Urinary incontinence in elderly women

Changes in the body of an elderly person are inevitable and manifest from different sides. The most common disorders of the genitourinary system. Thus, most older women suffer from incontinence (incontinence). In men, this problem is less common, since initially the muscles of the pelvis are stronger. Also, traumatic births and surgical interventions on the genito-urinary organs are not traceless for women.

This pathology can not be attributed to serious diseases that contribute to the occurrence of complications and violations of general health. However, urinary incontinence in the elderly brings enough discomfort and embarrassment, which leads to social withdrawal. The feeling of shame, the desire to appear less in society, the constant psychological tension provokes as a result of frustration and on the nerves.

There are two main types of urinary incontinence in women:

1. Stressful . In general, women with age 50 suffer from urinary incontinence. At this age, the pelvic muscles weak and lose their tone, which complicates the control of urination. If a woman does not take hormonal drugs when reaching menopause, the elasticity of the genital walls decreases, it also weakens the urinary tract. The distance from the bladder to the external urinary tract is short, so during sneezing, coughing or laughing, even a minute relaxation of the muscles, promotes the rapid excretion of urine. Thus, with a little physical exertion, intra-abdominal pressure is created, leading to involuntary urination.
2. Urgent . Sharp, sudden urge to urinate, which the woman can not restrain. Even the noise of water in the bathroom provokes urination, and the woman does not have time to go to the toilet.

Causes of urinary incontinence in old age

There are the following reasons for the appearance of age-related urinary incontinence in the elderly

• infection of the urogenital tract, nerve damage;
• a state of delirium, shock with microinsult, pneumonia, arrhythmia and other heart diseases;
• bladder dilation, prolapse of uterus, urethritis and vaginitis, loss of tonus of pelvic muscles;
• diuretic, sedative, psychotropic medications that promote the acceleration of metabolism and the removal of fluid from the body;
• the state of depression in women , nervous breakdowns;
• excessive fluid intake;
• lack of access to the toilet in time (leg diseases, limiting the ability to move quickly, the location of the toilet away from the workplace, etc.);
• constipation.

Urinary incontinence in elderly women - treatment

Conservative

The first method of treating the incontinence of urine is a set of physical exercises that strengthen the muscles of the small pelvis ("scissors", "birch", "bicycle"). You can pinch a small ball between your legs and carry it while doing household chores. In this case, you should use urological pads and diapers.

Also it is necessary to adhere to a diet, to exclude the use of tea, coffee and alcohol in large quantities, to give up smoking. Effective impact has and physiotherapy (electrophoresis, galvanic currents, ultrasound).

With urgent urination, medication is prescribed, suppressing involuntary contraction of the bladder. In addition, the use of estrogen, which prevents age-related atrophy of the bladder mucosa, is recommended.

Operational

If conservative treatment does not bring positive results, resort to surgical intervention (sling operation). The essence lies in the placement of a synthetic loop (or loops from its own tissues) under the middle part of the urethra. In this case, additional support is created for the bladder and involuntary urination is prevented.

Folk ways

1. An effective folk remedy for urinary incontinence is the infusion of dill seeds. 1 tablespoon of seeds are added to a glass of boiling water, insist 2-3 hours and filter. For one visit they sing the whole glass once a day.
2. In the morning on an empty stomach you can drink a glass of carrot juice.