Urinary Incontinence Specialist

What are the different types of urinary incontinence?

Urinary incontinence occurs when you leak urine. The severity of the incontinence ranges from slight leakage when you sneeze to an uncontrollable release of all the urine in your bladder.

There are four primary types of urinary incontinence:

Stress urinary incontinence

Urine leaks when pressure is placed on the bladder; for instance, when you cough, sneeze, laugh, exercise, or lift a heavy object.

Urge incontinence

You may know this as overactive bladder, a condition that makes you feel like you frequently need to use the bathroom even if you just went 10 minutes ago or there’s little urine in your bladder. Sometimes the urge to urinate is too strong to make it to the bathroom.

Overflow incontinence

With this type of incontinence, you have a frequent or constant dribble of urine.

Functional incontinence

A physical problem can lead to accidents. For example, a disability or disease like arthritis that limits movement may cause incontinence simply because it’s impossible to get to the bathroom quickly enough.

What causes urinary incontinence?

Urinary incontinence may be temporary if a condition like a urinary tract infection causes the problem. Chronic urinary incontinence arises from an underlying condition that won’t resolve without treatment. Causes of urinary incontinence include:

• Aging: bladder muscles weaken as you age
• Pregnancy: pressure from the weight of the baby and hormonal changes may cause stress incontinence
• Childbirth: vaginal delivery may affect muscles and nerves that are crucial for bladder control
• Weak pelvic floor muscles: these muscles support your bladder, uterus, and vagina, and manage the flow of urine
• Hysterectomy: removing the uterus may weaken pelvic floor muscles

How is urinary incontinence treated?

Dr. Mahller will discuss your treatment options and develop a treatment plan based on your type of urinary incontinence and its underlying cause. Some of the possible treatment options include:

• Exercises to strengthen pelvic floor muscles
• Bladder training
• Medications
• Vaginal Laser treatment

Can laser treatments treat urinary incontinence?

The MonaLisa Touch® is a fractional CO2 laser treatment that delivers precise, pinpointed lasers to targeted tissues. The device goes into the vagina, where it emits lasers that gently warm the surrounding tissues.

The process stimulates collagen production and naturally promotes blood flow. As a result, tissues become thicker and stronger, and their function is restored, which helps to resolve urinary incontinence. Due to the intimate relationship of the vaginal and urethra, treating the tissue under the urethra with the MonaLisa Touch laser can thicken the tissue and alleviate loss of urine.