Female stress urinary incontinence

  Urinary incontinence is a common and prevalent condition in women, and with the general increase in human life expectancy, the incidence of female incontinence is increasing every year, with tens of millions of women estimated to suffer from incontinence worldwide. China is a populous country, and the aging of the population has become increasingly evident since the second half of the 20th century. With the increase in the number of elderly and senior citizens, more and more women are suffering from urinary incontinence, which seriously affects the quality of life and physical health. In China, many middle-aged and elderly women encounter an embarrassing situation: whenever they cough or laugh at something happy, their pants will be wet with a little effort on their abdomen. This is because, with age, especially after childbirth, women’s pelvic floor relaxation, bladder urinary storage capacity is increasingly weakened, coupled with women’s urethra is shorter than that of men, so nearly half of women over 50 years of age will have frequent urination, urinary urgency, urinary incontinence phenomenon. In fact, this is a complete abnormality, which is a disease. Medically, this non-life-threatening phenomenon of involuntary flow of urine when coughing, sneezing, laughing or exercising and other increases in abdominal pressure is called stress urinary incontinence. Although urinary incontinence is not a fatal disease, it brings a lot of inconvenience to women’s lives and often causes great distress to patients.  Stress incontinence is caused by factors such as birth injuries and menopause, which result in muscle relaxation at the bottom of the pelvis, reducing the ability of the urethra to control urine. Women have wide pelvic bones and weak muscle support, and the female urethra is shorter than that of men, averaging only 3 CM. This, combined with damage to the pelvic floor muscles from pregnancy and childbirth, the decline in estrogen levels in women after middle age, and the atrophy of the urethral mucosa, all of these factors lead to women being more prone to urinary incontinence than men.  Mild incontinence occurs when coughing and sneezing, moderate occurs during daily activities such as walking quickly, and severe occurs in the standing position.  The onset of incontinence is associated with age, gender, vaginal delivery, sleep, obesity, living alone, and lack of assistance. The prevalence is significantly higher in those who are older, have a high number of vaginal deliveries, vaginal instrument-assisted deliveries, newborns weighing more than 4,000 grams, mobility impairment, widowhood, and obesity.  The incidence of urinary incontinence tends to increase with age, and stress urinary incontinence is the most common type of incontinence in women, with the onset group being mainly multigravid and premenopausal women. The incidence of urge incontinence in postmenopausal women increases gradually with age, and the incidence of stress incontinence decreases relatively, showing a gradual decline.  Among various chronic diseases, frequent constipation, chronic cough, stroke, Parkinson’s disease, fractures, cognitive impairment, and diabetes mellitus are associated with the onset of urinary incontinence. Studies by other scholars have also shown that white and Asian women are prone to stress urinary incontinence and that women in the Americas and Africa have a higher prevalence of urge incontinence.  Although urinary incontinence is a very troublesome disease, it does not seem to receive much attention in daily life. Many people believe that the body or physiological changes that occur, can not control urination, leakage of urine is considered normal, there is no need to see a doctor. Many female patients are influenced by economic culture and religious taboos and prefer to take self-care rather than seek help from a doctor. Some patients feel incontinence is difficult to talk about, embarrassed to tell the doctor, preferring to change pants and use pee pads rather than go to the hospital.  In fact, urinary incontinence is not a minor problem. Frequent urine loss and leakage in women may cause eczema, bed sores, skin infections and inflammation of the urinary system. And urinary incontinence causes bad feelings such as anxiety, embarrassment and frustration in women, which can also seriously affect their quality of life. If the odor causes anxiety, anxiety, loss of confidence, but also affect the normal social activities with friends and colleagues, and even affect sexual life. For most women, urinary incontinence becomes more severe and less controllable after menopause as women lose more estrogen. Therefore, once you find yourself a female patient with urinary incontinence, you must not ignore it, think it is a minor problem and leave it alone, or be shy and afraid to face a male urologist and leave the disease to develop. Once the disease is discovered, it is important to see a doctor in a timely manner so as not to delay the condition. Many hospitals now have female urologists, which provides a great convenience for female patients to treat urinary tract disorders.  The vast majority of patients with stress urinary incontinence can be completely cured or have their symptoms relieved with treatment. However, many patients do not receive proper treatment due to shyness. Therefore, overcoming shyness and going to the hospital is the first step toward treatment. Generally speaking, urologists are specialists in the treatment of urinary incontinence.  Patients with mild to moderate incontinence can be treated with medication and behavioral therapy, while behavioral exercises are given to improve the efficacy of medication and reduce symptoms. For patients with severe stress urinary incontinence, surgical treatment is the mainstay, and there are a variety of procedures available. Various slings and suspension procedures are commonly used.  Many women are used to using sanitary napkins to solve the problem, and others do not think to seek a solution until several years later. If the patient is afraid of surgery, medication can be used first; if the incontinence is severe, surgery is recommended. Under the guidance of a professional doctor, get rid of incontinence problems earlier and regain “control” as soon as possible.