Types of Incontinence

Stress urinary incontinence is the complaint of involuntary leakage that occurs during physical activity, such as coughing, sneezing, laughing or exercise. This is the most common form of incontinence in women and is treatable.

Help with Stress Incontinence

This type of incontinence is generally connected to a weakening of the pelvic floor muscles and usually occurs with sudden physical exertion such as coughing, sneezing, laughing, excercising or heavy lifting.

When dealing with Stress Incontinence, the first step is to see if a few simple, lifestyle changes can make a positive difference.

Keep Drinking

Some people may be tempted to reduce the amount of fluid they drink but this can make their urine more concentrated, aggravating the bladder and making it more active. The recommendation is that they drink as normal, responding to natural thirst. This should be enough to keep the urine a healthy, pale straw colour. Drinking too much will just increase the urge 'to go' so encourage clients to try and keep a healthy balance.

Party Drinks

Life’s for living and bladder weakness should never force clients to curb their pleasures! However, they need to be aware that caffeine, alcohol and fizzy drinks are diuretics, which will make them visit the toilet more often.

Weight Management

There is a link between being overweight and incontinence. So, if clients have a weight problem loosing some extra kilos may help.

Smoking

It is not the smoking itself that causes bladder weakness but the associated coughing that can put pressure on the bladder.

Exercising (without the sweat)

Bladder control can often be improved by pelvic floor exercises, so this kind of physiotherapy is generally regarded as the first treatment for Stress Incontinence. In fact, up to 70% of mild to moderate cases can be improved or even cured by regular and correct pelvic floor exercises over 3 to 6 months but clients have to keep up the exercises to make the effects last. These exercises work by re-establishing control over the muscles that keep the urethra shut. It’s never too late to start – even in their 70s and 80s clients can improve their symptoms. For a step-by-step guide go to pelvic floor exercises.

Whilst your customers are working on their pelvic floor muscles and retraining their bladder they may need help to stay dry.  The most commonly used bladder weakness aids are absorbent incontinence products, such as liners, pads and pants. They protect against urine leakage and odours, and come in a range of sizes and absorbency levels. Click here to learn more about the benefits of incontinence protection.

Functional incontinence means that a person may have a normal voiding function, but incontinence can occur as a result of physical, cognitive or environmental barriers to reaching a toilet when needed.

Help with Functional Incontinence

If a physical or mental disability prevents your clients from getting to a toilet in time, it is not their fault and it is important not to let this cause stress and anxiety.

Incontinence Protection

There is little that can be done medically in these circumstances but the impact of any accidents can be minimise by using incontinence protection.  This will ensure client will always be confident that any accidents will be completely contained keeping them fresh, dry and comfortable.  To determine what products may be best for your clients try our Product Finder.

Toilet Access

When those with a physical or mental disability have the sudden urge 'to go', the last thing they need is an obstacle race to the toilet or a struggle with their clothes. So ensure that you discuss making access to the toilet easy and encourage them to have clothes with velcro fastening or the like to avoid fiddly clothing with awkward fastenings.

Urge urinary incontinence is the complaint of involuntary leakage accompanied by or immediately preceded by urgency. This leakage can occur unexpectedly or in typical situations like after drinking or when touching water. 

Help with Urge Incontinence

Sometimes referred to as an overactive bladder, as the name suggests this is when there is a sudden and unstoppable need ‘to go’.
With this type of incontinence, one way to try to improve it is bladder retraining, which can work in up to 50% of cases. This is where the bladder is encouraged to hold larger amounts of urine for longer and reduce the number of visits to the tiolet.  Encourage this by holding off ‘going’ for as long as possible to stop the bladder ‘exaggerating’ the need to go even when it is only half full. It tends to get easier over time.

Drugs and surgery

In some instances there may be prescription drugs used for the treatment of Urge Incontinence and in some cases a urologist or urogynaecologist may consider surgical procedures. For details on these it is best to consult a continence specialist or urologist. 

Medical Devices

Where bladder retraining is inappropriate, there are some other treatments. The insertion of a catheter with a portable drainage bag may be a temporary measure, particularly if the incontinence is the result of other surgery from which your client is recuperating.

Illnesses such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, Spina Bifida, Multiple Sclerosis or accidental brain damage can interfere with the way the bladder and brain communicate leading to an inability to control the bladder or empty it completely. These are known as Neurological Bladder Disorders.

Help with Neurological Incontinence

Toilet Access

Protection

There is little that can be done medically in these circumstances but the impact of any accidents can be minimise by using incontinence protection.  This will ensure client will always be confident that any accidents will be completely contained keeping them fresh, dry and comfortable.  To determine what products may be best for your clients try our Product Finder.

Combinations of incontinence - and the mix of stress and urge urinary incontinence in particular - are referred to as "mixed incontinence".  Stress and urge urinary incontinence often occur together in women.

Help with Mixed Incontinence

The best advice for Mixed Incontinence is to concentrate on the most dominant symptoms and try and manage these first. You could start by doing pelvic floor exercises for Stress Incontinence or bladder retraining for Urge Incontinence. Then once your main symptoms improve, begin dealing with the other symptoms.

Faecal incontinence is the loss of bowel control, resulting in involuntary passage of faeces. The ability to hold stool and maintain continence requires normal function of the rectum, anus and the nervous system. 

This can be characterized by the occasional leakage of stool with the passage of gas or the complete loss of bowel control

Common causes

• Constipation – causes a weakening of anus and intestines
• Impacted stool in rectum
• Severe diarrhoea
• Anal sphincter muscle damage
• Nerve or other muscle damage
• Gynaecological, prostate or rectal surgery
• Chronic laxative abuse

Help with Faecal Incontinence

Lifestyle intervention

It can help to change the diet: eliminate alcohol and caffeine, and add more fibre to increase bulk of stool.

Bowel retraining

Bowel retraining can help promote a better muscle tone, a trained Continence Nurse Advisor is best suited to oversee this option. 

Interventions

• Medication such as Loperamide (Imodium) to control diarrhoea and potentially eliminate incontinence
• Surgical treatment to rectify a clearly identified cause
• Absorbent incontinence products