Urinary incontinence is the unintentional loss of bladder control, causing subsequent urine leakages, according to medical journals. Although men are not an exception to urinary incontinence, women, especially those who may have gone through one or more pregnancies or childbirth, are twice more likely to find themselves dealing with the problems of incontinence. Ageing and menopause, as well as obesity, have also been strongly linked to the problem’s increasing prevalence in most women.
While urinary incontinence is a discernible physical illness, it also brings about discomfort and symptoms that emotional distress to patients, according to health experts. An incontinent woman tend to be nervous of embarrassing urine leaks, prompting her to steer clear of social activities, as well as sexual intimacy – factors that may lead to withdrawal and depression. In fact, a group of researchers from Canada revealed findings that suggest how women with a certain degree of incontinence stand at higher risk of developing depression than those who are not suffering from urinary incontinence.
After evaluating surveys results obtained from almost 69,000 Canadian women, researchers found that three percent had problems related to urinary incontinence, 80 percent of them were at least 45 years old and above. Of the incontinent women, over 15 percent experienced major depression, in comparison to nine percent of depression women without urinary incontinence.
Individual researches also reveal that the more severe the incontinence, the greater the impact it may cause to a patient’s quality of life. Urinary incontinence has also been found to greatly affect self-image and self-esteem, well-being, and sexuality in women with urinary problems.
Most doctors recommend non-operative treatment options to aid women in the management of their symptoms or possibly inhibiting the progress of urinary incontinence, medical experts say. On the other hand, patients who have severe symptoms than others may need to go through a surgical procedure which may involve bladder sling devices for relief. These devices, however, have been reportedly linked to various safety problems which may have prompted some of the most prominent pelvic sling recalls in the United States. Visit bladderslingrecall.us to find out more about the potential dangers of bladder sling implants.
Sources:
nafc.org/media/media-kit/facts-statistics/
webmd.com/depression/news/20060320/depression-urinary-incontinence-tied
livestrong.com/article/30600-nonsurgical-treatments-urinary-incontinence-women/
fda.gov/medicaldevices/safety/alertsandnotices/ucm262435.htm
webmd.com/urinary-incontinence-oab/features/emotional-toll-of-female-incontinence
