Incontinence

Incontinence is the loss of bladder control, which can cause leaks during everyday activities like laughing, coughing, or exercising. It’s a common condition many women face, but it doesn’t have to disrupt your life. Dr. McMurray and the team offer effective treatment options to manage symptoms, restore confidence, and improve quality of life.

Incontinence Q & A

What is urinary incontinence?

Urinary incontinence, also known as loss of bladder control, is an embarrassing problem, but it’s also a common one. The severity of the symptoms of incontinence can range from occasional urine leakage as the result of a cough or sneeze, to getting the urge to urinate that’s so sudden and strong that you can’t reach the toilet in time.

Are there different types of incontinence?

Urinary incontinence comes in several different varieties. For example, stress incontinence occurs when coughing, sneezing, laughing, exercising, or lifting something heavy puts pressure on the bladder, causing urine to leak. There’s also urge incontinence, which is when you experience a sudden, intense urge to urinate followed by an involuntary loss of urine. Other types of incontinence include:

Overflow incontinence: A frequent and constant dribbling of urine due to a bladder that can’t empty out completely.
Mixed incontinence: More than one type of urinary incontinence.
Fecal incontinence: The inability to control your bowel movements, causing fecal matter to leak unexpectedly from your rectum (also called bowel or anal incontinence).

Urinary incontinence is a symptom that can be caused by everyday habits, an underlying medical condition, or other physical problems. The good news is that Dr. McMurray can treat incontinence, no matter which type you have.

How is incontinence treated?

Dr. McMurray begins each incontinence treatment with a thorough and professional examination. Depending on which type of incontinence you have, she may have to prescribe a combination of treatments.

She’ll usually start by recommending noninvasive treatment methods, such as behavioral techniques. Those include:

Bladder training
Pelvic floor muscle exercises
Electrical stimulation

Dr. McMurray may even combine those techniques with medications to calm an overactive bladder.

Interventional therapies can be used, or as a last resort, surgery might be recommended. Surgery can involve the use of sling procedures, bladder neck suspension, or prolapse surgery. In all cases, Dr. McMurray recommends consulting with her so you can find the best treatment options for your specific needs.