Depending on the type and severity of urinary incontinence, treatment options vary and can involve a combination of laparoscopic surgery, medication, lifestyle and dietary changes, as well as pelvic floor exercise.
- Kegel Exercises: Stronger muscles will reduce the severity of the incontinence or even help prevent it altogether. This can be achieved through performing Kegel exercises regularly, which is done through repeatedly contracting and relaxing your pelvic muscles. You should consult a gynaecologist to find out how to do this correctly.
- Prevent Straining: Prevent factors that place excess pressure and constant straining to your pelvic floor: chronic constipation, chronic coughing, excess weight or constant lifting of heavy items.
- Lifestyle & Diet: Cut down on caffeine and alcohol, which are diuretics and irritate the bladder. Drink more water instead. Do not cut down on water intake thinking that it will help—it will actually worsen the incontinence as it further reduces the bladders capacity.
Various types of medicines are available that serve different purposes—speak to your doctor to find out which may be suitable for you:
- Medicine that helps the bladder relax and thus fill up and store urine better
- Medicine that treats urge incontinence through blocking certain nerves
- Medicine that improves the muscle tone of the urethra and thus keeping it closed better
Should the problem persist in spite of conservative treatment methods, surgery may now have to be considered.
It is worth thinking if you plan to have future pregnancies, as some women may wish to wait until they are done having children before opting for surgery; because the strain of pregnancy and childbirth can sometimes affect the results of otherwise successful surgical treatments.
Of all the surgical procedures available for treating stress urinary incontinence in women, the Tension-Free Vaginal Tape (TVT) is the most well-researched and preferred method in most cases. Designed to provide support for a sagging and weakened urethra, the cure rate (depending on patient profile) stands between 80% and 90% even after 10 years.
In TVT, a mesh tape will be placed under the urethra like a sling to keep it in its normal position, keeping the urethra and bladder neck closed.
Why “tension-free”? Because the doctor will carefully adjust the tightness (tension) of the tape such that it is just enough to support the urethra—not too much, and not too little. For instance, if the patient is not under general anaesthesia, she may be asked to cough so that the doctor can check and adjust the tension of the tape.
The tape will be inserted through tiny incisions in the abdomen and vaginal wall, with no sutures required and is held permanently in place. This is typically performed as a day procedure under anaesthesia with just a one night’s hospital stay and full recovery takes one to four weeks.
Talk to a gynaecologist if you still have bladder problems six weeks after delivery. Accidental leaking of urine may mean that you have another medical condition. The loss of bladder control should be treated or it can become a worse or long-term problem.
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