Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Treating Urinary Incontinence

When we drink, we pee. However, there's more to urine than just the drink we had earlier. We urinate in order to get rid of the toxins, waste, and excess water that our body doesn't need. Urinary control is a function of the smooth muscle tissue of the urethra and bladder in coordination with the skeletal muscle and the autonomic nervous system.

When muscles of the bladder become too weak or too active, urinary incontinence occurs. There are two types of urinary incontinence:

Stress incontinence – loss of bladder control may happen when you laugh, sneeze, or lift heavy objects.

Urge incontinence – overactive bladder makes you feel like going to the bathroom even if you have little urine in your bladder.

Causes of urinary incontinence may be congenital or acquired disorders, such as prostate problems and nerve damage.

In addition to medication, treatment includes simple exercises, special devices and procedures, depending on your lifestyle. A relatively new procedure in treating men with incontinence resulting from prostate cancer treatment is the Male Sling. It's an out-patient procedure that can take less than half an hour to one hour. This minimally invasive procedure allows men to regain urinary control.


Contributed By: Monch Bravante

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