What Living with Urinary Incontinence is Like
What kind of lifestyle changes should you prepare for when faced with Urinary Incontinence?
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Urinary Incontinence affects more people than you think. In fact a quarter to a third of Americans share this condition. Believe the statistics, you are truly not alone when adapting to this change in your life. Men, women, older people and younger people can experience the loss of bladder control in a number of different ways. And everyone has to face similar lifestyle changes with Urinary Incontinence.
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The four types of Urinary Incontinence, Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI), Overactive Bladder (OAB), Mixed Incontinence (SUI and OAB), and Overflow Incontinence, all affect your body a little differently. Some cases may be more severe than others, but in any case you’ll face a change in your lifestyle.
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Your Body in Transition
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With Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI), physical activity puts stress on the bladder. Simple actions (i.e. laughing, sneezing) to arduous actions (i.e. running, lifting) may cause you to experience a leak. Depending on the severity of your case this leak can range in size from small droplets to a tablespoon or more.
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The main symptom with Overactive Bladder (OAB) is an urgent need urinate, even when your bladder is not full… Sometimes you may feel the need to urinate several times during the day and night.rnMixed Incontinence is the intersection of SUI and OAB. All of the above symptoms may be experienced.
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With Overflow Incontinence your body makes more urine than your bladder can hold and leakage occurs. Other symptoms include urinating in small amounts, or a constant drip with a nickname called “dribbling”.rnIf you don’t prevent skin irritation from your constantly wet skin, other problems may occur. Rashes, infections and sores may develop so try to stay dry. You can find products to help with the rashes, infections and sores on websites like Dry Depot.
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Socializing in Your New Body
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You may find yourself developing different routines to maintain your Urinary Incontinence in different social settings. Obviously maintaining bladder control will be easy when you are at home with access to a bathroom, but this may not always be the case. By studying your bladder’s new behavior, you’ll learn how to prepare for social situations. Simple decisions like which surfaces to sit on and what kind of clothing to wear (which may never have been a simple decision) will come into your planning. An abundance of efficient incontinence supplies can be found on Dry Depot to maintain a happy healthy life. You may even discover a new level of comfort around people you trust, and levels of planning will vary.
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The Emotional You
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With Urinary Incontinence may come a host of new emotions that may not be the most positive. Lots of people with bladder control issues find themselves stigmatized and become insecure because they don’t understand the facts. While these emotions are understandable, the Urinary Incontinence condition is becoming more and more socially acceptable. Access to a platform of different forms of media, has enabled the public to absorb more information regarding Urinary Incontinence. From celebrities openly addressing their Urinary Incontinence to online diaries that share life with UI, the public has become more exposed to this condition.
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There’s no need to suffer in silence. More people are becoming aware that Urinary Incontinence is not only a natural progression in life, but also a reaction to different circumstances like pregnancy, prostate cancer, diabetes and many more. Chin up and try to embrace your changing lifestyle.