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2.
Types of Urinary Incontinence
Stress Incontinence
If coughing, laughing, sneezing, or other movements
that put pressure on the bladder cause you to leak
urine, you may have stress incontinence. Physical changes
resulting from pregnancy, childbirth, and menopause
are common events that cause stress inconti¬nence.
It is the most common form of incontinence in women
and is treatable.
Pelvic floor muscles support
your bladder. If these muscles weaken, your bladder
can move downward, pushing slightly out of the bottom
of the pelvis toward the vagina. This prevents muscles
that ordinarily force the urethra shut from squeezing
as tightly as they should. As a result, urine can leak
into the urethra during moments of physical stress. Stress
incontinence also occurs if the muscles that do the squeezing
weaken. The incidence of stress incontinence increases
following menopause.
Urge Incontinence
If you lose urine for no apparent reason while suddenly
feeling the need or urge to urinate, you may have urge
incontinence. The most common cause of urge inconti¬nence
is inappropriate bladder contractions. Medical professionals
describe such a bladder as "unstable," "spastic," or "overactive."
Urge incontinence can mean that your bladder empties
during sleep, after drinking a small amount of water,
or when you touch water or hear it running (as when someone
else is taking a shower or washing dishes).
Involuntary actions of bladder muscles can occur because
of damage to the nerves of the bladder, to the nervous
system (spinal cord and brain), or to muscles themselves.
Multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's
disease, stroke, brain tumors, and injury-including
injury that occurs during surgery-all can harm bladder
nerves or muscles.
Mixed incontinence
Stress and urge incontinence often occur together in
women.
Functional Incontinence
People with functional incontinence may have problems
thinking, moving, or communicating that prevent them
from reaching a toilet. A person with Alzheimer's disease,
for example, may not think well enough to plan a timely
trip to a restroom. A person in a wheelchair may be
blocked from getting to a toilet in time. Conditions
such as these are often associated with age and account
for some of the incontinence of elderly women in nursing
homes.
Overflow Incontinence
If your bladder is always full so that it continually
leaks urine, you have overflow incontinence. Weak bladder
muscles or a blocked urethra can cause this type of
incontinence. Nerve damage from diabetes or other diseases
can lead to weak bladder muscles; tumors and urinary
stones can block the urethra.
Transient incontinence
Transient incontinence is a temporary version of incontinence.
It can be triggered by medications, urinary tract infections,
mental impairment, restricted mobility, and stool impaction
(severe constipation), which can push against the urinary
tract and obstruct outflow.
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