount, does not always occur, and happens in very specific circumstances. These symptoms can worsen, with more frequent or heavier urine leakage, to the point where it becomes necessary to wear a pad, leading to problems such as, yet not limited to, moisture on the vulva or irritation.
Fortunately, fewer women are experiencing urinary incontinence because they are consulting a medical professional in a timely manner.
Diagnostics
Urinary incontinence is easy to diagnose as it is done through medical history. While tests are sometimes performed to identify the nature and severity of incontinence, a urodynamics test, designed to study the act of urinating, is generally only sought when clarification is needed, specifically for urge or mixed incontinence.
However, tests are not usually necessary to treat the most common types of urinary incontinence, such as stress incontinence.
Types of incontinence in women
As explained above, there are three types of urinary incontinence in women:
Stress incontinence
It is most common among women and occurs when there is some loss of urine when coughing, sneezing, or doing intense physical exercise. The main cause is vaginal delivery, and it is usually detected without any tests, simply by reviewing the patient's medical history. Treatments for this type of incontinence are highly effective and put an end to urine leakage.
Urge incontinence
This occurs when you feel the urge to go to the toilet to urinate and do not have time to get there, resulting in more or less severe urine leakage. This type of incontinence is related to the menopause, which is why many older women have this problem.
Mixed incontinence
It is a combination of the two previous types: stress incontinence and urge incontinence. Normally, one type prevails over the other, so it is important to study the predominant type in order to apply the correct treatment and thus put an end to urine leakage.
Opinions from our gynaecology experts
Urinary incontinence is a fairly common problem among women for various reasons, and many of them accept it as normal, but it is not.
At Clínica Planas, we treat this condition with the help of gynaecology and urinary incontinence expert Dr Maite Fernández, who will provide you with a personalised diagnosis and advise you on the treatment needed to eliminate urine leakage for good.
F.A.Q.
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What is urinary incontinence?
In short, urinary incontinence is the involuntary leakage of urine. It not only comes out when we don't want it to, but it can also happen in different circumstances, which can be more or less serious depending on the impact:
when coughing
when sneezing
while exercising
at night.
From the age of 2, we are able to control our urine, so it is not normal to have leaks, however small, because our body is prepared to close the sphincter and prevent urine from coming out. However, many women accept it as normal and do not seek specialist treatment for this urinary incontinence. -
Can a young woman have incontinence?
Definitely yes. Many young women who engage in very intense physical exercise may develop urinary incontinence. The reason is simple: the bladder is like a balloon inside the abdominal cavity, and if we exert a lot of abdominal force, that force is exerted on the balloon, squeezing it, and if it is also full, the sphincter is unable to contain that pressure to prevent urine from coming out. Women who have had vaginal deliveries often develop urinary incontinence because their muscles are stretched, complicating and pressure control.
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What is the recovery time after urinary incontinence surgery?
There are different methods for treating urinary incontinence, but surgery is the last resort. There are more conservative treatments, which in the case of stress urinary incontinence and mild incontinence give very good results and resolve the problem. However, if surgery is required, a tension-free band is applied and recovery would take between 4 and 6 weeks.
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What are the causes of incontinence?
Depending on the type of urinary incontinence you have, there are different causes.
If you have stress urinary incontinence, the main cause is vaginal childbirth. Also, on some occasions, intense physical exercise can lead to this type of incontinence.
And vulvovaginal atrophy, vaginal dryness, or muscle or neurological problems can be the cause of urge urinary incontinence.
Expert opinion
Many women suffer or will suffer from some form of urinary incontinence. Most of the time, these problems are considered minor because they do not occur every day and only a small amount leaks. The reality is that these mild symptoms will worsen with age if nothing is done to prevent it. Fortunately, today we have various laser, radiofrequency, and electromagnetic treatments to both prevent it (before it occurs) and treat it when it is still mild or moderate. You should not just accept it as normal, because it is not.
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