Male Incontinence: Understand Urinary Incontinence and Find the Right Product Solution for Urinary Leakage

Male urinary incontinence is more common than you may think. Approximately one in 20 men over the age of 18, and one in 10 men over the age of 60 have symptoms of urinary incontinence.** Whether it's just a few drops or bigger leakages, urinary incontinence can be very frustrating, stressful and negatively impact quality of life. It's worth taking seriously and discussing with your healthcare professional. There are many product solutions that can help you feel confident and secure in your daily life. In this article, we cover the basics of incontinence in men, introduce you to the urinary system and look into different product solutions that can help relieve your experience with urinary incontinence.

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What is Male Urinary Incontinence?

Involuntary urinary incontinence is the medical term for lack of bladder control, meaning you are leaking urine. There are different types of male urinary incontinence, which we will cover below; however, each type of bladder control issue can be caused by different factors, diseases or physical challenges.

What Causes Male Incontinence?

There are many different causes of incontinence that can affect men of all ages. Some of the common reasons for urinary incontinence in men include:

1. Demographic Factors - age, race / ethnicity, family history

2. Lifestyle - alcohol, diet, obesity, smoking, impaired physical function

3. Medical Conditions - chronic cough, constipation, diabetes, heart failure, urinary tract infection.

4. Neurologic Conditions - Dementia, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's, Stroke, Sleep apnea, spinal cord injury.

5. Medications

6. Prostate Surgery

7. Enlargement of the prostate and / or prostate cancer.

What are the symptoms of urinary incontinence?

Always consult with a health care professional with any concerns to understand the symptoms of urinary incontinence. We have to distinguish between the different types of urinary incontinence as they differ slightly.  Keeping track of your urinary habits can help your doctor or healthcare professional determine the type of urinary incontinence. Some of the most common types of male urinary incontinence are:

Stress urinary incontinence (SUI)

Involuntary urine leakage when you sneeze, cough or exercise are typical signs of stress incontinence. These sudden movements or outbursts put pressure on the bladder and urethral sphincter. In short, stress incontinence can be the result of a weak urethral sphincter muscle. Your urethral sphincter usually prevents urine from leaving your bladder. If it's weakened, you'll likely experience urine leakage whenever there's too much pressure on the sphincter muscle.

Typically, men experience stress incontinence due to sphincter or nerve trauma related to prostate surgery. Stress urinary incontinence is often treated with pelvic floor exercises and rehab, surgical interventions, or containment pads and products.  Talk to your healthcare professional about the options best for your individual symptoms.

Urge urinary incontinence (UUI)

Overactive bladder (OAB) and urge incontinence are in fact the same thing.  They both are defined by symptoms only.  The patient complains of urinary urgency, frequency, with and without dribbling of urine or complete bladder emptying before reaching the toilet.  These symptoms negatively impact daily activities, sleeping, and social interactions. Some of these men actually have involuntary contractions of the bladder muscle resulting in the same symptoms as mentioned.  However, when the healthcare professional tests the bladder and finds actual involuntary contractions of the bladder it is now called detrusor overactivity.

Mixed incontinence

Mixed incontinence is a combination of stress incontinence and urge incontinence, and experienced when sneezing, coughing or exercising.

Overflow incontinence

Men with overflow incontinence often experience symptoms similar to stress incontinence.  However, the cause of overflow leakage is related to incomplete bladder emptying either due to bladder obstruction or weak bladder contraction strength.  Imagine a bucket filled to the top with water, and each time you move it, water spills over the top.  When the bladder is consistently overfilled, you can experience leakage with movement, coughing, sneezing, laughing, and leaning forward, for example.  Ask your HCP about bladder testing to establish the cause for overflow incontinence.

Functional incontinence

Functional incontinence means losing control of your bladder, usually due to another medical condition that prevents you from reaching the toilet in time. You may experience smaller leakages or dribbles or at times fully empty your bladder involuntarily. Some of the conditions that may cause functional incontinence include:

• Cognitive disorders that affect your brain's ability to process thoughts and take action, including dementia, delirium and intellectual disabilities

• Conditions that affect your brain, spinal cord or nerve signals (neurological disorders), including multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease

• Conditions that affect your muscles and make it hard or impossible to get to the bathroom or remove clothing, like severe arthritis

Male Incontinence treatment

Speak with your healthcare professional if you are experiencing urinary incontinence; it's only normal to search for ways to control urination as it can feel very invasive and be a stress factor in daily life. Talk to your healthcare professional as this is a relatively common issue and you do not have to suffer in silence. A healthcare professional can help you find the right treatment to help reduce, correct, or control your symptoms. There are a few treatment options to help relieve your symptoms. Some men are able to regain continence once they have a diagnosis and commence the recommended treatment plan. However, it is possible to manage incontinence through common solutions such as absorbents, protective underwear, pads, sheaths and urine bags. The right treatment and product solution depends on what type of urinary incontinence you are experiencing, as stress incontinence can require a different treatment from urge incontinence or overflow incontinence. Remember to always consult with your doctor to find the right solution for your urinary problems, as they can carry out a physical exam and also take your medical history into account, which is important for any diagnosis.

1. Pelvic floor exercises (also called Kegel exercises): Strengthening your pelvic floor muscles is an efficient and non-invasive method to help regain continence. Kegel exercises are considered a very effective treatment when it comes to urinary incontinence, and doesn't require any equipment. Go to our section on Kegel exercises to learn how to perform Kegel exercises and train your pelvic floor.

2. Bladder training: Bladder training involves training your bladder muscles and can include scheduled and systemized toilet visits as well as double voiding to ensure complete bladder emptying every time you urinate. Maintaining a bladder diary can be a helpful supplement to this training.

3. Lifestyle & diet: Your weight can play an important part in managing urinary incontinence. An unhealthy diet and excess weight is an increased risk to developing urinary incontinence or make urinary incontinence worse due to excess pressure on the bladder. Maintain a healthy weight to minimize risk. Certain foods and drinks can irritate the bladder and should be avoided if you suffer from urinary incontinence. Avoid acidic foods and eliminate or minimize your intake of alcoholic beverages or beverages containing caffeine such as tea, coffee, energy drinks or soda.

4. Surgery: Severe urinary incontinence or chronic urinary incontinence may require surgery. A common type of surgery is replacing a damaged or weakened sphincter with an artificial sphincter to control urine flow. Male sling procedures are another type of surgery to treat incontinence in men. This type of surgery involves placing an artificial sling to tighten the urethra.

Where can I get more advice about male urinary incontinence?

Your healthcare professional is the best place to go for advice if you experience urinary incontinence. It might seem embarrassing to discuss your incontinence but healthcare professionals are used to dealing with intimate problems and will have seen many men with incontinence. Your healthcare professional will be able to identify the type of incontinence that affects you and if necessary refer you to a urology clinic or continence specialist.

Product solutions for male urinary incontinence

Male urinary incontinence is often treated using absorbent pads or adult diapers. However, if you're looking for alternative solutions that are less big and bulky, Coloplast's Conveen® Male range may be for you. The Conveen range includes a wide variety of male external catheters (sometimes called condom catheters or urisheaths) and collecting bags (urine bags), and offers an alternative to diapers or absorbent products to help relieve you from the stress of urine leakage.

If you have questions or concerns and would like advice on which products might be best for you, please contact us at 1-800-231-2371.

This information is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to substitute for professional medical advice and should not be interpreted to contain treatment recommendations. You should rely on the healthcare professional who knows your individual history for personal medical advice and diagnosis.

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