Incontinence: Understanding And Communicating (NAPSA)—If you’ve ever expe- rienced incontinence—leaking urine when you cough or sneeze or not making it to the bathroom in time—you may have hoped that the episodes would just go away. You might be keeping your condi- tion to yourself—never talking about it, not even to a doctor. Defined as the involuntary loss of urine, incontinence is a leading cause of nursing-home admission and can severely affect quality of life. Though long-considered a natural part of the aging process, incontinence is not normal at any age, according to leading experts, and people should seek treatment from a urologist if they are experi- People who experience inconti- encing incontinent episodes. nence should see a urologist. to understand is that incontinence is no more normalfor an 80-year- “Right now,there are drugs and surgical interventions that help a significant portion of the patients urologists treat for incontinence,” Dr. Resnick said. “But however “What’s important for patients old than it is for a 30-year-old,” said Martin I. Resnick, M.D., presi- dent of the American Urological Association. “There are sometreatmentsavailable that are very effective, but unless we know a person is suffering, we can’t treat them.” There are three major types of incontinence: Stress incontinence, where urineis lost during activi- ties such as sneezing, walking or coughing; urge incontinence (over- active bladder), where a person suffers from an uncontrollable urge to urinate but cannot reach the bathroom in time; and overflow incontinence, where the blad- deris full yet unable to empty and merely “overflows.” It is estimated that nearly 13 million Americans suffer from some form of incontinence, yet only about onein five seeks treat- ment. Incontinence is one of the most prevalent urologic diseases effective, these treatments are stopgap solutions. We need more research to help find a cure.” The Coalition for Urologic Research & Education (CURE) represents tens of thousands of patients and specialty physicians, and is urging Congress to pass H.R. 1002, The Training and Research in Urology (TRU) Act. This legislation will help focus resources toward urological issues such as incontinence. “The fear of being wet makes incontinence a 24-hour/seven-day condition,” said Cheryle Gartley, president of the Simon Foundation for Continence, a member of CURE. “If we can work for cancer cures, if we can transplant organs, in this country; yet research into then we can do something about this.” For more information about behind other disease research. www.UrologyHealth.org. better treatments and cures lags incontinence or CURE, visit
