Have you ever experience any of these symptoms?- When you cough, sneeze, laugh, exercise or lift something heavy and urine leaks out. You experience frequent urination (more than 7 times per day), urine leaks in between bathroom trips and need to use a urine absorbing pad. You are afraid to travel or quit some activities due to urinary incontinence. For ladies who have experiences about urine leaks out when you exert pressure on your bladder, you all know that it is a common and distressing problem, which may have a large impact on your quality of life.
If you do not receive an appropriate treatment, it also can raise the chances of other diseases such as cystitis or lower urinary tract infection, vaginitis, chronic constipation and etc. Our Obstetrics and Gynecology specialist at Bangkok Hospital Hua Hin, Dr. Chonticha Chencheewachart said that the urinary incontinence is caused by a loss of control of urethral sphincter or the muscle at the neck of the bladder, a prolapse of the diaphragm muscle in the pelvic cavity, or prolonged holding of urine during long time travelling. These symptoms mostly occur in women who have a natural childbirth, particularly among the elderly population.
The doctor will evaluate your symptoms and perform a pe lvic examination by “Urodynamics”, which is the diagnostic study of pressure in the bladder, it helps the doctor understand the pathological results and suggest how to treating the incontinence. Most people with these symptoms do not seek a proper treatment as they believe that it is normal for those who are getting old and nothing can be done. In fact, the urine leakage can be solved or controlled by using an appropriate treatment and adjustment of the behavior. Pelvic Muscle Exercises will help to reduce problems for those who are just starting to have symptoms, 70% of patients who are strictly on exercises have better improvement and can control the urine flow within 3 months. However, do we know where the Pelvic Muscles are? First, you should sit still on a chair, back straight and feet are on the floor. Then you squeeze your rectum and vagina like when you are holding your urine, the area that you are working on is the pelvic muscles. Women who have the urine leak should perform this pelvic muscle exercises and the recommendation methods is approximately 10 minutes per day:
1. Exercise by lay down and keep your legs straight: Practice to tighten your vagina, like you are trying to lift the pelvic cavity up to the abdomen. At the same time, breathe in and hold, pull in the stomach and count 1 2 3 4 5 (5 seconds). Then breathe out and relax your muscles, repeat 10 times.
2. Exercise by lay down on your back and bend your knees: Practice to tighten same as no. 1
3. Exercise by lay down and lift your hip: Lay down on your back, bend and stretch your knees, and keep your right arm straight. Then practice to tighten same as no. 1, count to 5 seconds and relax your muscles together with slowly down your hip and back to the floor, and repeat 10 times.
4. Exercise by stand up: Extend your legs and stand on both feet, shoulder-length apart, stretch your chest and look straight. Use both hands by grabbing the edge of the table and shift the body weight on your palms. Then practice to tighten same as no. 1.
5. Exercise by stand on your toetips: Feet close together, place your right hand and grab the edge of the table. Stand on your toetips and practice to tighten same as no. 1.
6. Exercise by sit-up: Lay down on your back and bend your knees. Then practice to tighten together with sit-up, count 1 2 3 4 5 or to 10. After that relax your muscles, preparing to start over again and repeat 10 times.
For ladies who have a lot of symptoms and have already practiced the above recommendations but are still unable to solve the urinary incontinence. In the past, we had to treat by surgery or repair. With Thanks to the new technology available at Bangkok Hospital Hua Hin, it can be treated by non-surgical approach with no pain.
In a ddition to the urin e leakage treatment, this technology is deemed as v aginal rejuvenation by s olving the following symp toms of vaginal dryness, vaginal loosening, vaginal infections, recurrent urinary tract infections and etc. This solution improves the quality of life on both good physical and mental health to a number of women. Obstetrics – Gynecology Clinic, Bangkok Hospital Hua Hin
