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Elderly Urinary Incontinence

For many people, a trip to the bathroom is something they can easily delay. But for roughly 13 million Americans who suffer from urinary incontinence-the involuntary leaking of urine-holding it in isn't an option.

Although incontinence can happen at any age, it is more common in older adults. According to the National Association for Continence, one in five individuals over the age of 40 suffer from overactive bladder or urgency or frequency symptoms, some of whom leak urine before reaching a restroom. In the nursing home population, at least 50 percent of residents have elderly urinary incontinence.

"Incontinence is a common part of aging but it is never normal," says Dr. Lisa Rosenberg, M.D., of the University of Pittsburgh's geriatric department. "Because it is so common, people think that they should accept it. In almost all cases, it is something a well-trained physician or nurse practitioner can help with. We can actually cure most of those people."

This article continues at Elderly Urinary Incontinence.

 Hello,

I have an issue with an elderly gentleman who I've had living in our home for nearly 3 years now. He seems to have an issue I believe is related to incontinince, but I don't know what to do about it. He is urinating directly onto the bathroom floor in our downstairs half bath where my children are. He does not do that in his bathroom upstairs. He just mostly misses the toilet and hits the floor inadvertently it seems in his bathroom. I've talked to him about these things, but he insists he's not doing it because he sits on the toilet seat. I'm sure he's not telling the truth, and I don't really care if he is or not, but he won't stop doing it!

I just walked into the downstairs bathroom and there it was again, a large puddle of urine. He insisted again, that he does not even use that bathroom ever! I've spoken with his Dr.s office and they say he is fine. I get regular bi-weekly lab reports from them stating his funtions are just fine. I'm hoping he is not doing this on purpose, but the offending act seems to occur when I've asked him to do something like make his own dinner if I was going out.

My question is, is there a condition that might give a man trouble in this way? He never appears to have urine on himself, just the floor, and the extent depends on which bathroom he's using. He takes Lasix, and does urinate frequently, but he knows when he has to go.

We have other issues with this gentleman as well involving over-use of laxatives, non-compliance with his diet, personal hygeine, etc. I can work with those, but we are concerned about this urine issue. Does this seem to be a medical problem?

Thanks for your consideration,

Carol

One important thing people with incontinence can do right away to decrease leakage or loss of bladder control is to look at their diet. There are many bladder irritants that cause incontinence. Caffiene, carbonated beverages, alcohol, citrus juice and cranberry juice are bladder irritants. Just decreasing your intake of these can help improve leakage and maybe even make a person continent again. You can print out the bladder irritants educational page here http://www.woodburyhealthcenter.com/Diet.html there is a PDF, printer friendly link at the bottom of the page. I hope it helps!

Good article and good points about NOT accepting urinary incontinence as part of getting old and recognizing that UI is not a disease itself, but rather a symptom of a health condition. Start with the EZ solutions: look at your diet and start doing kegel exercises (as a part of your daily routine forever!). However, the article puts forth the believe that all incontinence is treatable. I wish that this were the case but the facts are that the adult diapers industry makes about a billion dollars a year, so I detect some disconnect with the statement that all these seniors in diapers (or as I prefer to call them, disposable underwear) are missing a key diagnosis. But I will agree, you should start with some home treatments like kegels and behavioral changes before heading off to the urologists for a battery of tests that will hopefully result in significant long term improvement.