Introduction - Pierenkemper PierenFemme Kurzgebrauchsanweisung

Introduction

Incontinence − what is it?
Incontinence is regarded as the involuntary release of urine, faeces or both:
Millions of people suffer from this condition.
The most common types and causes of incontinence
Where stress or strain type incontinence is involved there occurs firstly the release
of urine in the form of droplets or jets and this occurs later also when the body is
at rest. For the most part it is women who are affected.
Stress type incontinence is divided into three categories according to the degree
of severity:
I: Involuntary urine release arising from sudden body strain resulting from,
for example, coughing, laughing, sneezing.
II: Involuntary urine release arising from mild body strain resulting from, for
example, walking, climbing stairs or lifting objects.
III: Involuntary urine release when standing, without changes of pressure in
the abdominal cavity and finally also when reclining.
The cause of stress incontinence is a dysfunction of the closure system, mostly as
a result of untrained or over-stretched muscles of the pelvic floor, for example,
following a difficult childbirth. An age related hormone deficiency is also
frequently a contributory factor for women.
With urge type incontinence there arises a strong urge to urinate often even
where small amounts of urine are involved and which can lead to premature
urination. The cause of urge type incontinence is an over-active urinary bladder
triggered by the nervous system. Mixed stress and urge incontinence types are
common.
Lastly, there is what is known as the reflex incontinence whereby uncontrolled
urination is involved. It occurs, inter alia, as a result of spinal cord injuries.
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