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Male
Urinary Incontinence: Six Types of Urinary Incontinence In Men
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Male
urinary incontinence will affect roughly 50% of men during the course
of their life time. For many men it will only be a temporary situation
that may or may not return and for others it will be a chronic problem
that will last a life time. However, behavior modifications, medical
procedures, various therapies, and tested and proven medications along
with new and innovative products can help most men live a quality life
filled with an active and social curriculum, and in more and more cases
a complete cure.
Male urinary incontinence for the most part has always taken a back
seat to female urinary incontinence, in terms of manufacturers
marketing their full line of product exclusively to women with the
understanding men were welcomed to use them if they could. And the
stigma of being a sufferer of urinary incontinence dissuaded many men
from seeking out medical help, not to mention urinary incontinence
products. Male urinary incontinence is categorized under five different
types of incontinence and with each type comes a reason and explanation
for its occurrence as well as treatment(s).
1) Stress
Incontinence: Stress
incontinence
is usually associated with females who are pregnant
or who have recently given birth. Stress incontinence is defined as the
leakage of urine upon laughing, coughing, sneezing, or doing
practically any kind of physical activities. However, men who have
undergone a prostatectomy or surgical removal or the prostate, often
experience a temporary condition of stress incontinence. In most cases,
after healing from the surgery is complete the stress incontinence
condition radically dissipates or become totally non existent, although
for a small percentage of men it becomes a permanent condition.
2) Urge or Urgency
Incontinence: Urge or
urgency
incontinence usually is the sole province of men and usually is the
result of an overactive bladder (OAB); much like stress
incontinence for women. Urge incontinence is the inability to manage or
control urine; it is the involuntary voiding or passing of urine
without a moments’ notice. Urge incontinence has been the
source behind men having to bolt across the room in a mad dash to reach
the bathroom before he starts urinating on himself. With no way to
stall the tide he runs like mad to reach the urinals in the
bathroom---he never makes it. This scenario is played out time and time
again in the lives of men who suffer with urge incontinence. It is the
reason so many men suffer such devastation and shame in public scenes
and social gatherings, and it has been none to be a spoiler in more
intimate settings as well.
3) Mixed
Incontinence:
Mixed incontinence is a combination of stress and urge or urgency
incontinence together. If you thought having either one of the above
incontinence types was tough, how about having to deal with both at the
same time? That’s the reason why so many men suffer extreme
psychological and emotional problems and ceases to be a part of
society. It’s not uncommon for men who prior to experiencing
any type of urinary incontinence lived an outgoing and active lifestyle
that kept them in the public’s eye, but after suffering with
urge incontinence (not to mention urge and stress) quickly imposes a
self exiled sentence on themselves after having gone through yet
another embarrassing encounter in public. Who is able to endure an
embarrassing encounter in public such as urinating on himself, but
later chooses to return for an encore? Who? That’s why men
who suffer with urge incontinence or mixed incontinence should seek out
medical help immediately for both physical and psychological reasons.
Trying to endure this type of pain and rejection alone is a sure
formula that leads to mental instability and even paranoia
schizophrenia.
4) Functional
Incontinence:
this type of urinary incontinence occurs when someone who suffers from
urinary incontinence in unable or disable and is incapable of getting
to the bathroom on the own and because of that experience urinating on
themselves. For example, a handicap person who cannot walk or stand
(walker assisted) on their own and cannot reach the bathroom in time is
thought to suffer from functional incontinence. Anyone that has some
type of physical limitation that prevents him from using the bathroom
before urinating on himself suffers from functional incontinence. Sad
to say, for many it is a life long condition that will never change.
5) Continuous
Incontinence: when dribbling
or leaking is constant and there is no letup before or after urinating;
this condition is known as continuous incontinence. For some the
condition is light, but for others it can be extremely heavy and very
annoying. Usually when this condition occurs it is due for the most
part to some type of bladder problem. The bladder can become infected
with some type of urinary tract infection (UTI) and refuse to empty its
content or urine. When the bladder remains full for too long a time it
will begin to leak out and when this occurs it can result in a leakage;
continuous leaking that can be traced back to an infected bladder.
Also, an enlarged prostate gland can prevent urine from flowing through
the urethra and out the male sexual organ. When this happens the
bladder can become backed up and begin overflowing; again, this can be
cause continuous leaking.
6) Overflow
Incontinence: Overflow
incontinence
has everything to do with the bladder
and the function or role it plays
in the male urinary system. The bladder like every other organ, system,
cell and molecular makeup was the work of a master craftsman like none
other. And when the human body is working correctly it is a marvel to
behold—truly, a work of art, but there are times when this
masterpiece experience difficulties. The bladder is the storage for
urine in the body. The
kidneys clean the blood of all
waste, extra
water and other impurities and turn it into waste, the waste is sent to
the bladder via the two ureter tubes for storage. The urine will remain
there until it receives a nerve signal from the brain instructing it to
get rid of the urine and send it out of the bladder. It will travel out
of the bladder through the urethra and through the male sexual organ
and out the body and so goes the process of urine expulsion; that is,
when all parts are functioning correctly and there are no hitches.
However, the bladder can become infected with a urinary
tract infection
(UTI), or the brain can become disable for one reason or another and
fail to send the nerve signal to instruct the detrusor muscle inside
the bladder to remove its content or urine. The urethra tube can become
infected and unable to allow urine to flow through it uninhibited, or
the prostate gland can become enlarged thereby preventing the urethra
to act as a clear passageway for the urine to pass through. The point
is this, if there’s any obstruction or disruption in the male
urinary system it could lead to
some type or form of urinary
incontinence, specifically if it involves the bladder directly.
In conclusion, the urinary system in men is an extremely complicated
and delicate masterful composition that is unlike any other. Its beauty
lies in its unparallel precision and synchronization; its unknowable
nature and yet its inherently propensity to be known.
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