Understanding Female Urge Incontinence

Female urge incontinence is a common condition affecting women of all ages. This type of incontinence is less common than stress incontinence, accounting for about 30% of cases of incontinence. Because female urge incontinence is often accompanied by frequency, this condition can impact lifestyle significantly. There are several self-help techniques that may be tried to improve female urge incontinence. Medications may also be prescribed. Surgery is generally seen as a last resort to cure female urge incontinence.

Urgency can be described as a sudden and urgent desire to urinate. Female urge incontinence occurs when there is leakage of urine before a toilet can be reached. As mentioned, urge incontinence is often accompanied by frequency, adding to the inconvenience and unpleasantness of this condition.

The cause of female urge incontinence is not fully understood. What is known is that urge incontinence is often the result of abnormal signals being sent to the brain, resulting in the urge to urinate even when the bladder is not full. In people who do not suffer from urge incontinence, the urge to urinate starts when the bladder is half full, and most people can hold their urine when it is not convenient for them to void. In women with female urge incontinence, the urge to urinate starts sooner, when there is less urine in the bladder. The bladder contracts strongly before it should, and incontinence occurs if there is insufficient time to reach the toilet. The urge to void may occur frequently during both the day and night. Nighttime urgency can rob the sufferer of sleep and lead to leakage of urine while sleeping or frequent trips to the toilet to void, leading to daytime fatigue.

There are some measures that can be tried at home to relieve symptoms of urge incontinence. These measures may not be fully curative, but may decrease episodes of incontinence:

• Do not limit fluid intake - Drink normal amounts of fluid and do not try to limit fluid intake. Doing so may cause urine to become concentrated, further irritating the bladder. On the other hand, don’t drink fluids to excess either, as a full bladder leads to urgency. Aim for 6 to 8 glasses of fluid a day.

• Avoid caffeine - Caffeine may irritate the bladder and cause worsening urgency. Try eliminating caffeine from your diet, which may decrease symptoms of both urgency and frequency.

• Avoid alcohol - Alcohol may also make symptoms worse, so avoiding alcohol may help to decrease symptoms.

• Void only when necessary - It may make sense to void frequently if you suffer from urge incontinence, but this may actually worsen the problem. Bladder retraining is one method used to strengthen the bladder. It involves gradually increasing the time between voids until the bladder can be held for an acceptable period of time. This method is also known as timed voiding, and can strengthen the bladder’s capacity to hold urine before urgency occurs.

• Lose weight - Being overweight places extra pressure on an already overly sensitive bladder. Losing weight if you are overweight may help.

Medications may be useful for treating female urge incontinence, but they are often not fully effective when used alone, without employing bladder retraining techniques. These medications work by blocking the nerve impulses to the bladder that result in the sensation of urgency, thus relaxing the bladder and decreasing episodes of urgency and incontinence. Kegel exercises to strengthen pelvic floor muscles may also be helpful when urge incontinence is accompanied by stress incontinence. Surgery is sometimes used as a last resort when other methods are ineffective and when symptoms are intolerable or are drastically affecting quality of life.

Female urge incontinence can negatively impact lifestyle, including sleep, work and leisure time. Many women find that self-help techniques are moderately successful in improving symptoms of urgency and frequency. When these measures fail, medications or surgery may be offered.

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