Causes of Incontinence in Menopause

Incontinence needs your urgent attention without which you won’t be able to get rid of it. But, that would first involve knowing the causes of incontinence followed by treatments available. Ok, we will first start with the most common type of incontinence that is stress incontinence. As this is commonly seen in women who have approached menopause or who have entered the postmenopausal stage, it’s easy to detect the root cause behind it. It can be none other than the hormonal imbalance. Here, the hormone referred is estrogen. So, you now know that one of the causes is hormonal by nature. However, there are other causes of incontinence too. So, check out for all of them!
 

• Hormonal CausesEstrogen is responsible for making a woman’s muscles strong. These also include those muscles that allow a woman to gain control over the bladder. In addition, estrogen also plays an important role in maintaining the fitness of the urinary tract lining. So, whenever a drop in the estrogen level is witnessed in the body especially as the woman enters her menopause transition, the muscles no longer remain stronger and weaken declining the control over the urinary bladder. 
• Other Causes of Incontinence Despite the fact that the reducing estrogen level is the major cause of incontinence in menopausal women, there are many more causes of incontinence closely attributing to the urge or overflow incontinence. Listed below are these causes of incontinence.
• Infections in bladder or urethra
• Past pregnancies
• Nerve damage due to diabetes or stroke
• Heart disorders
• Medicines such as diuretics (water pills) and tranquilizers
• Depression
• Weight gain
• Difficulty in moving and walking
• Too much intake of fluid or drinking late at night
• Irritation of the bladder due to smoking or influx of some liquids like citrus juices or caffeine
• Weakening of the pelvic muscle, nerves, and ligaments because of aging or previous damage due to childbirth including the deliveries using forceps
• Nerve disorders, multiple sclerosis

Now, it is time to look for the causes as per the type of incontinence.

• Types and Causes Listed below are the types of incontinences along with their causes.
• Stress Incontinence: The main cause is due to the hyper mobility of the urethra (the tube from the bladder coming outside). This happens because of the problems of the pelvis’ muscles – they weaken with the increasing age, which also weakens the walls between the bladder and the vagina. One more, but rare cause of stress incontinence is a muscle defect in the urethra, which is called intrinsic sphincter deficiency wherein the sphincter is a muscle that normally never allows the urine to leave the bladder for passing through the urethra.
• Urge Incontinence (Overactive Bladder): The main causes are urinary tract infections, bladder irritants, bowel problems, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, stroke, and nervous system damage.
• Overflow Incontinence: Herein, significant pelvic organ prolapse (such as a prolapsed uterus); surgery to rectify incontinence (sling or bladder neck suspension procedures); and neurologic factors such as herniated lumbar disc, diabetes-based bladder problems, and other nerve problems including peripheral neuropathy are the prominent causes. The rare causes of overflow incontinence are AIDS, genital herpes affecting the parts around the urethra, and neurosyphilis.
• Mixed Incontinence: This is caused by a combination of any two above stated incontinence. Damaged bladders, nerve damage due to diabetes, or blocked urethras are some of the causes of this problem.
• Functional Incontinence: Here, the main cause is the disease of the patient due to which she cannot reach the toilet. Examples include Alzheimer’s and acute arthritis.
• Gross Total Incontinence: : The causes are anatomical defect from birth, injuries of the spinal cord, damage to the urinary system, and unusual opening (fistula) between the bladder and an adjoining part such as the vagina.

So, if you know the cause, you can really choose such a treatment option that can directly eradicate the cause of your incontinence.