5 Types of Urinary Incontinence That Cause Bladder Leaks—and How To Treat Each One
Making a few small changes to your diet can help reduce urine leakage
If you find yourself constantly rushing to the bathroom or notice you leak when you laugh, you may be dealing with urinary incontinence (UI). But that “gotta go” feeling can vary for everyone. That’s because there are different types of urinary incontinence. We turned to the urogynecologists to find out more about the different types of bladder leaks and the best ways to treat them.
Home remedies for 5 common types of urinary incontinence
Experts say there are three to five types of urinary incontinence, with the main three primarily affecting women (the other two typically affect men or older people). In fact, urinary incontinence affects 62 percent of adult women in the U.S., explains Samantha Pulliam, MD, FACOG, urogynecologist and chief medical officer at Axena Health.
In general, urinary incontinence is the loss of urine, explains Lopa Pandya, MD, MS, FACOG urogynecologist, reconstructive surgeon and medical advisor at Aeroflow Urology. “Anytime the urine isn’t in your bladder or the toilet, it’s incontinence. It can be drops, a stream or feel like your entire bladder volume.”
Woman's World Answers
Here we break down the different types of urine leaks and natural ways to treat them.
Stress urinary incontinence
Stress UI is the first type and one of the most common types of bladder leaks. “Stress urinary incontinence is leaking urine with activity such as coughing, laughing, sneezing and/or exercise,” says Christopher Iwanoff, DO, FACOG, Urogynecologist, Section Chief of Urogynecology at Monmouth Medical Center. “It is often caused by loss of support of the periurethral tissue [surrounding the urethra] from either having children, repetitive heavy lifting, constipation and/or aging.”
How to treat it: Dr. Pulliam suggests treating stress UI through pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT). The pelvic floor muscles contract and relax to allow stool and urine to pass through and are involved in posture and sexual activity. When done correctly, Dr. Pulliam says PFMT can strengthen a woman’s pelvic floor to prevent or lessen incontinence symptoms.
Urge urinary incontinence
When you suddenly have to go, you may be dealing with urge urinary incontinence. “This is involuntary loss of urine associated with urgency, or a sudden, compelling desire to void that is difficult to defer,” says Dr. Pandya. With urge UI, the urethra cannot close, which causes the bladder to spasm and ultimately leak.
Dr. Iwanoff adds that urge UI is often idiopathic, meaning the cause is unknown. “However, a small percentage of patients will experience urge urinary incontinence due to neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries and dementia.”
How to treat it: While pelvic floor exercises can help improve bladder control, Dr. Iwanhoff also recommends dietary changes, such as limiting beverages that irritate the bladder (think caffeinated or carbonated drinks), bladder retraining (only using the restroom at set times to extend how long you can wait in between visits), anticholinergics (medications that can calm the bladder), bladder Botox injections (which help relax the bladder to hold more urine) and sacral nerve stimulation.
Mixed urinary incontinence
As the name suggests, “mixed urinary incontinence is a third type of incontinence that includes the symptoms of both stress and urge incontinence,” says Dr. Pulliam. Mixed UI affects more than 37 percent of women over 65, and you may experience a sudden urge to go combined with urine leakage.
How to treat it: Since the third type is a combination, you’ll want to combine proper pelvic floor exercise with diet and exercise modifications, such as avoiding soda and alcohol and using a band or exercise ball to strengthen your thighs and pelvis. “Many women seek pelvic floor physical therapy or use the Leva Pelvic Health System, which is a clinically proven, prescription treatment that helps women access pelvic floor muscle therapy correctly,” says Dr. Pulliam.
Overflow urinary incontinence
The fourth type of urinary incontinence is overflow incontinence, which involves leaking urine when the bladder becomes overfilled with urine as the result of urinary retention. It’s more common in men than women, but women can still be affected. “This can occur due to an obstruction from pelvic organ prolapse, which does not allow the bladder to empty,” says Dr. Iwanoff. “It can also occur as a result of neurological diseases such as multiple sclerosis or spinal cord injury where the bladder does not contract to empty.”
How to treat it: Since this variation of UI is associated with neurological diseases, Dr. Iwanoff says the best form of treatment is identifying and managing the underlying cause. In this instance, your doctor may recommend medications, surgery (to fix a pelvic organ prolapse) or potentially a catheter.
Functional incontinence
“Functional incontinence is most common in older adults who may lose control of their ability to urinate,” says Dr. Pulliam. “They may know they need to get to a bathroom, but physical or cognitive issues get in the way, so they may leak urine or empty their whole bladder.”
How to treat it: While it doesn’t address the root cause, one of the easier fixes is wearing incontinence underwear. These help absorb leaks if you’re unable to make it to the bathroom in time. Bladder training and pelvic floor exercises may help, but if the condition gets harder to manage over time, experts recommend a catheter.
Types of urinary incontinence: The bottom line
Oftentimes, embarrassment keeps many women from seeking help or treatment. But nipping urinary incontinence in the bud is essential for long term health. “Incontinence can be a progressive disorder,” says Dr. Pulliam. “Left untreated, it can worsen and lead to profoundly negative health consequences that impact women’s social, financial, physical and emotional well-being.”
Conversation
All comments are subject to our Community Guidelines. Woman's World does not endorse the opinions and views shared by our readers in our comment sections. Our comments section is a place where readers can engage in healthy, productive, lively, and respectful discussions. Offensive language, hate speech, personal attacks, and/or defamatory statements are not permitted. Advertising or spam is also prohibited.
