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Urinary incontinence is one of the most common complaints reported during a visit to a gynecologist. More or less urinary incontinence occurs in almost 50% of women of all ages, most often after 45 years of age.
The problem concerns mainly women who have undergone severe surgical deliveries, and the severity of disorders is associated more with complications of childbirth than with the number of pregnancies. Quite common in women, the involuntary leakage of a small amount of urine should not be recognized as urinary incontinence, and an attempt to treat these cases indicates ignorance of the physiology of the bladder and urethra.
According to the currently adopted division, there are five basic forms of urinary incontinence:
• urgency incontinence,
• reflex urinary incontinence,
• overflow incontinence,
• extra-sphincteric urinary incontinence,
• stress incontinence.
Urinary incontinence due to urgency this is the involuntary leakage of urine due to a forced urge to urinate due to a sensory oversensitivity of the bladder or an unstable detrusor muscle. The main symptoms are: compulsive urge to urinate, frequent, small amounts of urine, and urinary incontinence combined with urge to urinate.
Reflex urinary incontinence it is the involuntary leakage of urine due to involuntary and unrestrained contractions of the detrusor muscle. The primary cause of this disorder is damage or neurological disease to the areas around the spinal cord and brain that control the bladder innervation.
Overflow incontinence it is involuntary urination with an overfilled or stretched bladder. This form of urinary incontinence is caused by a disruption of the bladder emptying mechanism. The coexistence of additional symptoms, such as painful urge to urinate, fatiguing urinary retention, and nocturnal urination depends on the duration of the disease.
Extra-sphincteric urinary incontinence it is involuntary urination through an anatomical fistula, i.e. an abnormal connection between the urinary tract and the vagina. The causes of this type of urinary incontinence include ectopic ureter, ureterovaginal fistula, vesicovaginal fistula, and urethro-vaginal fistula.
Urinary incontinence – read more on this topic