Suffering From Urinary Incontinence?

How your urologist in Hollywood, FL, can help with urinary incontinence

Urinary incontinence isn’t a topic most people want to talk about, but it’s a common condition and your urologist can help. Dr. Jonathan Masel at Masel Urology Center in Hollywood, FL, provides a wide range of urology services, including treatment for incontinence.

Incontinence is caused by improper functioning of the sphincter muscles, which are unable to close the urethra. Incontinence can also be caused by nerve problems affecting the bladder muscles and urethra.

When you suffer from urinary incontinence, you may experience:

• A strong urge to urinate
• Losing small amounts of urine when you sneeze, laugh, or exercise

Women are much more likely to suffer from incontinence due to:

• Pregnancy
• Childbirth
• Menopause

These conditions cause a woman’s pelvic floor muscles to weaken. The pelvic muscles support both the bladder and urethra. Weak pelvic floor muscles cause the urinary tract muscles to compensate by working harder to control urination. The extra stress can cause urine leakage.

You can help minimize occasional incontinence if you try:

• Doing Kegel exercises to strengthen pelvic floor muscles
• Urinating at set times to train your bladder
• Increasing the time between urination by 15-minute intervals to help hold urine
• Losing weight to decrease pressure on your bladder and bladder muscles
• Avoiding caffeine, carbonated drinks, and alcohol to help minimize symptoms
• Quitting smoking to improve your overall health and decrease symptoms
• Getting help for constipation, which can make incontinence worse
• Wearing pads or protective underwear to help control leakage

You should seek out help from a urologist if your incontinence is so frequent or severe that it is affecting your daily life.

Your urologist can perform diagnostic testing to determine what is causing your incontinence. If the incontinence is caused by an infection, your urologist will treat the infection and may recommend additional lifestyle modifications to limit your symptoms.

To learn more about the causes and treatment of incontinence, call Dr. Jonathan Masel at Masel Urology Center in Hollywood, FL. You can reach him in the office by calling (954) 961-7500, so call today.