Urge Incontinence

Urge is an intense desire to pass urine. And when the desire becomes too often and you have to visit the loo just for the fear of leakage, the condition is called urgency. If it actually starts leaking with an uncontrollable urge: this is Urge Incontinence.

Urge Incontinence may be a temporary phenomenon when it occurs with an underlying cause which can be a urinary infection, stone in the bladder, decreased capacity, an obstruction ahead (bladder outlet obstruction-BOO) or a bladder tumour. Often there is no underlying cause and the condition is called an Overactive bladder i.e a bladder which keeps on contracting to expel urine in times when it is supposed to store. this results in frequent leaks of urine often sudden without a warning and in copious amounts.

In case one suffers from this condition, it requires a visit to urologist for a basic evaluation to rule out the cause. treatment of the cause mostly results in cure. If suffering from OAB (urge incontinence without any underlying cause), then a meticulous bladder diary helps in understanding the dynamics of your bladder and tips to control the situation without any medicines. In addition a training in pelvic floor exercises helps to inhibit the sudden urges. this is possible to understand in doctors clinic with or without biofeedback machines.

In cases where this is not sufficient, addition of bladder suppressants (anticholinergic drugs) is the next step and a dose can be titrated depending on the response and balancing the side effects like dry mouth and constipation.

In non responders or patients where side effects are not tolerable, one can go for injections of botulinum toxin in the bladder or Neuromodulation implants.

Video clip in hindi: https://youtu.be/uMdvS6vbyCg