Can postpartum urinary incontinence be recovered?

Written by Du Rui Xia
Obstetrics
Updated on September 05, 2024
00:00
00:00

Most cases of urinary incontinence postpartum in women are treatable. To manage postpartum urinary incontinence, it is essential to develop good urination habits. Patients with postpartum urinary incontinence should urinate every two to three hours. This practice can help train the bladder control muscles and enhance the new mother’s awareness of urination. Each time you urinate, try to empty the bladder completely to train the pelvic floor muscles. Regularly performing exercises that strengthen the pelvic floor muscles can increase their contraction and control abilities, alleviating cases of urinary incontinence. Most conditions can improve; however, more severe cases may require further treatment.

Other Voices

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Zou De Bo
Urology
37sec home-news-image

"What tests should be done for urinary incontinence?"

Urinary incontinence is due to damage to the bladder sphincter or nerve dysfunction, resulting in the loss of voluntary control over urination, causing involuntary leakage of urine. This condition is more common in females than males, especially in women over fifty years of age. Some routine examinations for this condition include: First, urinalysis. Second, measuring residual urine volume, cystourethrography, bladder pressure tests, and then standing cystography. Additionally, tests such as urodynamic studies are helpful.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Wang Shuai
Urology
1min 1sec home-news-image

Is urinary incontinence related to anything?

There are many causes of urinary incontinence. For example, the most common type, stress urinary incontinence, is related to the relaxation of the pelvic floor muscles and the bladder's detrusor muscle. Conditions like pelvic organ prolapse, as well as factors like being a mature mother or excessive obesity, can lead to stress urinary incontinence. Urgency urinary incontinence is often caused by severe bladder inflammation or associated with certain chronic diseases, such as diabetes or bladder neck sclerosis. Overflow incontinence, most commonly seen in elderly males, typically results from prostate enlargement that blocks the urethra, leading to urinary retention and consequently overflow incontinence. Therefore, to understand the specific causes of urinary incontinence, it is crucial first to differentiate the types of incontinence and combine this with the patient’s specific situation and related examinations for a clear diagnosis.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Deng Heng
Colorectal Surgery
45sec home-news-image

How to express fecal incontinence

Fecal incontinence, also known as anal incontinence, means that when the function of the anus is impaired, feces or intestinal fluid involuntarily leaks out of the anus. Therefore, it can be divided into two aspects: the first aspect is that some people only have incontinence of liquid stool, not solid feces; the other is that both solid and liquid stools are incontinent, both can involuntarily leak out, with the latter scenario being more severe. The causes are generally due to damage to the anus, congenital anomalies of the anus, damage to the anal sphincter, or diseases of the anus, among other reasons.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Chen Tian Jing
Colorectal Surgery
58sec home-news-image

Can fecal incontinence be recovered?

If fecal incontinence occurs, the first step is to identify the main cause of the fecal incontinence. If it is caused by relaxation of the anal sphincter and anal canal, then surgery can be performed to tighten this area, specifically through an anal tightening procedure, which can restore control over fecal incontinence. If the patient has other underlying diseases or is elderly and frail, accompanied by changes in the nervous system, the symptoms of fecal incontinence may be alleviated through medication or physical therapy, but complete recovery is unlikely. This is because the recovery of the nervous system requires the integrated regulation of other bodily organs and functions. If there are multiple underlying diseases or if the patient is elderly and frail, especially in the later stages of coma, recovery is difficult.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Zhou Yan
Geriatrics
1min 2sec home-news-image

What causes urinary incontinence in the elderly?

Urinary incontinence in the elderly varies due to different mechanisms and types, with the two most common categories being genuine urinary incontinence, which is due to neurogenic bladder dysfunction or overactive detrusor muscles, damage to the urethral sphincter, or loss of bladder storage function. These are commonly seen in conditions like chronic stroke, dementia, Parkinson's disease, and psychiatric diseases. The other major category is caused by relaxation of the urethral sphincter or pelvic floor muscles surrounding the urethra, leading to reduced urethral pressure. Incontinence in this category may occur when negative pressure increases, such as during coughing, sneezing, straining during bowel movements, or changing body position. This type of urinary incontinence is more common in elderly women and in elderly men who have had prostate removal, leading to damage to the external urethral sphincter.