With advancing age, approximately 40% of women experience urinary incontinence problems of different severity. Weight gain, heavy lifting, difficult birth history, chronic constipation, rheumatic diseases, menopause and diabetes cause an increase in urinary incontinence problems.
Urinary incontinence that occurs when laughing, sneezing, lifting heavy items, or climbing stairs is mostly due to the relaxation (weakness) of the pelvic floor muscles. It affects your quality of life. Treatment is mostly surgical, depending on the severity of the event.
Some of the patients complaint that urinary incontinence is more evident while going to the toilet. This condition is due to involuntary contraction of the bladder and its frequency increases with age. Sometimes it affects your quality of life so much, that you first want to know where the toilet is in a new place, and you feel the need to go to the toilet again and again before leaving home. In this case, we primarily help you with medication and behavioral treatments. In the majority of patients with urinary incontinence, both types of urinary incontinence occur together. In summary, the treatment plan is designed according to the patient and the patient’s dominant complaint.
Urinary incontinence treatment is divided into three categories: behavioral treatments, pharmacotherapy and surgical methods.
For most patients with urge or stress incontinence, the first line of treatment should be behavioral therapy. Simple lifestyle changes are helpful in mild cases of incontinence. As a first step, fluid restriction and avoidance of caffeine and alcohol, especially in the evening, are recommended. If the patient is obese, it is recommended to lose weight.
This technique allows patients to control their urination reflexes by training them to urinate at scheduled times. To determine the type of incontinence and frequency of incontinence, the patient is asked to keep a urination record for approximately 1 week. A timed voiding program is then developed with shorter intervals than the patient’s usual incontinence intervals.
It is a passive toilet assistance program for patients in need of care. The aim is to prevent the frequency of incontinence rather than to improve bladder function. The caregiver prepares a specific timed voiding schedule for the patient, including at night. There are no attempts to delay urination or resist the feeling of urgency as in bladder training.
It is designed to strengthen the periurethral and perivaginal muscles. It is useful in stress incontinence, but it can also be effective in urge and mixed type incontinence.
Patients are first told how to contract their muscles and are asked to tighten their muscles in the genital area as if they want to hold in urine.
Once the correct muscles are identified, patients are instructed to contract these muscles for 10 seconds and relax them for 10 seconds. This exercise should be repeated 30-80 times a day. Patients are then instructed to contract their pelvic muscles before and during incontinence to prevent incontinence.
It is prescribed by the specialist physician according to the type of incontinence. The most commonly used drugs are anticholinergics and tricyclic antidepressants.
Sling systems (TOT, TVT, MiniSling) are reliable methods to provide a permanent solution to urinary incontinence, especially in patients with loosening of the bladder neck.
All your examinations, investigations and treatments are performed by high experienced specialist doctors in our hospital located in Fethiye. Fethiye is known as a holiday destination frequently preferred by people due to its climate and natural beauties. While you are making your holiday plans, you can also take precautions for your health by undergoing a health screening.
