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Useful resources for women dealing with urinary incontinence.
Information about the author, Kelli Berzuk.
I laughed so Hard in the Press
I laughed so Hard Book Reviews
How do you prevent bladder control problems? What can be done to treat bladder control difficulties? How do you cure bladder control problems?

Common Questions about
Female Urinary Incontinence:

Who Does This Information Relate To?
· Every female over the age of 16.

Who Is Especially At Risk?
· Girls involved in high impact sports.
· Women planning to have children or have already given birth.
· Menopausal women.

Prevalence of Bladder / Pelvic Floor Dysfunction
· 25 million Americans suffer from urinary incontinence.
1
· 1.5 million Canadians suffer from urinary incontinence.
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· The Mayo Clinic reports that 50% of women will experience urinary incontinence at some point in their lives.
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· More than 50-100 million people worldwide have overactive bladders.
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· 20 million Americans suffer from Paruresis; fear of being heard urinating in public washrooms.
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· It is estimated that 43 million American women over the age of 65 will have a pelvic organ prolapse by 2030.
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What Can Be Done?
· Education, Awareness, Prevention, Treatment (diet & lifestyle alterations, proper strengthening exercises, physiotherapy, pharmaceutical and surgical options).

· Few people seek help due to embarrassment, social stigma with urinary incontinence, and the fallacy that nothing can be done to help. Millions of women could improve their symptoms with simple diet changes and exercise. It's time for women to take a pro-active approach to promoting a healthy pelvic floor!

Female Urinary Incontinence
Preventable / Treatable / Curable


Preventable

The pelvic floor muscle is an extremely underrated and often neglected area of the body. Thankfully, it is also quite resilient and forgiving. It takes only a small amount of consideration and exercise for this muscle to respond positively. It is often injured with pregnancy, vaginal delivery, constipation, the strain of a chronic cough, or the effects of obesity. In spite of all these common methods of injury, the pelvic floor muscle is rarely given even the slightest amount of attention. Now is the time to recognize the significant contribution made by the pelvic floor muscle and to promote its protection through strengthening!

The pelvic floor musculature has three very important functions:

· Sphincteric
A weakened or injured pelvic floor may no longer effectively close off the urethral and rectal openings and urinary and fecal incontinence may result.

· Supportive
The pelvic floor muscle is responsible for supporting the internal pelvic organs, such as the bladder, uterus, rectum and intestines. Weakness or injury to the pelvic floor can allow the organs to fall downward instead of supporting them in their proper positions.

· Sexual
Laxity or weakness in the pelvic floor muscle may lead to a decrease in sexual appreciation and sensation.

By being pro-active and keeping your pelvic floor healthy and strong, you may prevent the need for future surgery such as bladder lifts or hysterectomy.

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Treatable

A proper home exercise program and change in diet is all that is needed for most women to improve their bladder control. For other women medical intervention is required. Women have many choices of treatment options and should decide on the treatment approach most appropriate for their symptoms.

I Laughed So Hard I Peed My Pants! A Woman's Essential Guide for Improved Bladder Control offers information in all of these areas. This guide provides education on how diet and lifestyle can negatively affect bladder control and simple, illustrated exercise instruction to properly complete a home program. You will learn how to progress your exercise program to continually challenge your muscle and receive tips on how to fit these exercises into your busy schedule. This book also describes the most clinically advanced medical options in the areas of physiotherapy, pharmaceutical, and surgical treatment.

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Curable

Urinary incontinence can inflict immense pain and devastating emotional consequence to the women affected as well as their loved ones. Sadly, it can diminish one's self-esteem and impede both social and physical activity. Thankfully, there is much that can be done to prevent and improve this situation. Most women show significant reduction or even resolution of their symptoms with simple home exercises and diet adjustments. Others who may have extensive weakness or damage to the pelvic floor musculature may require medical attention in addition to their home exercise program. Overall, there are numerous treatment options to choose from and it is important to find those most appropriate to your lifestyle and medical status. Urinary incontinence is not an acceptable or natural part of childbirth and aging. It is time to take back control of your bladder!

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Notes:
1. Consumer Focus: A Survey 1999, National Association For Continence (NAFC), Spartanburg, SC, 1999; 4.
2. Is urine leakage keeping you from Sex? Laughing? Golf? Socializing? The Canadian Continence Foundation. 2000. Pamphlet.
3. “What is Urinary Incontinence?”MayoClinic.com. On-line. Internet. June 9 2002. Available http://www.mayoclinic.com
4. Nitti VW. Clinical Impact of Overactive Bladder. Rev Urol. 2002;4(suppl 4):S2-S6.
5. Soifer, S. Paruresis or Shy Bladder Syndrome: The Little Known Urinary Problem. The Informer. The Canadian Incontinence Foundation. Winter 2002;3,(1):3.
6. Shull BL. Pelvic Organ Prolapse: Anterior, Superior, and Posterior Vaginal Segment Defects. Am J Obstet Gynecol 1999; 181:6-11.

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