Bladder & Bowel Archive

Men often have a hard time coping with incontinence (urine leakage). It can leave them feeling depressed or socially isolated. Types of leakage problems in men include urge, stress, and overflow incontinence. Treatment depends on the type of incontinence a man is experiencing. For example, overflow incontinence may get better with a procedure to reduce the size of the prostate; medications, injections in the bladder muscle, and pelvic floor exercises can help with urge incontinence.

Pregnancy and childbirth effects on the body can linger or develop years or decades after the birth. Muscles, ligaments, and nerves in the pelvis can be damaged, leading to urine or stool leakage or sagging pelvic organs. Treatment approaches include a pessary, various surgical procedures, or pelvic floor physical therapy. Women can protect their pelvic floor from weakening further by maintaining a healthy weight, preventing constipation, and managing conditions that contribute to chronic cough.

The bacteria C. diff is responsible for half a million infections each year in the US. Many infections happen when people are hospitalized, but a recent report indicated that people can be infected without ever being hospitalized.

A 2022 study found that women with overactive bladder showed significant improvement in urinary symptoms, such as urgency and leakage, after they engaged in a type of telehealth care.

A sudden urge to use the bathroom when arriving home, sometimes called latchkey incontinence, occurs when the brain associates coming home with the need to urinate, whether the bladder is full or not. Bladder training may help address this pattern.

Among US women ages 60 or older, the prevalence of urge incontinence (a sudden, unprovoked need to urinate) and stress incontinence (leaking urine with physical activity or pressure on the bladder) appeared to increase between 2005 and 2018. Treatments for urge incontinence include lifestyle modifications (such as avoiding caffeinated drinks or scheduling bathroom breaks), pelvic floor exercises, medications, and Botox injections. Treatments for stress incontinence include pelvic floor exercises, weight loss, vaginal pessaries, bulking agent injections, and bladder sling surgery.

Constipation can describe many types of problems with moving your bowels. It becomes chronic when it lasts for weeks or months. Many people are interested in natural remedies for constipation, and one of the most common is adding fiber to your diet. A new study compared three natural sources of fiber, with encouraging results.