In recent years, stigma and discrimination around conditions such as mental health and the menopause, for example, have thankfully lessened. But for conditions such as urinary incontinence, shame and embarrassment are still pervasive, with many finding the topic taboo and difficult to talk about. With millions of people in the UK experiencing incontinence issues – it’s estimated at around 14 million in total, including men, women and children, and 400 million globally – it’s important we’re able to open up the conversation and seek practical solutions and treatment, instead of resigning ourselves to go through it in silence.
What is bladder leakage?
In simple terms, bladder leakage – also known as urinary incontinence – means the unintentional passing of urine. There are several different types of bladder leakage, which can affect both men and women:
Stress urinary incontinence (SUI)
This is when urine leaks out when the bladder is under physical pressure (when you cough, sneeze or laugh suddenly, for instance). It’s the most common type of bladder leakage for women – only around 10% of male incontinence is SUI – and is often a result of the pelvic floor muscles (or the urethral sphincter) that support the bladder becoming weaker.
Urge incontinence
Sometimes known as “overactive bladder”, urge incontinence is when urine leaks as you feel a sudden, intense urge to pee – the bladder then automatically expels urine, without you being able to stop it from happening. Often there’s little warning, too. If you’re emptying your bladder more than eight times a day or waking several times during the night to urinate, it could be a sign of urge incontinence. It’s usually caused by overactivity of the detrusor muscles, which control the bladder.
Overflow incontinence
Older adults (men especially) are more likely to experience this type of incontinence – also known as “chronic urinary retention” – which happens when your bladder doesn’t empty completely when you urinate, resulting in a constant or episodic flow of urine. It can be caused by an obstruction or nerve damage that stops the bladder from fully emptying, which means it’s often accompanied by frequent urinary tract infections.
There are other types of incontinence too, such as total incontinence – when your bladder can’t store urine at all, resulting in frequent leaks or the constant passing of urine – various neurological bladder disorders, or functional incontinence, where you can’t reach the toilet in time because of difficulties caused by a physical or mental illness. Other things, such as childbirth, obesity, age, or a family history of incontinence, can increase the chance of bladder leakage occurring, too.
Next steps – how to tackle incontinence
Instead of keeping schtum, the first step is to seek medical advice for any kind of urinary incontinence – don’t feel embarrassed or put it off, it’s a common problem which your GP will have seen plenty of times before. It’s easily and quickly diagnosed after a short consultation and, sometimes, a brief examination. It’s important not to ignore it, because not only is dealing with it alone much tougher than with support, but some types of incontinence can be caused by other conditions. Overflow incontinence, for example, might be linked to bladder stones, tumours or conditions such as multiple sclerosis, meaning a prompt diagnosis is key.
Once a diagnosis is in place and it’s understood why you’re experiencing leakage (the good news is that, in many cases, symptoms can be minimised with simple lifestyle changes or treatment), there are plenty of specially-designed products to help make life much easier. TENA is the global leader in products to help manage incontinence, leakage and bladder weakness and understands the importance of effective solutions that really work. The brand is also behind the hugely successful #LastLonelyMenopause campaign – one of the only adverts tackling bladder weakness to actually show urine on screen to encourage those experiencing it to feel less alone and eradicate the stigma of the common condition.
That being said, some people with incontinence can still feel stigma and taboo around the condition, which, in turn, can lead them to feeling excluded from society. Essity – a global hygiene and health company with leading period and intimate care brands such as Bodyform and Modibodi, incontinence brand TENA and compression therapy brand JOBST – has produced a film, Studio Taboo, that features a number of people with a variety of health issues that are still deemed taboo, many of which are invisible. The below clip features Peter explaining how urinary incontinence affects him.
Help is at hand
Research by Essity shows that many people, men in particular, often turn to homemade solutions for urine incontinence. But because TENA Men products are specially designed, with their masculine shields, for example, they’re a much safer bet than anything you can make at home.
The same goes for TENA’s Women range – choose from discreet liners and subtle pads to absorbent underwear specially tailored to your needs and lifestyle, which allow you to get on with life without unwanted leaks holding you back.
Find out more about TENA products, and how they can help you take control of incontinence
