Urinary Incontinence in Women
The following information was released by the Urodynamic Neurology and Gynecological Urology department of the Hellenic Urological Company
What is urinary incontinence in women?
As urinary incontinence we define every incident of unintentional release of urine. This is a symptom and not an illness, and it can be manifested as a loss of a few drops of urine or as complete inability to hold any amount of urine.
Types of women urinary incontinence
Exertion Incontinence (EI)
This includes every reported unintended loss of urine during physical exertion, strain, effort, sneeze, or cough. EI is usually caused by inadequate support of the urethra or inadequate gripe force from the clamp muscle of the urethra. This is why EI occurs when the intra-abdominal pressure is increased.
Urgent Incontinence (UI)
This category includes every reported unintended loss of urine that is accompanied (either directly or after) with urgency. UI constitutes a part of the “hyperactive bladder syndrome” that is characterized by a complex of symptoms, and primarily the urgent and frequent urination while it can also be accompanied by urgent incontinence and nocturia.
Mixed Incontinence (MI)
This category applied to the patients who suffer from both EI and UI.
How can I tell which type of incontinence I suffer from?
The following table summarizes the main differences between the three types of incontinence:
| Related Events | Exertion Incontinence | Urgent Incontinence |
| Cough, sneeze, pressure, lifting weight, exercise | Yes | No |
| Timely arrival on the toilet | Yes | No |
| Frequent urination | No | Yes |
| Urgency | No | Yes |
| Nocturia | No | Yes |
| Intercourse | During penetration | During orgasm |
| Urine volume | Normal | Small |
| Urine volume lost | Little | Much |
Why is it important to know the type of incontinence?
Knowing what type of incontinence you suffer from is important because the treatment is different. In the case of the
- “exertion incontinence” the treatment is surgical,
- “urgent incontinence” the treatment is pharmaceutical
- “mixed incontinence”, the treatment starts from the type that causes the greatest annoyance to the patient.
How is the urinary incontinence in women treated?
For Exertion Incontinence:
- Better management of fluid intake and frequent bladder emptying
- Pelvic exercises that help in the strengthening of the muscles in the area, essentially resulting in the reinforcement of the urethra gripe mechanism.
- Surgical treatment that involves the installation of a vaginal tape under the urethra and without the application of pressure, thus preventing its widening during the increase of the intra-abdominal pressure.
For Urgent Incontinence:
- Changes in the way of life: Limiting the intake of foods that possibly irritate the bladder like coffee, chocolate, spicy foods, alcohol, sparkle drinks, etc.)
- Pelvic exercises that help in the strengthening of the muscles in the area, and thus allowing the patient to restrain the contraction of the bladder and hold the urine.
- Medical care is also applied as nowadays there are many pharmaceutical products available that are very successful in the addressing of UI symptoms.
- In the case that all else fails, there are also secondary treatments like the direct infusion of specialized medicines inside the bladder, or the electrical neurostimulation.
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