Female Incontinence

Incontinence affects women almost twice as much as men. Pregnancy, childbirth, menopause, and the anatomy of a woman’s urinary tract are all factors that increase the likelihood of incontinence. Women in their twilight years may experience incontinence more so than younger women. However, female incontinence is not unavoidable with old age. Incontinence is manageable and often treatable, no matter what age or physical condition you are in. In a study carried out by the Medical Journal of Australia it was found that almost 2 million Australian women over the age of 18 suffer from incontinence.

Did you know?

• Between the ages of 18 and 44, approximately 24% of women experience incontinence¹
• For women over age 60, approximately 23% deal with incontinence
• The problem is more common in women than men²
• Half of nursing home residents have urinary incontinence³

The severity of female incontinence can range between a slight leakage of urine when you laugh, cough or sneeze, to frequent loss of large amounts of urine. Some women think it’s a part of normal development and don’t view it as an actual medical condition, which it certainly is. This leads many female incontinence sufferers to ‘grin and bear’ the discomfort and frequent mad dashes to the bathroom rather than seek help or medical advice. This is a perception that needs to be changed.

To understand the problem of female incontinence you need to be as well informed as possible. To start off this education process, we will be delving into the three main types of female incontinence. The main causes of and treatment of female incontinence will be explored next. There are also detailed pages within the female incontinence section showing how the female urinary system works as well as why incontinence affects women more than men.