Urine leakage affects men too. Although the subject may be difficult to address, many men have come to realise that consulting a professional health care provider is the best way of starting to deal with it.
It is estimated that nearly a million French men suffer from incontinence. This problem does not spare forty year-olds with 3-5% of this population suffering incontinence following prostate surgery. This proportion rises with age to reach 10% by the age of 60.
Disease of the prostate, urethra or bladder can weaken the muscle of the pelvic floor. The causes are multiple but so are the answers!
The best option: talk to your general practitioner who knows you. You will be able to consider what to do together.
Don’t let urine leakage ruin your life!
Here are some things you can do on an everyday basis to minimise urine leakage.
Stress urinary incontinence
This form is very rare in men, only really found in those who have undergone certain types of surgery (mainly total prostate removal). It can be caused by physical effort, laughing, sneezing, coughing or lifting a heavy object.
Urge incontinence
Due to an unstable or hyperactive bladder sending an urgent, intense urination message even though the bladder is not full. The need to pass urine is very frequent and comes on before a toilet can be reached. This type of incontinence can result from various diseases, including urinary tract infection, prostatitis, adenoma of the prostate, tumours of the bladder and certain neurological problems.
Mixed incontinence
Combined stress and urge incontinence.
Overflow incontinence
This form mainly affects men and is due to perturbation of the bladder emptying function that leads to overfilling that in turn can cause weakening of bladder muscles and constant leakage of small volumes of urine. This form of incontinence is often associated with disorders of the prostate, severe constipation or urethral abnormality.
