Leaky Bladder

Bladder leakage (urinary incontinence) is a common occurrence – 1% of women experience leaky bladder at the age of 20, and this number rises to 60% of women by age 60. Women typically notice more of an issue with bladder leakage after childbirth and around menopause.

There are three main types of leaky bladder:

Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI) – when the bladder leaks with coughing, sneezing, laughing, certain exercises, and jumping.
Urge Incontinence is when you feel an urgent need to pee, and this can often happen as soon as you put your key in the door.
Some people experience both types, which is called Mixed Incontinence.

FAQs

Why is my bladder leaking?

As we age, we lose the support of the tissues around the urethra, the ‘tube’ that urine comes out of from the bladder. This tube sits just above the front wall of the vagina. Damage to the tissues during childbirth, and vaginal atrophy of the tissues during menopause can weaken these tissues further. When the pressure in your bladder is higher than what the urethra can hold, such as when you sneeze, cough or jump, urine leaks out. This might be a few drops, a teaspoon, a tablespoon, or in the worst cases a small cup worth of urine.

How do you stop bladder leakage?

Traditionally, mild to moderate Stress Urinary Incontinence has been treated with pelvic floor exercises (kegels), and obstetric physiotherapy, which require continued practice to maintain results, and don’t work for everyone. Urge Incontinence is often treated with water restriction, or anticolinergic medications taken daily which give side effects such as a dry mouth, blurred vision and constipation. If these don’t work, until recently, the next step was surgery.

What leaky bladder treatments are available?

We offer two treatments which can be highly successful in treating bladder leakage:

These treatments help to support and strengthen the tissues around the urethra, in many cases stopping or significantly reducing bladder leakage. Because they improve both vaginal and urethral tissue, a nice side effect of the treatments is often an improvement in sensation, lubrication and orgasm with sexual activity.

How do I get started with your treatments?

If you are interested in ThermiVa or the O-Shot the first step is an Initial Consultation. During this consult we will assess your current condition and advise whether ThermiVa or the O-Shot is appropriate – if it is, our clinicians can perform this treatment on the day. In our online booking system you will see the option of one consult for the O-Shot and another for Thermi-Va. It doesn’t matter which of these you book as our medical team are all trained in both and can assess which one is best for you in one consult only.

To find out if these treatments are right for you, book a consultation now with one of our medical team. Book online here or give us a call on 0800 267 633