Urinary Incontinence

What is urinary incontinence?

Urinary incontinence is an issue involving a lack of control over your bladder. It causes you to leak urine when you don’t intend to and can often cause inconvenience or embarrassment. There are several types of urinary incontinence, including:

• Stress incontinence: urinating after pressure from coughing, laughing, or lifting
• Urge incontinence: sudden need to urinate and trouble reaching the bathroom
• Overflow incontinence: urinating involuntarily because your bladder doesn’t fully empty
• Mixed incontinence: a combination of two or more other types

Thankfully, urinary incontinence is treatable. When you attend an appointment at Women’s Healthcare Consultants of Gwinnett, you should report the characteristics of your urinary incontinence to your provider. They can help you explore various treatments to help you hold your urine more effectively and improve your quality of life. 

What causes urinary incontinence?

Urinary incontinence is especially common in women because many common causes are related to the women’s reproductive system and processes. In many cases, urinary incontinence is a symptom of an underlying condition. Common causes of persistent urinary incontinence in women are:

• Pregnancy
• Muscle weakening from childbirth
• Menopause 
• General aging
• Neurological disorders
• Obstructions (tumors, urinary stones)

You’re also more likely to get urinary incontinence if you’re overweight or if you smoke. The team at Women’s Healthcare Consultants of Gwinnett can help you identify all of the factors leading to your urinary incontinence and the factors that worsen it. 

What are my treatment options for urinary incontinence?

At Women’s Healthcare Consultants of Gwinnett, the team works with you to develop a treatment plan appropriate for your urinary incontinence. Although they might recommend surgery for a few cases, their approach isn’t to give surgery to everyone. There are several nonsurgical treatments available, and lifestyle changes like weight loss and practicing pelvic floor exercises can help. Your nonsurgical treatment options include:

ThermiVa®

ThermiVa is a popular vaginal revitalization treatment. By delivering radiofrequency into your vagina to heat your tissues, it stimulates the production of strengthening and firming collagen fibers. The added collagen helps tighten your tissues to gain better control over your urine. 

InTone®

InTone is a nonsurgical form of pelvic floor rehabilitation that works by stimulating muscle contractions to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles. This helps you gain better control over your bladder and avoid unintentional leakage and accidents. 

If you’d like to explore nonsurgical treatments for urinary incontinence further, call Women’s Healthcare Consultants of Gwinnett, or book an appointment online for a treatment consultation today.