Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI) – Causes, Symptoms & Treatments

Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI) – Causes, Symptoms & Treatments

Overview

Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is a leakage of urine during moments of physical activity that increases abdominal pressure, such as coughing, sneezing, laughing, or exercise. SUI is the most common type of urinary incontinence in women. It happens less often in men.

Stress incontinence is different from urgency incontinence and overactive bladder (OAB).

Causes

Stress incontinence occurs when the muscles and other tissues that support the urethra (pelvic floor muscles) and the muscles that control the release of urine (urinary sphincter) weaken.

Chronic coughing or nerve injuries to the lower back or pelvic surgery (like surgery for prostate cancer) can also weaken the muscles.

What increases risk of getting SUI?

• Gender: females are more likely to get SUI
• Pregnancy and childbirth
• Being overweight
• Smoking
• Chronic coughing
• Nerve injuries to the lower back
• Pelvic or prostate surgery
• High-impact activities, such as running and jumping, over many years

Symptoms of Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI)

The key symptom of SUI is when urine leaks out during any activity that increases abdominal pressure. You may leak urine (particularly when your bladder is full) when you:

• Cough or sneeze
• Laugh
• Bend over
• Lift something heavy
• Exercise
• Have sex

How does SUI affect your life?

Most people feel SUI gets in the way of daily and social activities. It can affect family and sexual relationship. For some people the fear of leaking urine restricts doing certain activities such as:

• doing things outside of your home
• being afraid to be far from bathroom or a change of clothes
• doing exercise of playing sports
• making themselves uncomfortable with their body
• maintaining relationships with friends and family
• avoiding sex just because they are worried of the urine leakage and be embarrassed

If you too feel these, know that there are many ways to manage and treat SUI. You should contact urologist nearby immediately.

Diagnosis

During your visit to urologist, they may look for contributing factors such as:

• Medical history
• Urine sample to test for any infection, traces or blood or other abnormalities
• Tests to identify any pelvic nerve problems
• Urinary stress test
• Rectal exam and a pelvic exam in women

In some cases, your provider might order tests to assess how well your bladder, urethra and sphincter are functioning (urodynamic tests). This may include:

• Measurements of post-void residual urine
• Measuring bladder pressures
• Creating images of the bladder as it functions
• Cystoscopy

Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI) Treatment

Your doctor may recommend a combination of strategies to treat incontinence. There are a number of treatments available for stress incontinence.

Lifestyle changes can treat SUI

• Absorbent Pads
• Pelvic Floor Muscle Exercises (also called Kegel exercises)
• Maintain Good Bowel Function
• Maintaining a Healthy Weight
• Bladder Training
• Quit Smoking

Medical devices to control SUI

Certain devices designed for women may help control stress incontinence, including:

• Vaginal pessary
• Urethral inserts

Men may be offered a penile clamp/clip device to prevent SUI leaks. These external clamps may be used to restrict the flow of urine from the penis

Surgery to control SUI

When other methods for treating stress incontinence don’t work, surgery may be an option. Surgery is now minimally invasive and performed on an outpatient basis in most cases. Surgeries can effectively treat the vast majority of stress incontinence cases.

The goal of any treatment for Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI) is to improve your quality of life. Surgical treatments usually work, especially when combined with lifestyle changes. Make sure you rest for a few weeks to allow for recovery and healing.

Looking for Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI) treatment in Ahmedabad?

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