What is Overflow Incontinence?
When you are unable to empty your bladder completely, leading to unexpected leaks frequently is known as Overflow Incontinence. Actually, you may or may not sense that your bladder is full. Moreover, embarrassment and discomfort is not the only problem. This can also lead to repeated urinary tract infections as well.
Causes
- Blockages of the urethra
- Injury, medications or diseases of nerves that affect the bladder
- Bladder stones or tumors
- Previous pelvic surgery
- Severe prolapse of a woman’s uterus or bladder
Symptoms
- Sudden and involuntary leaking of urine
- Dribbling urine
- Weak urine stream
- A feeling of fullness even after urinating
- Difficulty initiating urination
- Not sensing the bladder is full
- Recurrent UTIs
Treatments
Treatment varies from individual to individual based on their specific needs. You might need more than one in some situations.
On this context let’s explore different types of Treatments :
Behavior training – let’s look into few behaviors that may help a you manage or avoid leaks.
- Managing fluid intake: Avoiding certain fluid intakes such as alcohol and caffeine can help reduce overflow.
- Bladder training: An individualtrying to control urinating for at least 10 minutes (gradually increasing it to a few hours) once he feels an urge to urinate.
- Regular bathroom breaks: Urinating regularly can help you keep the bladder from overfilling.
- Double voiding: This involves waiting a few minutes after urination before you try to empty the bladder again.
- Exercises: The muscles surrounding and supporting the bladder are responsible for stopping urination. This can be strengthened through pelvic floor exercises.
Medication – to allow the urine to drain, the muscles at the base of urethra can be relaxed with the help of alpha-adrenergic blockers such as doxazosin, tamsulosin and alfuzosin. Doctors may also give individuals (specifically male) with enlarged prostates 5a reductase inhibitors.
Products and devices – Doctors insert Catheters (a thin flexible tubes) through a person’s urethra to drain the bladder of urine. Further, doctors may insert a suprapubic catheter (hollow tube) into the bladder from a cut from the abdomen. Furthermore, People can also wear adult diapers or adult undergarments to absorb leaks, particularly at night.
Nerve stimulation – It is a process of sending electrical impulses to nerves of the bladder muscles to strengthen them.
The Doctor may use percutaneous tibial or sacral nerve stimulation for this purpose.
Surgery – you can choose surgery as one of the options if none of the other options work which can include:
- sling procedures
- bladder neck suspension
- prolapse surgery
- artificial urinary sphincter
To conclude
If you have overflow incontinence, talk to your doctor about the treatment options.
Moreover, you might have to try a few methods before you find one that works for you. Nevertheless, it’s often possible to manage your symptoms and minimize interruptions to your daily life.
