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Urinary incontinence
How many types of urinary incontinence are there?
Urinary incontinence refers to the uncontrolled release of urine through the urethra. There are several types of urinary incontinence, including urge incontinence, stress incontinence, overflow incontinence, and true incontinence, each requiring treatment tailored to the specific type. The most common type is stress incontinence, which is often seen in women who have given birth. It is mainly caused by relaxation of the bladder sphincter and typically occurs when sudden increases in abdominal pressure, such as during coughing, laughing, or lifting heavy objects, cause urine to flow from the urethra. If the symptoms are mild, improvement can be achieved through exercises for the pelvic floor and bladder sphincter muscles. If the symptoms are severe, surgical treatment is recommended.
Causes of stress urinary incontinence
The onset of stress urinary incontinence primarily refers to the phenomenon where a sudden increase in abdominal pressure during activities such as laughing, sneezing, lifting heavy objects, or jumping rope causes a small amount of urine to leak from the urethra. The main cause of stress urinary incontinence is due to the relaxation of the detrusor muscle, commonly seen in women who have had multiple vaginal deliveries. Treatment for this condition should be based on the severity of the incontinence. For mild incontinence, it can be improved through functional exercises of the detrusor muscle and pelvic floor muscle training. For moderate to severe stress urinary incontinence, surgical treatment is recommended.
What are the characteristics of the various types of urinary incontinence?
There are several types of urinary incontinence, common ones include stress incontinence, urge incontinence, overflow incontinence, and true incontinence. Stress incontinence, which is common in clinical practice, primarily occurs in women, especially in those who have given birth, are obese, or are elderly. It is characterized by the involuntary leakage of urine through the urethra during coughing, laughing, or sneezing. Urge incontinence, often seen in acute bladder inflammation, usually presents with symptoms such as frequent urination, urgency, painful urination, and pain in the lower abdomen before the onset of incontinence. Overflow incontinence is more common in elderly men, caused by urinary obstructions, such as those resulting from prostatic hyperplasia compressing the urethra, leading to urinary retention. In this case, the patient's bladder area may exhibit significant distension and tenderness. True incontinence is often seen in cases of neurological damage, such as from spinal injury or intracranial disorders.
Can you have intercourse with postpartum urinary incontinence?
Postpartum urinary incontinence should preclude sexual intercourse, as intercourse can exacerbate the condition. It is necessary to wait until recovery is achieved before resuming sexual activities. It is advised that patients promptly seek hospital treatment for pelvic floor muscle rehabilitation, which can generally bring effective relief within six months. If recovery begins after more than six months, the results can be poor. It is also important to develop good living habits, ensuring adequate sleep, avoiding fatigue, and refraining from heavy physical labor. Proper bowel movements should be maintained to prevent constipation, which can increase abdominal pressure and worsen urinary incontinence.
Can shock cause incontinence?
Shock patients often experience incontinence, which is very common in clinical settings. Various reasons can lead to shock, causing a decrease in the body's blood pressure. This results in severely inadequate perfusion of the brain, heart, and blood vessels, leading to the loss of control over the body's urinary and fecal reflexes and resulting in incontinence. Therefore, when shock occurs, we should strengthen nursing care, actively rehydrate, and actively treat the shock. It is also important to promptly identify and treat the cause of the shock. Only comprehensive treatment can save the patient's life. Moreover, enhancing nursing care is very important for shock patients, as they are prone to suffocation and incontinence.
How to recover from fecal incontinence?
For fecal incontinence, we must first conduct an effective evaluation and complete relevant examinations. For instance, we need to perform anal canal pressure measurements and examine the anal sphincter muscle imaging. Through these examinations, we can determine the extent of fecal incontinence and then adopt corresponding treatment methods. For fecal incontinence, we can initially choose conservative treatments, such as treatment with biofeedback therapy.
Can fecal incontinence be recovered?
If fecal incontinence occurs, the first step is to identify the main cause of the fecal incontinence. If it is caused by relaxation of the anal sphincter and anal canal, then surgery can be performed to tighten this area, specifically through an anal tightening procedure, which can restore control over fecal incontinence. If the patient has other underlying diseases or is elderly and frail, accompanied by changes in the nervous system, the symptoms of fecal incontinence may be alleviated through medication or physical therapy, but complete recovery is unlikely. This is because the recovery of the nervous system requires the integrated regulation of other bodily organs and functions. If there are multiple underlying diseases or if the patient is elderly and frail, especially in the later stages of coma, recovery is difficult.
What causes postpartum urinary incontinence?
Postpartum urinary incontinence in women often occurs after vaginal delivery. Clinically, postpartum urinary incontinence is relatively common and is mostly due to the stretching or injury of certain muscle groups in the pelvic floor as the baby passes through the birth canal during delivery. This can also occur due to surgical intervention affecting the nerves and blood vessels that support the pelvic floor, leading to relaxation or atrophy of the levator ani muscle. Postpartum urinary incontinence typically occurs about a week after delivery, and timely treatment is necessary. During the treatment period, bed rest is advised, which can alleviate some of the discomforts and possibly avoid the need for surgery.
Can fecal incontinence be cancer?
The most common causes of fecal incontinence are neurological dysfunction or relaxation of the local anal sphincter. In some cases of advanced rectal cancer, excessive tumor growth can enlarge the local intestinal contents, leading to involuntary expulsion of feces. Diagnosis involves further examination using electronic colonoscopy, digital anal examination, and assessment of neurological function. If the cause is related to a neurological disorder, treatment by a neurologist is required. If the cause is relaxation of the anal sphincter, then anal sphincter tightening surgery may be considered. In cases where fecal incontinence is caused by an intestinal tumor, surgery to remove the tumor is recommended, along with radiation or chemotherapy.
Urinary incontinence includes three types: stress incontinence, urge incontinence, and overflow incontinence.
Urinary incontinence, in clinical terms, is divided into the following categories: First, there is urge incontinence, where the main symptom is that as soon as one thinks of urinating, the urine comes out uncontrollably. This is commonly seen in urinary tract infections, among other conditions. Second, there is overflow incontinence, also known as pseudo-incontinence, which is actually due to an obstruction in the lower urinary tract, leading to an overfilled bladder that naturally overflows, causing involuntary urination. Third, there is true incontinence, which occurs because the mechanism controlling the urinary tract is damaged, resulting in leaks as soon as there is a small amount of urine in the bladder. If urinary incontinence occurs, it is recommended to visit a hospital. First, a routine urine test should be conducted; second, a color Doppler ultrasound of the urinary system should be performed, which can be done while holding urine or during routine times; lastly, a urodynamic test should be carried out to examine bladder function and determine the type of urinary incontinence.