The prevalence of urinary incontinence increases with age, with an overall prevalence of 38% in women and 17% in men. This article discusses the different types of incontinence, their causes, and the possible mechanisms underlying incontinence resulting from medications. The drugs may cause stress incontinence, urge incontinence, or overflow incontinence. Furthermore, carcinogens or inflammatory agents in the urine are in close proximity to the epithelium for prolonged periods when they are stored in the bladder. 1 Since drugs are frequently metabolized and excreted in the urine, the lower urinary tract is particularly vulnerable to adverse effects. 1Ī number of medications have been proposed as possible causes of drug-induced urinary incontinence, including alpha 1-adrenoceptor antagonists, antipsychotics, benzodiazepines, antidepressants, and drugs used for hormone replacement therapy. A number of factors may be responsible, including disease and adverse effects of medical treatment. Disturbances of this storage function of the bladder lead to urinary incontinence.
This means that the bladder must store urine for several hours, a feature that requires the musculature of the bladder-outflow tract to contract to generate resistance. In healthy humans, voiding occurs at intervals several times a day, even though the kidneys produce urine continuously. The pharmacist should consider urinary incontinence–inducing drugs when reviewing patient profiles. Pharmacologic agents including oral estrogens, alpha-blockers, sedative-hypnotics, antidepressants, antipsychotics, ACE inhibitors, loop diuretics, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and calcium channel blockers have been implicated to some degree in the onset or exacerbation of urinary incontinence. The Agency for Health Care Policy and Research identified four types of urinary incontinence: stress, urge, mixed, and overflow. Excessive alcohol consumption can also cause episodes of incontinence in otherwise healthy adults.ABSTRACT: Urinary incontinence affects both men and women, and especially the elderly.
#Functional incontinence full
Instances of this sort will often result in full emptying of the bladder, but are likely to be one-off or rare occurrences. If a suitable place to urinate does not become available, the person may reach a stage where they are no longer able to refrain from urination and involuntary voiding of the bladder may take place. For example, a person may recognise the need to urinate but are unable to do so because there is no toilet or suitable alternative nearby or access to a toilet is restricted or prohibited.
#Functional incontinence how to
For example, a person with Alzheimer's disease may not plan well enough to reach a bathroom in time or may not remember how to get to the bathroom.įunctional incontinence can also occur at any age in circumstances where there is no underlying medical problem. Functional incontinence is more common in elderly people as many of the causes are associated with conditions that affect people as they age.
These include confusion, dementia, poor eyesight, impaired mobility or dexterity or unwillingness to use the toilet due to depression or anxiety. There are a number of causes of functional incontinence. The loss of urine can vary, from small leakages to full emptying of the bladder. Type of urinary incontinence caused by lack of access to a toiletįunctional incontinence is a form of urinary incontinence in which a person is usually aware of the need to urinate, but for one or more physical or mental reasons they are unable to get to a bathroom.