Do women need treatment for urinary incontinence?

Many middle-aged and elderly women, in daily life and work laughing, sneezing, walking, urgent urination, and even at any time, “accidentally pee out” situation, we often feel ashamed to say, or think it is a normal manifestation of old age, thus delaying treatment, but do not know that this is a group of diseases, called “urinary incontinence”. Although urinary incontinence is not life-threatening to patients, it can lead to a series of problems including physical, psychological, social and sexual life, which seriously affects the quality of life of patients and has become one of the serious social health problems. There are four common types of urinary incontinence: stress incontinence, urge incontinence, mixed incontinence, and overflow incontinence. When symptoms of urinary incontinence occur, it is important to seek medical attention from a specialist to provide you with the correct diagnosis and effective treatment plan. Stress incontinence is the most common, accounting for 50%-70% of cases, and is manifested by symptoms of urine overflow when coughing, sneezing, laughing, lifting heavy objects, running, etc. In severe cases, urine may also overflow when walking or resting. This type is often caused by increased abdominal pressure, increased bladder pressure, and low urethral tone unable to cope with strong external forces. Mild and moderate patients can be treated with pelvic floor muscle training and biofeedback combined with low-frequency electrical stimulation, and about 70% of patients improve their symptoms after treatment. Severe patients can be treated with sling surgery, which is minimally invasive and requires only a small incision of 25px to 37.5px, with a tiny sling placed in the mid-urethra, and the surgery can be completed in 30 minutes, with an efficiency of over 90%. Urge incontinence refers to a sudden, strong, uncontrollable urge to urinate, manifested as frequent urination, urgency, leakage, and frequent nighttime urination. Patients often say that they suddenly want to urinate and have wet their pants before they can go to the toilet. Common causes are urinary tract infection and increased neuroexcitability. It is mostly seen in middle-aged and older women, especially elderly women. These patients do not need surgery and the cure rate of taking medication can be more than 80%. If both of these conditions are present, we call it mixed incontinence. Treatment varies and the key is to distinguish the type of incontinence. Another type of condition that women often suffer from is overactive bladder (OAB), which is a syndrome in which urgency is the main symptom, with or without urge incontinence, usually with frequency and increased nocturia, without urinary tract infection or other definite pathology. Bladder training is very important for women with this type of symptom. It is important to develop a good habit of drinking water regularly, 200ml to 250ml of water each time, less caffeinated drinks, less strong tea, 8 glasses of water a day (including milk and soup); for patients with frequent and urgent urination slowly train to extend the interval between urination, 10 minutes, 20 minutes, gradually extending the interval between urination, this is called bladder training. Also oral medication can be effective in treating the symptoms. Chronic urinary retention develops from difficulties in urination caused by obstructive lesions below the bladder neck, with inadequate bladder compensation and a gradual increase in the amount of residual urine, often with a small amount of continuous urination, which can lead to pseudo-incontinence. The treatment of this type of urinary incontinence its source and cause is most important. Patients who encounter these conditions should actively consult a gynecologic urology clinic, where doctors will choose a treatment plan based on the individual patient’s condition, including behavioral training (bladder training), pelvic floor muscle training, biofeedback, medication, and surgical treatment to correct incontinence as early as possible, restore the patient’s normal social activities and sports, and improve the quality of life.