If your loved ones have developed urinary incontinence after surviving a stroke. If you are the person who lost control of your urine after getting rid of a stroke, neither the first group nor you will be to blame for urinary incontinence.
Urinary incontinence after a stroke should not cause you discomfort or embarrassment, this disorder is one of the complications of a stroke that you have survived. So do not blame yourself or those around you with urinary incontinence
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Prevalence of bladder control disorders after stroke
Bladder control disorder is a very common complication after stroke, which unfortunately causes shame and depression. Urinary incontinence can interfere with your social activities and your presence in the family or going to work, but you should not make it a cause for your depression.
Fifty percent of people with stroke may have urinary incontinence; 30 percent of people after stroke have stool incontinence. Stool control is easier to regain than urine control, but urine control can also be regained after a stroke with new methods. Doctors believe that thirty-seven to seventy-nine percent of people who survive a stroke develop urinary incontinence in the first few days and weeks after their stroke.
Types of urinary incontinence in people after stroke
- Urgent urinary incontinence or UUI:
In these cases, people complain of involuntary leakage of urine, during which the person needs to empty his or her urine quickly. If the toilet is not reached during this need, urinary incontinence will occur. This type of incontinence will occur after a stroke or when there is edema.
- Functional urinary incontinence or FUI:
In this case, the person is unable to hold his urine, for example, the person cannot go to the bathroom due to paralysis and other mobility disabilities.
- Stress urinary incontinence or SUI:
The patient experiences urinary incontinence with each cry, laugh, sneeze, and cough. This type of urinary incontinence occurs before a stroke, and usually after a stroke, incontinence worsens with each cough.
What tests are needed to check bladder function?
Physicians use one or more of the following methods to determine the type of urinary incontinence.
- Bladder scan:
It is an immediate and simple method used to evaluate the function of the bladder in urination. Doctors will ask the patient or their loved ones to send the person a 24-hour urine test to perform a series of tests. This evaluation is necessary to evaluate the concentration of urine and to investigate the possible causes of urinary incontinence or recurrence of urination. It is possible to prevent urinary incontinence and prevent it from getting worse.
This requires that you put aside shame and embarrassment and discuss your problem with your loved ones and your doctor. A complete urinalysis is necessary to determine the cause and type of your urinary incontinence. The first step in controlling urine after a stroke is to inform the doctor and refer to the necessary assessments.
Individual measures to control urinary incontinence
Medication will sometimes be prescribed by your doctor to control urinary incontinence, but can you take helpful steps to control your urination?
Yes! Your tasks and actions to control urination will be as follows.
- Immediate control:
You can take a deep breath to ignore the urgent need for a toilet. Perform complex mental activities such as counting numbers in reverse from one hundred to zero. Add and multiply several numbers together
- Avoid alcohol and caffeine:
Consumption of caffeine and alcohol will cause more urination, so limit their consumption.
- Weight control:
Obesity and overweight can badly affect bladder function, so losing weight can help improve your incontinence problem.
Avoid substances that irritate the bladder wall. Including:
- Chocolate and sugar ingredients
- Alcohol and coffee and tea
- Citrus and tomatoes
- Retraining to empty the bladder after a stroke:
Gradually emptying your bladder will help keep your bladder in check for longer. You should go to the bathroom at regular times and try to increase the interval between the number of bladder emptying sessions each week.
- Pelvic floor exercises (Kegel exercises):
Kegel exercises can help strengthen the muscles involved in bladder control. To do this exercise, you should contract your pelvic floor muscles for three seconds, then relax these muscles for three seconds.
You should do this exercise ten times a day and add one second to this exercise every day. These exercises can increase the interval between the number of bladder empties and strengthen the muscles that control urination.