Incontinence stopping you from your routine? Here’s all that you need to know…

Incontinence, is a major issue faced by 50 million people in India. This figure results in one out of every 10 elderly people in India who are facing the urinary incontinence problem. 

So, let us first learn what urinary incontinence is, how it is caused, its symptoms and the side effects of it in day-to-day life. When you have urinary incontinence, you may experience bladder control issues. This leakage is often uncontrollable and can negatively impact your life. 

Our urinary system is made up of kidneys, ureters, bladder, and urethra. All these parts do different jobs. They filter, store and remove waste from your body. The Kidneys are the filters of the body, the waste product is removed from the body in the form of urine. The bladder is the storage tank, once the bladder is full, the brain sends the signal that it is time to urinate. The urine then freely flows out of the body through the urethra. Urinary incontinence can happen when these parts don’t operate as they should. This can happen for many different reasons throughout life. A lot of people think that incontinence is a normal part of ageing and can’t be helped. 

What are the different types of Incontinence?

Urge Incontinence: - This type of incontinence is characterized by an intense need to urinate right away. This happens quickly even before you can make it to the washroom. 

1. Stress Incontinence: - When you leak urine during activities or while you are working, this is often stressing incontinence. In this type of incontinence, your pelvic floor muscles are weak and no longer support your pelvic organs as they should. 
2. Overflow Incontinence: - If your bladder doesn’t empty each time you urinate, you could have overflow incontinence.  People with overflow incontinence never empty their bladder placing them at risk for a spill. 
3. Mixed Incontinence: - This type of incontinence is a combination of several problems that all lead to leakage issues. When you have mixed incontinence, you might be dealing with stress incontinence and an overactive bladder.

What causes Incontinence?

There are a lot of different reasons for facing Incontinence. It also depends on if you’re a man or a woman. Temporary or short-term causes of Incontinence can include Urinary Tract Infections, Pregnancy, Medications, Beverages, Diabetes, Menopause, etc. 

What are the symptoms of Incontinence?

The main symptom of Incontinence is leakage of Urine. There might be a wide variety of reasons for the leakage which often depends on the type of your Incontinence that you are facing. For example, you might leak when you exercise, cough, laugh or sneeze. 

With a lot of elderly facing the incontinence issue, few are being treated with incontinence but a majority of them still have to survive this issue. The only option that is left out with them is to wear Adult Diapers. People with urinary incontinence are frequently depressed and regressed. They often curtail all social activity and stay at home. Normally, people are reluctant to talk about this problem and keep on avoiding social activities. But this only affects their personal and social life. Incontinence also has been noted to be a major barrier to social interests, entertainment or physical recreation. 

If incontinence is not managed well, then the person with incontinence may experience feelings of rejection, social isolation, dependency, and loss of control. Many people with incontinence do not seek help. Depending on the individual’s personal beliefs and feelings about incontinence, the person you are caring for may:

• not be bothered by it
• try to hide it
• deny it
• not wanting to talk about it.

Sometimes when a person is challenged by a change in their life circumstance (incontinence), a part of them may want to deny that there is a problem, even when there is overwhelming evidence that a problem exists. It may be embarrassment or it may be fear that’s behind the denial. Equally, denial might simply reflect that the person doesn’t fully or accurately understand what the problem is. Even when people do seek help, they may not admit how serious the problem is.

Because this situation is regarded as a very private and personal activity in most societies, many people are prone to feeling embarrassed about any accidental leaks and smells that are associated with incontinence. As a result, it is understandable that many people with incontinence become very anxious when thinking about or planning social activities. They may try to reduce their anxiety by avoiding social activities such as shopping, going out or having friends over. 

An incontinent person may show their frustration when they are unable to master their incontinence or some aspect of their care or treatment. Lack of sleep due to frequent toileting at night or from some other reason such as stress, pain or depression is likely to exhaust the person. 

Depression and anxiety have been suggested to co-occur in incontinent persons. Elderly people, usually start losing their confidence in going out and meeting or interacting with their fellow friends. They also don’t open up with the issues that they face because of Incontinence. Although Diapers can be a saviour for them, there are a lot of problems that they bring along with them! Along with Diapers, comes a lot of maintenance which needs to be addressed. Regular care, regular changing of the Diapers and Briefs as soon as it gets wet. If not taken care of properly, the moisture under that area doesn’t allow the skin to breathe. This condition then leads to Diaper Rashes. 

Although not many people speak and open up about incontinence, this condition if not treated and prevented can cause a lot of irritation and pain. Diaper Rashes need to be prevented from the initial stage. A lot of people think of trying temporary remedies like applying Talcum powder, Lotions or creams. But, what the caretaker needs to make sure is to give the RIGHT CARE and the RIGHT TREATMENT. Instead, what we can do is to help them with something which can not only treat their problem but can also help them to prevent them from suffering through the same pain again. A Silicone-barrier Gel technology can always help deal with, treat and prevent diaper rashes in adults.

The Silicone Based gel of Soreze to prevent Adult Diaper Rashes is made with ingredients like natural essential oils such as calendula oil, lavender oil, and patchouli oil provide relief from redness, itching, pain & discomfort caused due to rubbing of the diaper with skin or bacterial or fungal infection. Ingredients such as Calamine provide a soothing effect to the skin. Vitamin E with its antioxidant property helps in skin rejuvenation. Also, Soreze Adult Diaper Rash Gel not only cures the rashes but also prevents them.