Urinary incontinence can be readily treated, improved or cured with behavioural methods, medication or surgery. Management will depend on the types of urinary incontinence.
Behavioural methods are simple and effective ways to control your bladder. You can train your bladder to control the urge for overactive bladder; you can pass urine at certain set times for overflow incontinence, and you can train your pelvic floor muscles for stress incontinence.
Medicines are used to treat urinary infection, vaginal inflammation or to reduce overactivity of bladder muscles. In menopausal women, urinary frequency and urgency can be relieved by local oestrogens.
Surgery is commonly used for female stress urinary incontinence. It is offered after you have failed conservative treatment or you have severe stress urinary incontinence. Your doctor will recommend the appropriate type of surgery. Surgery is also recommended for conditions that cause voiding difficulties such as enlarged and retroverted uterus in women, or pelvic organ prolapse.
Consult your family doctor or visit a urogynaecologist or urologist if you suffer from urinary incontinence.
