Self-care
Problems with
urine leakage may require you to take extra care to keep your skin clean
and dry. You may need to use a washcloth to clean and dry yourself.
Products such as powders, moisturizers and deodorizing tablets are
available that can help you feel clean and eliminate urine odor.
Coping skills
People cope with
urinary incontinence in a variety of ways. Some people choose to wear
absorbent pads and never mention the problem to anyone. Perhaps you cope
by always carrying an extra set of clothes with you, in case of an
accident. Or you manage by staying at home or only going to places that
have easily accessible toilets. You may even cut back on drinking
liquids — and risk dehydration — to avoid wetting episodes.
But there are
better ways to manage urinary incontinence, and new treatments for
incontinence are continually being discovered. That's why it's important
to see your doctor.
Many people feel
embarrassed about incontinence. But it's a common problem. And
fortunately, the stigma surrounding this condition is slowly eroding.
Many people are discussing it with more openness. Pharmaceutical
companies are now advertising medications for overactive bladder on
television, increasing awareness of the problem.
Talk to your
doctor about treatments for incontinence. You'll be on your way to
regaining an active and confident life — and control of your bladder.
Synthetic Estrogen
Pills Cause Urinary Incontinence in Over Half of Women
Estrogen pills, those
with or without progestin, may increase women's risk of becoming
incontinent, or make the condition worse in those who already have it,
according to the Women's Health Initiative study. It was previously
thought that the hormone pills would prevent incontinence, and many
doctors had prescribed them specifically to treat it.
In the study of over
27,000 women between the ages of 50 and 79, those who took estrogen
pills for one year were 53 percent more likely to develop urinary
incontinence than those who took a placebo. Women who took pills with
both estrogen and progestin had a 39 percent increased risk.
Risks for stress
incontinence, in which urine leakage is preceded by pressure on the
abdomen from sneezing, laughing, walking or coughing, were most severe.
Women taking estrogen pills more than doubled their risk of stress
incontinence, while those on combined estrogen and progestin pills had
similar risks.
In terms of women who
already had incontinence, compared with women taking a placebo those
taking estrogen pills had a 60 percent greater risk that it would worsen
in a year, while those on the combined pills had a 20 percent greater
risk of worsening.
The same study
previously found that hormone pills increase the risk of:
The findings prompted
millions of menopausal women to quit using the hormones. In fact,
prescriptions for the pills fell to 11 million in the first half of 2004
(after the study was released), down from 16 million in the beginning of
2002.
