About this disease
What it concerns
Urinary incontinence is a common condition in women. It comes in various forms and can affect women of all ages. There is often a high level of related suffering amongst those affected. While in stress incontinence the problem is usually with the urinary closure mechanism, in an overactive bladder the bladder muscle triggers a strong urge to urinate through uncontrolled contractions.
Types
Stress incontinence is an involuntary loss of urine during physical exertion such as sneezing, coughing, lifting weights or physical exertion. Overactive bladder is characterized by a sudden, strong urge to pass urine. This urge can only be suppressed with difficulty and often leads to incontinence. Pronounced voiding states can lead to a so-called "overflow bladder". In this case, the bladder can no longer be emptied and it overflows, so to speak. Finally, neurogenic causes are also a possibility.
Symptoms and consequences
Urinary incontinence is still a taboo subject in our society and affected women do not like to talk about it. Especially in older patients, this can lead to severe limitations in quality of life and social withdrawal.
How we can help you
Examination and diagnosis
Incontinence is diagnosed in our urogynecological consultation. We firstly examine whether an acute urinary tract infection, a tumor, kidney stone problems and complications in the context of previous pelvic floor operations must be excluded. In the case of severe forms and a high degree of suffering, further diagnostics with bladder pressure measurements (urodynamics) and cystoscopy are usually performed.
Treatment
There are both conservative and surgical treatments available. Firstly, conservative measures should always be exhausted, such as vaginal estrogenization, bladder training, pelvic floor muscle training, drug treatments and herbal products. Surgical measures include insertion of a vaginal incontinence sling, bladder neck injection, percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation, botox injection into the bladder muscle, and sacral nerve stimulation.