Urinary incontinence, which people hide because they are ashamed or because they think it is a process experienced with old age, can be a harbinger of very important health problems. Traveling from city to city to raise awareness, the Not Missing Life Club met with the public with its awareness project on urinary incontinence in Gaziantep after Istanbul, Ankara, Bursa, Izmir and Antalya. In the seminar held with the presentation of Nergis Kumbasar, hosted by Gaziantep Municipality, Continence Association Leader Prof. Dr. Tufan Tarcan, “There may be a life-threatening disease that you are unaware of may lie behind your urinary incontinence.” said.
Urinary incontinence is among the biggest problems of women today. The Club of Not Missing Life, which has set out to raise awareness of women on this issue in particular, met with the public in Gaziantep, after Istanbul, Ankara, Bursa, Izmir and Antalya, with the awareness project carried out jointly by Canped and Continence Association. In the seminar held in Çetin Emeç Hall, with the presentation of Nergis Kumbasar, hosted by Gaziantep Municipality, Continence Association Leader Prof. Dr. Tufan Tarcan and Continence Association Member Prof. Dr. Abdullah Gedik took part as a speaker and made valuable statements about urinary incontinence.
Urinary incontinence is not a natural consequence of aging
Pointing out that the frequency of urinary incontinence increases with advancing age, Prof. Dr. Tufan Tarcan said, “This is a valuable mistake that we need to correct. Urinary incontinence is a symptom, not a disease. There may be serious diseases underlying this. 1 out of every 4 women and 1 out of every 3 women over the age of 60 have urinary incontinence. On the other hand, in men, urinary incontinence may occur more often after some previous surgeries, or it may occur in advanced ages when some functions of the brain are lost, especially Alzheimer’s and dementia. found in the statement
.
Stating that the frequency of giving birth in women is one of the factors affecting urinary incontinence, Prof. Dr. Abdullah Gedik said, “We come across complaints of urinary incontinence a lot in obesity, that is, those who are overweight, those who always have recurrent coughing attacks, those who have significant constipation, and those who have had their womb removed.” he said.
Urinary incontinence is primarily a harbinger of diabetes
Underlining that urinary incontinence is a harbinger of diabetes in the first place, Tarcan said, “Bladder function deteriorates in diabetics. Because it is broken, you are leaking your urine on the way until you go to the toilet. This is the first thing that happens in diabetes. In the later stages, this time, as the bladder muscle gets tired well, you cannot pump out the urine and become unable to empty it. This is why we are able to diagnose diabetes in many patients who apply to us with urinary incontinence
. We also look at blood sugar. In fact, high sugar also comes out in the urine. Because of this, urologists can diagnose diabetes in a patient who does not know that he has diabetes. When 15% of patients first go to a urologist with a complaint of urinary incontinence in herniated disc, some border system tumors or Multiple Sclerosis, which we know as MS, this is how they learn what the underlying cause is. When a patient with urinary incontinence comes, we first check if there is an important disease under this symptom. Because this life is so precious. Then we turn to urinary incontinence treatment for the patient’s quality of life. Because of this, there may be a valuable disease that you are not aware of may lie behind your urinary incontinence.” said.
Emphasizing that everything we eat and drink determines our quality of life and the frequency of going to the toilet, Gedik said that when hot and spicy foods, caffeinated drinks, coffee, tea and carbonated drinks are consumed excessively, they can cause urinary incontinence as they have irritating effects on the bladder.
“There is no such thing as your mother has it, you will not have it”
Stating that the genetic transition in urinary incontinence continues to be investigated, Prof. Dr. Tufan Tarcan said, “Just because your mother has it, you do not have to have it. The probability can only increase. Many times, you may experience urinary incontinence due to things that happen to you later in your life.” said.
Stating that they do not recommend keeping urine for a long time, Tarcan said, “Keeping urine for a long time causes the bladder to enlarge over time and after a while the bladder cannot be emptied completely. Especially women do not go to the toilet outside because of the fear of catching germs. However, none of the urinary tract infection microbes are microbes that we take from the outside. All our own
microbes. If we hold our urine for a long time, we allow those microbes to pass into the bladder and nest there.” he said.
Bladder pad is a savior
Emphasizing the value of bladder pads for patients with urinary incontinence, Continence Association Leader Prof. Dr. Tufan Tarcan concluded his words as follows: “Urine is a sterile liquid, there are no germs in it, but urine is acidic. If it touches the skin for a long time, it will burn your skin, and when it burns, microbes that do not normally cause any problems settle there and cause skin infections. We especially recommend the bladder pad for patients who have difficulty in mobility due to old age or are bedridden.”
