28 July 2009

'Lifting the lid' on bladder control

It’s a subject that many people avoid, but if you have loss of control of the bladder, resulting in leakage of urine and wetting, you are not alone.

During Continence Awareness Week (2 – 8 August) St George and Sutherland Hospital staff are encouraging women of all ages to review their bladder activity and seek help if they need to.

One in 20 Australians suffer regularly from urinary incontinence, across all age groups and one in three women who have had a baby will have bladder control problems.

Jeannette Werda, Clinical Nurse Consultant, Pelvic Floor Unit at St George Hospital, said these statistics may be alarming, but the important message is that by seeking help, improvements can be made.

“While incontinence affects men, women and children of all ages, the prevalence is greater in women and those aged over 70 years of age,” Ms Werda said.

“If you are running to the toilet frequently, are unable to hold on to your urine if your bladder is full, leak urine and avoid exercise and social activities because of urine leakage, then you need to seek help to improve your quality of life.

“Pelvic floor muscles can be made weaker by being pregnant and having babies, constipation, being overweight or heavy lifting,” she said.

Joan Walsh, Clinical Nurse Consultant and Stomal Therapy at Sutherland Hospital, said the floor of the pelvis is made up of layers of muscle and other tissues. These layers stretch like a hammock from the tailbone at the back, to the pubic bone in front.

“It is important to look after your pelvic floor muscles by doing regular pelvic floor exercises to keep the muscles strong and toned,” Ms Walsh said.

“If you are not sure that you are doing the exercises correctly, or if you do not see a change in symptoms after three months, ask for help from your doctor, physiotherapist, or continence nurse,” she said.

There is a continence and bladder re-training clinic at St George Hospital and at Sutherland Hospital’s Southcare free of charge. These clinics provide assessment, bladder retraining, pelvic floor exercise instruction and programs suitable for individual bladder problems.

For further enquiries please contact 9113 3278 (St George Hospital), or 9540 7540 (Sutherland Hospital).


Media enquiries: Maxine Brennan 9113 2601, 0413 028 776