Urinary incontinence is a common condition in which the person suffering from it involuntarily loses urine from the bladder. Although is true that it is more common in older adults, it does not mean that it is an exclusive condition of this age. On this occasion, Dr. Luis Miguel Peralta, urologist at Clinica Ricardo Palma, will give us more information on the subject.

Symptoms

The symptoms will depend on the causes of the urinary incontinence. For example:

• If it is due to bladder malfunction, the discomfort is characterized by:
  • Burning when urinating
  • Frequent urination
  • Waking up at night to urinate
  • Urgent desire to urinate and if one does not get to the bathroom the urine escapes.

• On the other hand, if the reason is an alteration in the sphincter, the discomfort is characterized by a loss of urine when the affected person coughs, laughs, exerts himself, etc.

Risk factors

Risk factors include:

• Gender: Women are more likely to suffer from urinary incontinence
• Age: The older you are, the greater the risk.
• Being overweight: Being overweight increases pressure on the bladder.
• Multiple pregnancies: Having several pregnancies causes the tissues to relax, producing stretching of the pelvic floor muscles.
• Vaginal birth: At the time of delivery, the pelvic floor muscles that support the bladder suffer maximum stretching and in some cases it is permanent, causing urinary incontinence.
• Menopause: This is a stage in which women undergo many hormonal changes that can lead to the onset of urinary incontinence
• Constipation: The constant effort to evacuate can cause the pelvic floor to weaken
• Smoking: Smoking increases the risk of incontinence
• Some pre-existing diseases: for example, diabetes or neurological diseases

Preventive measures

The main measure to prevent urinary incontinence is to avoid some of the risk factors mentioned above, which entails multidisciplinary management. For example: have adequate control of diabetes or overweight with an endocrinologist, keep climacteric processes controlled with the gynecologist, and so on as appropriate. On the other hand, if this pathology is already present, you should go to a urology specialist to achieve adequate control, preventing the situation from getting worse.

Dr. Luis Miguel Peralta
Urologist at Clinica Ricardo Palma