Urinary Incontinence

Dr. Virendra is a senior consultant urologist, andrologist, and transplant surgeon at Chandigarh healthcare, sector 16, Mohali and Apollo hospital sector 8C, Chandigarh.  In this video, he will talk about Urinary incontinence.

What is Urinary Incontinence? 

Urinary incontinence is leakage of urine without our control. The person may urinate without even feeling the urge to go. In simple words, it is urinating without knowing.  Usually, urination is in control of the person. The urine is stored in the urinary bladder. The bladder is an elastic organ. It has two sphincter muscles for control, internal and external. The urine from the kidneys through the ureter comes to the bladder, the bladder being elastic stored the urine. The average capacity is around 500-700ml. And we get the urge to pee after 250-300ml. 

When the bladder is Full complete, it signals the brain and returns the signal to the bladder. The inner sphincter is in-voluntary, i.e., we do not control it. But the external sphincter muscles are voluntary. For example, when we see the sight surrounding us or are on the toilet, we voluntarily open the external sphincter muscle to pass the urine.  But in some cases, this sync is broken, and the external sphincter muscle becomes involuntary. And this is called urinary incontinence. 

What are the types of Incontinence? 

There are four types of urinary incontinence:

1. Overactive incontinence, Stress incontinence
2. Stress incontinence
3. Mix incontinence, Overflow incontinence
4. Overflow incontinence 

This incontinence is found in both males and females. But comparatively more in females. In addition, the symptoms of incontinence increase with old age. Now we will talk about the types of incontinence. 

Overactive Incontinence (OAB)

There is an involuntary loss of urine without any need of urination. There is leakage even when the bladder is holding a small amount of urine. This is not a life-threatening condition. But it affects our quality of life. Hygiene problems and social embarrassment are emotionally and mentally disturbing and can lead to depression for people who suffer from overactive incontinence. 

Stress Incontinence

When the abdominal pressure increases or the outlet pressure decreases, it is called stress incontinence. This is more common in females. Males suffer from stress incontinence due to any surgical reason. 

Overflow Incontinence

When the bladder is weak, or there is an outlet problem. The bladder is filled with urine and then keeps leaking, then it is called overflow incontinence. 

Mix Incontinence 

This is a combination of stress and (could not hear) incontinence.  So these are the four types of incontinence.