What forms of urinary loss are there?

It is not a disease, but a phenomenon or symptom that can have several causes. Unwanted urine loss / urinary incontinence can occur at any age, both in men and women. However, women and seniors are most affected.

Effects of unwanted urine loss.

Unwanted urine loss can have a major impact on social life.
Regular daily things like trips, sports activities, festivities... become something to look up to.
Always those uncertainties, I'm well protected, the moisture isn't because of my clothes, there's no one who smells it,
These uncertainties can lead to a feeling of shame and put people into social isolation.
Also, wearing disposable bandages can cause skin irritations.

Both psychologically and physically unwanted urine loss is a problem not to be underestimated.

How does the bladder work?

The urinary tract consists of the kidneys that form the urine, the urethra, the bladder and the ureter. From the kidneys the urine goes through the urennars to the bladder where the urine is stored.

The bladder of an adult person may contain (theoretically) 1500ml urine, but most people can only stop their puddle until the bladder contains approximately 800ml urine.
In practice, the bladder is usually never fuller than the above amount. Some people are already getting a 200ml bladder volume of pressure to urinate.

With an average fluid intake, a person produces one to one and a half liters of urine per day and goes to the toilet four to six times a day.

What forms of urinary loss are there?

The most common forms of urinary loss/urinary incontinence are stress or exercise incontinence, urge incontinence and drip incontinence.
Mixed forms are also present.

Stress incontinence / exercise incontinence

Stress incontinence, also called exercise incontinence is the most common form of incontinence.

Women are particularly affected by this.

This is urine loss when coughing, sneezing, laughing, pressing, lifting something, exercising or jumping and sometimes even if you get through well, i.e. when you suddenly twitch the abdominal muscles which increases the pressure in the abdomen and increases the stress on the bladder, so anything where stress = pressure comes on the pelvic floor.

The cause is a poor functioning of the shutting mechanism of the bladder. Usually weakened pelvic floor muscles lie at the basis of the problem.
This can have several causes: pregnancy and childbirth, after surgery or radiation in the small pelvis, age, hormonal changes...
Overweight people also suffer more often from stress incontinence/effort incontinence.

Emotional incontinence/Urge incontinence

It is a sudden and unprejudicable urge to pee, and sometimes not reach the toilet in time.
This is caused by involuntary contraction of the bladder muscle or an overactive bladder, which causes the urine to be squeezed out of the blotch.

It is the most common type of urine loss in men.

Here too, there are many possible causes: bladder instability, surgery or radiation in the small pelvis, enlargement of the prostate, neurological disorders, bladder polyps, bladder inflammation, urinary tract infection, age plays a role, hormonal changes...

Drop incontinence

In this case, you can lose both drops and small splashes of urine. Both men and women may experience drip incontinence.

Drop-in incontinence in women can be caused by a malfunctioning locking mechanism of the bladder, the bladder's shut-out system does not work properly. The bladder remains open at all times, resulting in drop-down of the pee. A delivery or gynecological procedure may cause this. In women, drip incontinence can also be a transitional phenomenon or caused by bladder swelling, an enlarged uterus or ovaries, or by urinary tract infection.

Men are mainly affected by urine loss when something is going on with the prostate. Their main complaint is that they lose unwanted urine drops after the toilet visit.

This is a common problem in men between 30 and 80 years of age.

The medical term for this post-drip is post-micturition dribbling (PMD), which can cause uncomfortable situations, such as the unexpected appearance of wet spots in clothing.

The afterdrop in men is caused by leftover urine in the urethra. This tube passes from the bladder to the penis and may contain residual urine after urination. Drupel incontinence in men can have multiple causes such as loosening of pelvic floor muscles, prostate problems, blood flow problems, after surgical procedures that affect the action of the urinary bladder shut-off muscle, but radiation can also cause you to be confronted with drupelin incontinence.

Mixed incontinence

Mixed incontinence is mentioned when multiple forms of incontinence occur together, for example some people have a combination of exertion incontinence and urge incontinence.

How many people are suffering from urine loss?

Both men and women may suffer from unwanted urine loss, but in women it is twice as common as in men.

One in four women and one in nine men are exposed to unwanted urine loss in their lives.

Around 7 percent suffer daily. Most common (60 percent) is stress incontinence, also called exercise incontinence so losing urine when sneeze, laugh or exertion.

Stress or exertion incontinence is also common in young women, especially after childbirth. About 25% of young mothers are affected by it after delivery.

How do people in everyday life deal with urine loss, and what is the solution?

Urine incontinence is not a disease and can not be very bad either, but it is very annoying. Wet spots in clothes or nasty smells are the last thing you want. By feeling shame, feeling dirty, getting out of the way of sexual contact and fear that outsiders would notice something of urine loss, some people's quality of life is greatly deteriorating.

People with urinary incontinence often delay the use of suitable incontinence material. They first seek other solutions, such as very often going to the toilet, drinking as little as possible or using ordinary sanitary towels. Often, this makes the problems worse because new symptoms such as bladder inflammation, dehydration symptoms, irritations of the skin. The use of sanitary bandages or inlay crosses is not recommended because they are less suitable for taking urine and even give a slightly increased risk of bladder inflammation.

Disposable dressings especially for urine loss can cause skin irritation, are uncomfortable and are expensive to use.

In case of urinary incontinence, good and reliable incontinence material (often temporary) is indispensable. It must be safe and comfortable, but also discreet.

How can you prevent or reduce unwanted urine loss?

With these simple tips you can prevent or reduce unwanted urine loss:

• Do not delay the peeing too long. Take your time to empty your bladder completely.
• Take a natural sitting position on the toilet with your feet flat on the ground and your legs slightly spread.
• Relax your pelvic bottom muscles and let the urine flow without pressing or tightening your abs. Do not interrupt the urination, as it can help in incontinence.
• Press as little as possible during bowel movements. If you have constipation, you should eat more fruit and vegetables.
• Make sure you drink enough, it is important to drink 1.5 to 2 litres a day to avoid dehydration symptoms, kidney problems and urinary tract infections. Drinking alcohol, coffee and tea will give you a faster urge to pee.
• Make your pelvic floor muscles stronger during the day by regularly tightening them.
• Avoid exertion incontinence by pre- and postnatal gymnastics.
• Fight obesity and ensure a healthy weight.
  This can help to reduce the pressure on the bladder and pelvic floor muscles, which can improve the sphincter function.
• Are you taking medicines for another condition? Ask your doctor if they can cause any problems with the urine.
  If this is the case, your GP may reduce the dose or replace it with other medications.