Learn how to Manage Urinary Incontinence during the Menopausal Stage Urinary incontinence, as determined by studies, affects 50 percent of women in the menopausal or post-menopausal stage mostly those who have given birth. This figure would actually be higher if women who choose not to have their conditions checked by the doctor, mostly due to embarrassment, were included in the list.
The most common types of urinary incontinence affecting these women are stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and followed by urge incontinence or the overactive bladder. Stress urinary incontinence occurs when a sudden pressure to the abdomen causes it to leak urine. Triggering this pressure are actions such as sneezing, coughing, laughing, jumping, and when lifting objects. Urge continence is characterized by the sudden feeling to go to the toilet due to the spasm in the bladder muscles and which may cause uncontrollable leaks.
Also significantly affected by this condition are the other aspects of a woman’s life. Sleep may be disrupted because of the frequent trips to the bathroom which may result to fatigue and bad mood due to lack of sleep. Social life may likewise be affected since women may tend to shy away from these contacts due to fear of humiliating themselves. Incontinence may also severely affect relations with the spouse since women avoid sexual contact due to fear of being embarrassed.
Incontinence during menopause is primarily due to the drop of estrogen levels. This hormone is responsible for keeping the urethra, the tube where urine passes through, and the lining of the bladder healthy. When the level of estrogen falls, the muscles and the tissues in the pelvic area may result to atrophy and making it incapable of supporting the other organs due to the loss of strength of these organs.
The drop in estrogen levels may also result to lesser blood flow to the pelvic muscles causing these muscles to weaken more easily. The pelvic organs including the bladder may not be supported by these muscles without the needed strength. Prolapse and the unwanted release of urine may result since these muscles may be too weak to keep the opening of the bladder closed.
It may seem unfair for the woman to go through these irritants when at this stage of her life, she should be enjoying retirement and time with the family. This should not be a cause for despair since there are ways to prevent or treat urinary incontinence.
To start off, a patient may engage in exercise or make some changes in her life style. Changes like doing away with an unhealthy diet, eliminating excess weight and exercise have shown to help manage the condition. These conservative methods of prevention and treatment may include doing pelvic floor exercises and learning bladder training. For cases that do not respond to these conservative methods of treatment, a patient may try other options such as electric stimulation, biofeedback, botox, use of a pessary, and even traditional surgical operations.
It may be very important for women in the menopausal stage to be aware of this condition and try to exert all efforts on preventing this condition. Failing this, they may be have to take drastic actions such as surgical procedures which may only expose them to additional risks in view of the failures of vaginal mesh devices. Legal actions such as the vaginal mesh lawsuits have been the result of these product failures which have injured thousands of women. For more information about this, you may want to visit vaginalmeshlawsuitcenter.us.
Reference: • •
webmd.com/urinary- incontinence-oab/womens-guide/bladder-control- menopause epigee.org/menopause/incontinence.html