It has been acknowledged by medical experts that the medication you might be currently taking may serve to increase your risks of getting urinary incontinence or worsen the condition. According to various reports, these cases have become very common, prompting the need to make this concern a part of the management of any urinary incontinence problems.

Among the medications which have been determined to affect urinary problems are the following:

Medicines for High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure is addressed by using medications such as alpha blockers which work by reducing blood pressure through the dilation of the blood vessels. In the process, your bladder, sphincter, and urethra are also relaxed which makes it prone to incontinence when coughing, sneezing, lifting, and any actions that put pressure on the abdomen.

Antidepressant Medications  

While some incontinent patients may actually benefit from the use of antidepressants, in some case, the urinary incontinence symptoms may worsen with these medications. Since the contraction of the bladder may be impeded by these medications, overflow incontinence may result due to urine being retained in the bladder. Other types of antidepressants may bring you to a state where you may not be fully aware of the need to urinate.  

Diuretic-based Medicines

Commonly referred to as “water pills”, diuretics work in the kidney by lowering blood pressure by taking out salt and excess water from the body. This may have the effect of worsening your incontinence symptoms since diuretics may increase your urine which may mean an increase in the frequency of urination.

Antihistamine and Decongestants

While this type of medicines may actually benefit the men, the opposite is true with women. Urine retention and possibly sudden overflow incontinence may occur with the use of decongestants made from pseudoephedrine since these cause the urinary sphincter to tighten. Antihistamines may also make you sleepy which may cause some women, especially the elderly ones, to have urinary incontinence.

While these medications have been shown to cause or worsen urinary incontinence, it may not also be wise to discontinue using these medicines since they may be important to your other conditions such as hypertension and depression. Patients are advised by medical experts to talk to their doctors and come up with alternative medications or ways and means of offsetting any negative effects.

For those suffering from urinary incontinence, addressing this concern may become very important. Choosing these medications over your urinary condition may result to the further worsening of your urinary problems. The continued deterioration of your condition may then require more extreme measures such as vaginal mesh surgeries which may expose you to additional risks. Complaints of severe complications resulting from the use of these devices have been piling up which have resulted to numerous vaginal mesh lawsuits. You may visit vaginalmeshlawsuitcenter.us for more information about this matter.

REFERENCES:

webmd.com/features/causes-of-incontinence

uspharmacist.com/content

sgsonline.org/sgsinc/patiented/educate_articles