Stress incontinence is a type of urinary incontinence that refers to unintentional urine loss that occurs during physical activity such as sneezing, laughing, coughing, and exercising.
Basically, this is a bladder storage problem that is a result of weakened pelvic muscles that support the bladder and urethra or a result of malfunction of the urethral sphincter.
In this case, the sphincter is not able to prevent urine flow when there is increased pressure from the abdomen.
Studies show that stress incontinence is more common in women than in men.
About 50% of all women have experienced occasional urinary incontinence, and as many as 10% have frequent incontinence.
This is common in women who have had numerous pregnancies and vaginal childbirths, or who have pelvic prolapse.
Since this is the most common type of urinary incontinence in women, its risk factors include being female, advancing age, childbirth, smoking, and obesity.
Treatment of stress incontinence will depend on the severity of the symptoms and the extent to which the symptoms interfere with the patient's lifestyle.
But before treatment is given, various tests are conducted, such as an abdominal and rectal exam, a genital exam in men, and a pelvic exam in women.
Other tests may include PVR or post-void residual, urinalysis, urinary stress test, pad test, pelvic or abdominal ultrasound, cystoscopy, and an EMG, or electromyogram.
Treatment options for stress incontinence include behavioral changes, pelvic floor muscle therapy, medication, and surgery.
Behavioral changes such as changing the fluid intake and voiding pattern, urinating more frequently, and modifying activity levels may improve stress incontinence symptoms.
Pelvic floor muscle therapy can include Kegel exercises that are proven to be beneficial in controlling the leakage of urine.
Medications such as Alpha-adrenergic agonist drugs are used to treat stress incontinence.
These medications aim to increase the contraction of the urethral sphincter muscle.
From these treatment options, surgery is only recommended after thorough evaluation and determination of the exact cause of the urinary incontinence.
The patient considering surgery should be aware of the potential risks as well as the expected benefit of the procedure.
Stress incontinence is a condition that one should not ignore because it is often just one symptom of a much larger medical condition.
Instead of suffering in silence, it is always better to visit a physician and seek medical advice.