What Medicines Can Help With Incontinence

Urinary incontinence is not being able to control the passage of urine and or the loss of bladder control. Incontinence can range from mild leaking of urine to uncontrollable wetting. It is most common in people over 50. According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, millions of Americans suffer from urinary incontinence. Medications are available to help with overactive bladder and incontinence problems.

Types of Incontinence

• The type of incontinence you are diagnosed with will determine you medication. There are five types of urinary incontinence.

  Urge incontinence is a strong and sudden need to urinate, followed by an instant bladder contraction and involuntary loss of urine. This type occurs more in the elderly and women.

  Stress incontinence occurs due to a physical activity such as coughing, sneezing, laughing, exercising, or heavy lifting. Stress incontinence happens when the pelvic muscles are weakened. This can occur with childbirth or surgery. Women are more likely to suffer from this than men.

  Overflow incontinence is the uncontrollable leakage of small amounts of urine caused by an overfilled bladder. You feel as if you cannot fully empty your bladder and you strain when you urinate. This is more common in men because of obstructions such as an enlarged prostate.

  Functional incontinence can occur in anyone who has physical limitations that make it harder to get to the bathroom. You have normal urine control, but it takes you too long to get to the area to relieve yourself.

  Mixed incontinence is a combination of more than one of the above types of incontinence.

Medications

• Anticholinergics are prescribed to mainly treat urge incontinence. They work by blocking the action of the chemical called acetylcholine that sends the signal to trigger the bladder contractions. Common drugs that fall into this category are Ditropan, Detrol, Vesicare, Toviaz, Sanctura, and Enablex.

  Imipramine is used to treat mixed incontinence. It helps the bladder muscles relax and causes the smooth muscles at the bladder neck to contract. This medication is also used in children who are wetting the bed.

  Desompressin is a synthetic hormone of ADH, anti-diuretic hormone. This medication decreases the production of urine. This is used for treatment of bed-wetting in children. It has also been used in women for reducing urinary incontinence.

New Therapies

• According to the Mayo Clinic, researchers are studying the use of botulinum toxin type A, commonly known as botox. Botox is injected directly into the bladder muscle. It blocks the actions of acetylcholine and paralyzes the bladder muscle. Studies have shown significant improvement of incontinence. The FDA has not yet approved this drug for use and warns that adverse reactions including respiratory arrest and death may occur with the use of botulinum toxin type A.