Urinary Incontinence

Overview
Twenty million Americans are affected by bladder control problems or urinary incontinence. Are you one of them?

• Do you avoid your favorite sports or activities because the
  exertion causes "leaks?"
• Do you scan the personal care aisle of the supermarket,
  shopping for certain products you never thought you'd need?
• Do you have accidents because you can't reach the toilet in
  time?

If you or someone you know is affected by loss of bladder control, you're not alone. One-third of the U.S. population over age 60 has bladder control problems or urinary incontinence, sometimes known as a leaky bladder.

Overall, adult women are twice as likely as adult men to experience bladder and pelvic health problems because of anatomical differences in the pelvic region, the changes induced by pregnancy and childbirth, and the loss of estrogen after menopause.

Nevertheless, many men suffer from incontinence – often caused by an enlarged prostate gland, surgical removal of the prostate or external beam radiation to treat prostate cancer.

The prevalence of urinary incontinence increases with age in both men and women, but urinary incontinence is not an inevitable part of aging.

There are two main kinds of chronic incontinence.

Stress incontinence occurs when you sneeze, cough, laugh, jog, or do other things that put pressure on your bladder. It is the most common type of bladder control problem in women.

Urge incontinence happens when you have a strong need to urinate but can't reach the toilet in time.

Mixed incontinence is a combination of different types of bladder control problems, usually stress and urge incontinence.

Let the Ingalls Incontinence Treatment Program Help.
Don't let urinary incontinence interfere with your active lifestyle. Let the experts at the Ingalls Incontinence Treatment Program help. Ingalls now offers the area's most comprehensive incontinence treatment programs in four convenient locations, including the main hospital campus in Harvey and at our Family Care Centers in Flossmoor, Tinley Park and Calumet City.