Male Urinary Incontinence

Male urinary incontinence, is the loss of urinary control or involuntary leakage of urine in men.  In United States, there are a small percentage of males, are affected by urinary incontinence.  Urinary incontinence can be embarrassing and distressing.  However, with proper management, it can be controlled.

There are different types of urinary incontinence, namely:-

Stress Incontinence refers to the leakage of urine when the pressure of the abdomen on the bladder becomes too great for the bladder outlet to withstand.  This causes urine leakage when one sneezes, coughs, exercise or laughs.  This is more common in women whose pelvic muscles are weakened after childbirth.  In men, this can occur after prostate surgery.

Urge incontinence refers to the leakage of urine due to an overactive bladder.  The muscle contracts too early and normal control is reduced.  The patient would normally have an urgent need to go to the bathroom but the urine leaks out before reaching there.

Overflow incontinence refers to the leakage of urine due to a persistent obstruction to the outflow of urine.  The patient is not able to empty his bladder adequately, resulting in the leakage of urine whenever the bladder is full.  The common cause of this is because of enlarged prostate.

Functional incontinence will occur if the patient suffers from dementia where it can prevent the patient from getting to the bathroom in time to pass urine.

The typical symptoms of male urinary incontinence include a sudden urge to urinate, urinating frequently and waking up frequently throughout the night to urinate. 

One’s daily habit like drinking, the underlying medical condition like urinary tract infection, bladder cancer or physical problem like prostate conditions can cause male urinary incontinence.  Neurological conditions like stroke, spinal cord injury, Parkinson disease and multiple sclerosis can affect the nerves involved in bladder control.  Old age can also lead to a decrease in the bladder’s ability to store urine and an increase in overactive bladder symptoms

A doctor will normally do a physical examination like checking for prostate enlargement or nerve injury.  Sometimes, the doctor would order for a urinalysis to rule out infection and haematuria, abdominal ultrasound imaging to detect bladder cancer or stones or urodynamic testing to evaluate the bladder’s activity to store and empty urine effectively.

After the above test had been done and evaluated, the doctor will determine the treatment.  The treatment can be behavioural therapy like limiting the intake of fluids or doing the kegel exercises to strength the pelvic floor muscles, medications to shrink the prostate size and improving bladder emptying or surgery like male sling procedure that help men with weak sphincter muscles.

In conclusion, male urinary incontinence can be managed with lifestyle modifications.  One can reduce the fluid intake to decrease urine and avoid caffeine and carbonated-drinks as these are bladder stimulants.  

Erectile Dysfunction

Almost all the men knew and aware what’s Erectile Dysfunction (ED), however, they had chosen not to talk about it as they are seeing it as a taboo topic.

So what’s ED?  ED is simply defined as a lack of rigidity o the penis, resulting in sexual dysfunction.  In other words, men will not find satisfactory penetrative intercourse if he is diagnosed as ED.

One of the contributing factors to ED includes stress, lack of sleep and tiredness from dealing with the rat race.  The next contributing factors are high blood pressure, high cholesterol and high blood sugar level.

In the early stages of ED, individual will need nothing more than a lifestyle change to promote a better health.  However, medication, like tadalafil, is required to be prescribed for treatment of ED.  It was said that the medication is very effective and most of the men respond well to this treatment.  With this medication treatment, men can build back their confidence level.

When taking this medication, the patient is advised not to mix it with alcohol or fatty food.  And the medication must also be timed correctly in order to get a good erection.

It’s easier to deal with ED if the patient’s partner plays a role in the treatment.  The partner would need to know that they should not be concerned on the sex but the health and issues they are unaware of behind the dysfunction.  To increase the efficiency of the treatment, the partner can help to ensure that the treatment is strictly adhered to.

In conclusion, men need to be open about his ED condition and involve his partner in the treatment.  It can be challenging if the men choose not to involve his partner in the treatment.  A lack of openness will cause friction and misunderstanding between couples and most men end up with broken marriages because of this.

Benign Prostate Hyperplasia

From the previous articles, you should know what’s prostate gland.  Although it’s the size of a walnut, it could have increased to the size of an apricot.  And by an older age, it might have grown to be as large as a lemon.

This growth is known as Benign Prostate Hyperplasia (BPH).  It poses some complications that can affect your quality of life.  As the size increase and if one did not seek treatment on it, it will eventually squeezed and narrow the urethra and lead to urinary problems.  If the conditions worsen, it might result in bladder or kidney complication. 

There is medication to improve the situation but if the case is serious, surgery is required to improve urine flow by removing any prostate tissue that is affecting the uretharal passage.

BPH is a common disorder in males over 50 years.  About 50% of males over the age of 60 had some sort of prostate disorder.  The major symptoms of BPH are as follows:-

• Increased frequency in urination
• Dysuria and weak urine stream
• Enuresis and intermittent urine flow
• Feel urge to urinate even after urinating
•  Increased frequency in nocturnal urination
• Sensation of inability to drain the bladder completely

There are 3 stages of BPH:-

Stage 1: This is known as the simulation stage.  The main symptoms include frequent nocturnal urination, posterior urethral perineal discomort, longer urination time and narrowing of urine stream.  The residual urine olume is usually less than 50ml and the urine flow chart shows a normal curve.

Stage 2: This is known as the residual urine occurrence stage.  There is increased severity in the symptoms mentioned above.  In addition, urination flow now requires one to exert force on the stomach.  The residual urine volume is 50 and 150ml accompanied by residual urine.  There may be sudden acute urinary retention or infection.  The urine flow chart shows multiple wave curves.

Stage 3: It’s known as decompensated bladder or bladder distension and urine retention stage.  The residual urine volume exceeds 150ml, accompanied by urine retention, overflow incontinence or kidney dysfunction.  The urine flow chart shows a low plateau curve.

A good prostate health does not end with regular screening.  Other helpful steps including eating a diet low in fat, but high in antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids, maintaining a healthy weight, exercising regularly and drinking alcohol in moderation.