Incontinence During Menopause

Do you know what the most upsetting symptom of menopause is, even more embarrassing than weight gain? This is urinary incontinence. As a woman approaches menopause, there are high chances that she might have to experience this most uncomfortable sign of all menopausal symptoms. In incontinence, menopausal women have decreased control over the urinary bladder and so they tend to urinate even while sneezing or laughing. Generally, this is noticed in people of late ages, somewhere at the age of 45 and above, and so it is natural and obvious to be seen in menopausal women. However, having incontinence during menopause does not necessarily indicate aging in you.

So, urinary incontinence can be defined as the inability to have power over one’s bladder. During the menopause, a few women might feel the drips of urine rarely while laughing or with just a single body-shaking sneeze or its episode. On the other hand, in others, these episodes are frequent, uncontrollable, and heavier; which are not always associated with the laughter and sneeze. This means that the severity of incontinence differ from one woman to another with varying causes.

In a menopause woman, it is natural that the amount of hormone production declines resulting in a variety of physical changes of which one is incontinence. Because of the embarrassing feelings that a woman undergo, it is necessary to treat this menopausal symptom. But, to do so, it is best to first know about its causes, symptoms, and finally what treatments are available in the market. This is because only complete knowledge can bring you out of this symptom. So, read on to learn about incontinence.
 

• Some StatisticsAs per the studies, in USA alone, around 13 million people are suffering from incontinence of which some 85% are women. In addition, over 40% of the menopausal women tend to experience incontinence and that the same percentage of postmenopausal women can fight with this most uneasy symptom successfully. 
• Incontinence Symptoms These are related to the types of incontinence, which are often experienced during menopause. But, here, I will simply list a few of them. To know the symptoms as per the type, kindly read the article that is exclusively dedicated to the symptoms of incontinence. Some of the common symptoms of incontinence are urine leaks while sneezing, laughing, or coughing; urine leaks upon lifting or running; urge to urinate so badly that you cannot even reach a toilet; and urine dribbling even after urinating. Now, its time to have a look at its causes.
• Causes of Incontinence Among all the types of incontinence, the stress incontinence is the most common in menopausal women, especially when they are in the postmenopausal stage. So, many women are eager to know the cause of this incontinence. Generally, this type is almost the result of hormonal imbalance, specially the reduced levels of estrogen. This is because estrogen keeps those muscles strong, which aid in controlling the bladder.
  
  Besides hormonal, there are some more causes of incontinence, which tend to be attributed to the urge or overflow incontinence. These triggers are infections, depression, and weight gain. This means that even other menopausal symptoms can bring in incontinence or can even worsen the condition. Do not stop reading as the main section, treatment options for incontinence, comes up next.
• Incontinence Treatment You will be delighted to know that all types of incontinence are treatable. In fact, there are a variety of options to treat this symptom. As with the other menopausal symptoms, the treatment of incontinence also begins from the least obtrusive option (lifestyle changes), followed by additional measures (alternative medicines) and drugs or surgery.
  
  For a menopausal woman, the best way to ease incontinence is to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles that regulate the bladder by doing some exercise. But, if this alone is not effective, think of combining lifestyle changes and alternative medicines to fight incontinence. The medicines here involve certain herbs that increase the amount of production of hormones in the body.
  
  Only in case of extreme or prolong incontinence, it becomes mandatory to seek advice from a healthcare professional for surgical or pharmaceutical options.