Beat The Bladder Blues

This winter, visitors to central Australia will see an unusual sight. Lake Eyre actually contains water.

Away from the coastal strip it seems our countryside can change from drought conditions to flood without much warning. Our weather is unpredictable.

However, we can say with great certainty that, at the personal level, over one million adult Australians suffer water problems every day of the year. Incontinence is the medical term applied to bladder control problems or the leakage of urine.

To coincide with National Continence Awareness Week (July 31 – August 4), pharmacies around Australia which provide the Self Care health information are distributing a recently revised fact card titled "Incontinence and Bladder Control". The card not only highlights the extent of the problem of incontinence but also identifies ways to prevent or control it.

Studies show that women are seven or eight times more likely to be affected with incontinence than men. In fact, most women at some stage in life will experience incontinence, even if only of a mild nature. Even so, men are not immune from plumbing problems – prostate gland enlargement is frequently the cause.

As we get older, incontinence becomes more prevalent and more severe. More than half of all residents in nursing homes – both men and women – have bladder control problems.

However, the news is not all bad. Great progress has been made in the treatment of common bladder control problems using simple exercises and bladder training programs. With proper assessment and treatment incontinence can sometimes be cured, often improved and always made more manageable.

Yet, less than 40% of incontinent people ever seek professional help. Perhaps because they are too embarrassed or too busy. Possibly they think nothing can be done or that it is normal with ageing or after childbirth.

"Waterworks Education" is one of the major aims of the Continence Foundation of Australia. This national organisation seeks also to assist people with bladder control problems and to promote and fund research into the causes, prevention and management of incontinence.

Remember, incontinence is a symptom – not a disease. Stress incontinence is due to weak pelvic floor muscles when leakage occurs with sudden exertion – for instance, coughing, sneezing, laughing or lifting. So-called urge incontinence is due to overactive contractions of the bladder; it may be triggered by bladder infection or stress and anxiety. And overflow incontinence occurs when the bladder becomes too full, possibly caused by an obstruction, forcing the urine to dribble out.