Female Urinary Incontinence

It is a familiar story for many women who have delivered children. You are in an exercise class or jogging and instead of concentrating on the exercise, you are busy worrying about whether or not you will have an accident. Or maybe you are volunteering at your child’s school and have to sneeze. Do you sometimes experience leakage when sneezing, coughing or laughing hard? If so, you are not alone. In fact, an estimated 17 million women in the United States are currently dealing with Female Urinary Incontinence.

Urinary Incontinence is a medical term used to describe a condition of not being able to control the flow of urine from your body. Symptoms may include leakage of urine when sneezing, coughing, laughing, exercising or lifting heavy objects. It may also include having a strong urge to urinate and not being able to make it to the bathroom in time. The symptoms of Urinary Incontinence can vary widely from woman to woman. For some women the symptoms are merely irritating while for others, they are debilitating.

There are a variety of options available to both manage and treat the symptoms of Female Urinary Incontinence. Some women choose to simply manage the symptoms of Urinary Incontinence by wearing protective undergarments and controlling their fluid intakes. Others seek a more permanent solution including behavioral therapies and certain exercises that can be performed to strengthen the pelvic muscles. For more severe cases of Female Urinary Incontinence, treatments such as medications, catheters, external devices and surgery can be used.

If you are a woman and Urinary Incontinence is interfering with your life and your day-to-day activities, you should discuss your symptoms with your OBGYN. He or she can then recommend the most appropriate solution based on your lifestyle, the severity of your symptoms and your medical history.