What Is Urinary Incontinence?

May 01, 2015

What is Urinary Incontinence? Urinary incontinence is the unintentional release of urine. More than 15 million American men and women suffer from this dysfunction. Many of these people suffer in silence unnecessarily. They are prevented from doing many daily activities and living the life they want to lead. What happens under normal conditions? Coordinated activity between the urinary tract and the brain controls urinary function. The bladder stores urine because the muscle of the bladder (the detrusor muscle) relaxes and the bladder neck (surprisingly at the bottom of the bladder) and urethral sphincter muscle are closed. The urethral sphincter is a circular muscle that wraps around the urethra. Think of a round balloon with a long tube at the bottom (the urethra). During urination, the bladder neck opens, the sphincter relaxes and the bladder muscle contracts allowing urine (pee) to void. When things go wrong. Incontinence occurs if closure of the bladder neck is inadequate (this is called stress incontinence, or SUI) or the bladder muscle is overactive and it contracts involuntarily (urge incontinence, also known as overactive bladder or OAB). This is fancy talk for the urine gushes or dribbles out uncontrollably. There is hope For millions of Americans, incontinence is not just a medical problem. It is a problem that also impacts the emotional, psychological and social well-being. Many people are afraid to participate in activities that might take them too far from a toilet, so it is critically important to know that the majority of incontinence causes can be treated successfully. Information from the Urology Care Foundation For information on incontinence products to protect your furnishings go to www.liquaguard.com

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