Risk Factors of Adult Incontinence
Due to a multiplicity of possible causes of adult incontinence, it is not surprising to know that this condition is common. The following are the risk factors that can increase your chance of acquiring one:
• Sex – women are more likely to acquire urinary incontinence due to tons of different reasons, the most common are childbirth and menopause. However, men who have prostate problems are also at a higher risk of having overflow and urge incontinence.
• Age – when people age, the bodily functions and processes start to slow down and weaken. The same thing happens with the bladder. As people get older, the bladder muscles become weak and experiences difficulty in controlling urine. Hence, old age makes people susceptible to such condition.
• Obesity – being obese and overweight increase the pressure in one’s bladder and the muscles surrounding it. Hence, these muscles are weakened which allow urine leakage when one laughs, coughs or sneezes too much.
• Smoking – smoking results in a number of lifelong and even fatal diseases. One of the less serious results of smoking is adult incontinence as constant coughing brought about by chain smoking puts a lot of stress in one’s urinary sphincter. Longtime chain smokers experience urinary incontinence as well as having an overactive bladder (amongst tons of other illnesses that smoking brings).
• Vascular disease – if you have an extensive vascular disease, then you are at a higher risk of developing an overactive bladder, resulting to chronic incontinence.
• Participation in high-impact sports – while sports is good for the body, high-impact ones such as basketball, running and gymnastics can cause a series of incontinence episodes is healthy women, as these vigorous activities often put too much pressure on the bladder. However, there are no medical records that link high-impact sports with an increased risk of acquiring chronic incontinence.
• Other diseases – having kidney diseases or diabetes increases one’s chance of acquiring adult incontinence.
There are a lot of consequences brought about by urinary incontinence. As such, it is important to discuss with your doctor everything that you experience relating to the condition, no matter how trivial or embarrassing as it may seem. Why so? Firstly, your condition may just be a symptom of a more serious illness that can result in more serious (and even fatal) problems. This is especially true your incontinence is associated with the blood in your urine. Also, if your condition prevents you from doing your usual everyday activities and limit your interactions with other people out of embarrassment brought about by the condition. Lastly, old people who often rush to the toilet due to this condition may increase their risk of falling or slipping just so they can reach the toilet in time.
It is important to bear in mind that although this condition may not be totally harmful to one’s health, it can aggravate to more serious problems if neglected. Before that happens, make sure to ask for your doctor’s help to know everything about your condition. It is always better to be safe than sorry.
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