Many women are afraid to leave the house in fear of losing urine in public and facing the social consequences. Over time, these problems can affect family relationships and have a major impact on overall quality of life. This disease can also cause financial strain due to its chronic nature and daily need for protection pads. In addition, the overall direct and indirect costs to society for the year 2000 have been estimated to be in the 30 billion dollar range. The two major types of urinary incontinence are termed stress incontinence and overactive bladder.
Stress incontinence is due to loss of support to the bladder neck or a weakened urethral sphincter.
These patients usually describe episodes of loss of urine with coughing, sneezing, or laughing. On the other hand, overactive bladder occurs when the muscle around the bladder contracts uncontrollably forcing urine out at unpredictable times. Treatment of urinary incontinence depends on the specific problem diagnosed and patient preferences. There are many treatment options including pelvic floor exercises with or without the aid of biofeedback, electrical stimulation, and various other equipment to help the patient focus on exercising the correct muscles. New long acting medications have been developed to improve both patient compliance and decrease side effects of medical therapy.