Incontinence
Urinary incontinence is an uncomfortable topic, but the good news is that the team of ob-gyns at Premier Women’s Care of Southwest Florida can help. We are skilled at identifying the causes of incontinence and offer a variety of effective treatments. If you are experiencing urinary incontinence, you can request a new patient appointment online. If you are already an established patient, you can book online through the patient portal. Or you can always call (239) 432-5858 to schedule a consultation with one of Premier Women’s Care of Southwest Florida’s women’s health-care providers in Fort Myers, Cape Coral or Lehigh Acres.
Causes of Urinary Incontinence
Urinary tract infections, medications, and food or drink that irritate the bladder can cause temporary urinary incontinence.
But when urine leakage is ongoing, its cause may be an underlying health condition. A few of the most common causes include:
- Pelvic prolapse, in which the muscles and tissues of the pelvic floor weaken
- Neuromuscular problems in which the muscles that control the bladder and the urethra malfunction
- Anatomical problems in which the outlet of the bladder into the urethra becomes blocked by bladder stones or other growths.
- Loss of estrogen at menopause that leads to weak muscles in the urinary tract
- Pregnancy and childbirth, which can cause pelvic floor muscles that control urine flow to be stretched and weakened
Types of Incontinence
Urinary incontinence in women can be divided into three main types:
- Stress urinary incontinence is leaking urine when coughing, laughing, or sneezing. Leaks also can happen when a woman walks, runs, or exercises.
- Urgency urinary incontinence is a sudden strong urge to urinate that is hard to stop. Women with this type of urinary incontinence may leak urine on the way to the bathroom. If you have an “overactive bladder,” it means that you have symptoms of urgency and frequency that may or may not include incontinence.
- Mixed incontinence combines symptoms of both stress and urgency urinary incontinence.
Diagnosis and Treatment of Urinary Incontinence
Your Premier Women’s Care of Southwest Florida provider may take a urine sample to test for an infection and conduct urodynamic studies to determine the underlying cause of your incontinence.
Urodynamic studies are tests that yield information about urine flow, the amount of pressure in your bladder, and how much urine is retained in your bladder.
Your treatment is customized and may include any of the following options:
- Bladder training to delay urination
- Nutritional support to minimize overactive symptoms and bladder spasms
- Pelvic floor therapy to improve muscle control
- Medications to relax bladder muscles
- Pessary to support pelvic prolapse and support the urethral neck to decrease leaking
- Minimally invasive surgery to repair muscles and tissues
Two types of surgeries often performed by the doctors at Premier Women’s Care of Southwest Florida include sling surgery, which strengthens the urethra, and repair of a prolapsed bladder.
Many effective treatments are available for incontinence, so you don’t have to just live with it.
If you’d like to learn more about treatment options for incontinence, you can request a new patient appointment online. If you are already an established patient, you can book online through the patient portal. Or you can always call (239) 432-5858 to schedule a consultation with one of Premier Women’s Care of Southwest Florida’s women’s health-care providers in Fort Myers, Cape Coral or Lehigh Acres.
