World Continence Week 2015

The last week of June is world continence week. Here are some facts about continence:

Urinary Incontinence (UI) is any involuntary leakage if urine.

Faecal Incontinence (FI) is the involuntary loss of liquid or solid stool that is a social or hygienic problem. ¹

Incontinence affects about 400 million people around the world. ²

It affects about 1 in 4 women over the age of 35.

It affects about 1 in 10 adult men.

Surveys have shown that fewer than 40% of persons with urinary incontinence mention their problem to a doctor or nurse in a GP surgery and this figure is even higher for those with bowel incontinence. These conditions have been inadequately treated and poorly addressed by medical professionals, despite the substantial impact on individual health, self-esteem and quality of life.

Incontinence can be treated, often cured, but always managed… so what are you waiting for?

Seeking help from a physiotherapist that is trained at treating continence problems can help to cure or reduce your symptoms or direct you to get other treatments that will hopefully help you further such as taking medication or seeking surgery.

You can seek help at the HealthHub by booking an appointment with Wendy Farren who has had extensive experience in the treatment of patients with bladder, and bowel problems and pelvic pain.

This year during World Continence week the International Continence Society is carrying out a study that you could get involved with. They will collect thousands of Bladder Diaries from people all over the world to establish what is ‘normal’ with regards to urinary continence. This will be a milestone in understanding bladder function, which affects millions worldwide. If you are interested you can get more information from http://www.ics.org/public/bladderdiaryday

References

1. ICI publication 2013

2. ICI publication 2013, Prevalence data – page 81.

Originaly posted by Wendy Farren June 2015