Why do I have urine incontinence?

Doctor's Answers 2

Photo of Dr Heap Yong Seah
Dr Heap Yong Seah

General Practitioner

Sorry to hear about your incontinence problem. Urinary incontinence is a socially embarrassing problem, with many patients not seeking help for it.

There are many different types of urinary incontinence. Here are 3 types that I learnt as a medical student

1. Stress incontinence - Stress incontinence is the leakage of urine when you cough or sneeze or laugh. This is due to decrease muscle control over the bladder neck (which in turn is due to various reasons) resulting in urine leaking whenever the abdominal pressure increases.

2. Urge incontinence - Urge incontinence is the sensation of a great urge to go to the toilet, usually an uncontrollable desire, followed by running towards the toilet. Sometimes, the patient do not make it to the toilet, and wet their pants on the way. Urge incontinence is due to an over active bladder muscle, which in turn is due to many other factors.

3. Overflow incontinence - Overflow incontinance is due to either a very strong bladder neck muscle or bladder outlet obstruction, or due to weak bladder wall muscles. This results in the patient constantly leaking urine slowly all the time. Once again, there are many factors, and may require different treatment.

Sometimes the incontinence is due to more than one type, so diagnosis will require a doctor to see you and check your pelvic organs. Sometimes a urodynamics study will be necessary to see the behaviour of the bladder muscles.

Treatment will depends on what is the underlying cause. Some may be treated medically, while some may require surgical treatment.

What I suggest is for you to see your family doctor, or a Urogynecologist, for an assessment and treatment. This problem may be properly treated and your life can go back to normal once treated. So do consult your doctor about the incotinence.

Cheers!

Heap Yong

As a woman becomes older, it not not surprising to find seven out of ten who will experience some degree of urinary leak. The leak may occur with a physical provocation like coughing, laughing, sneezing, or quick rise from sitting position.

More annoying are those leaks that comes uncontrollably with a sudden strong urge to pee. So it is a common experience. The good news is that most of these cases can be significantly improved or cured, by using a combination of medication, surgery, laser treatment and behavioral adjustment.

The sad news is that most women do not seek help because of embarassment or think that the condition is not severe enough and therefore can be delayed. By procrastinating, many would have lost months and years of exciting social lives while they are still physically healthy and fit otherwise.

Similar Questions

How can I treat my urine incontinence in Singapore, and how much will it cost?

The gold standard objective investigation to test for urinary incontinence is called a urodynamic study. This test is able to determine if you suffer from stress urinary incontinence, urge incontinence or a combination of both. In addition, it can also determine the severity of the urinary incontinence. In this way, we can then recommend oral medication or surgery as the best and most effective method of treatment.

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Answered By

Dr Christopher Ng

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TCM

How can TCM help a persistant cough?

Thank you for the enquiry and keen interest in TCM. I am also sorry to hear about your experience. Persistent cough without an apparent reason can be effectively managed using TCM herbal prescription. I see a lot of such cases in my practice. After a flu episode, you may have exhausted your Lung qi, which is necessary for defense and recovery. Chronic cough arises and you may require longer than usual time to recover. Such cases usually exhibit as dry non-productive cough or minimal phlegm that is difficult to expectorate. Phlegm is usually thick and foamy.

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