Mens Incontinence Products
Men should know that they aren’t alone in their quest for mens incontinence products that will work for them. Urinary incontinence is a common problem for men as they age. Accidental urine leakage can be frustrating, annoying and embarrassing for anyone to experience. Thankfully there are a number of mens incontinence products that can help resolve this problem and make it a manageable symptom. Causes of mens incontinence can be related to kidney or bladder issues, stress, or nerve damage. If you’re experiencing incontinence, it’s best to consult your doctor for medical advice. In the mean time there are plenty of mens incontinence products to make you more comfortable.
You Aren’t Alone
Mens urinary incontinence is more common than you’d think. In a urology survey by Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan in 2008, of more than 21,000 men surveyed around 9% said they’d had a problem with urinary incontinence just in the last 30 days. Take heart in knowing that most mens incontinence problems are only temporary — so work to find the solutions and incontinence products that make you feel comfortable, and work for you.
Why the Need For Mens Incontinence Products?
Urinary incontinence is caused when the muscle designed to hold urine in your bladder is too weak to do so, leading to accidental urination and leaks. This is a frustrating, embarrassing problem. Luckily there are a number of incontinence products that can help you regain control. The majority of men report problems with urge incontinence, but a large number also experience stress incontinence.
Types of Incontinence
Determining what kind of male incontinence you have can help you to determine the right products to help you.
Stress Incontinence is caused by the muscles controlling the urethra opening at inopportune times. This can happen when you shift posture, laugh, sneeze, cough, or lift something. Stress incontinence is often related to prostate issues, so if you’re experiencing stress incontinence you should consult with your physician. Treatments may be surgical, although there are some mens incontinence products that may help stress incontinence.
Urge incontinence is caused by a bladder contraction that’s too strong to control. Often the urge comes as a response to something that causes you to anticipate urination, like waiting for a restroom or turning on a faucet. These involuntary bladder contractions could be caused by urinary tract infections, kidney stones, bowl problems like constipation, or possibly prostate problems like prostate gland inflammation. A definite candidate for mens incontinence products.
Overflow incontinence is caused by an obstruction to the urethra, often by prostate inflammation related to cancer. This can be caused when the urethra doesn’t contract properly or contract when it should. Medicines like antihistamines and decongestants can cause this, as can nerve conditions like diabetes and multiple sclerosis.
Functional incontinence is a rarer form of male incontinence, which is caused by physical or mental limitations that prevent a male from reaching a bathroom in time.
Overactive bladder is another kind of male incontinence that may not be related to urinary leaking and is easily helped by an array of mens incontinence products.
Helpful Tips
When dealing with incontinence, you may want to consider changes in exercise, diet, and medications. Avoiding excess fluids and diuretics, performing Kegel exercises, and quitting smoking can all help with male incontinence. In combination with these measures, use incontinence products that will work for you:
Mens Incontinence Products
A wide range of products to help you gain control of your male incontinence are available at supermarkets and drug stores. If you’re considering any of these mens incontinence products, consult with your doctor first to determine the root cause of your incontinence.
Here are some incontinence products to consider that can help you get control where you need it:
Urinary Collection Systems
Urinary collection systems can be worn beneath your clothing. These discreet systems are designed to prevent the embarrassment and frustration of male urinary incontinence, and to help you get control. These systems can be worn around the leg, and have attachments that collect stray urine. They are easy to replace and clean, and discreet enough so that male incontinence doesn’t have to slow you down.
Travel Urinals
Travel urinals are a good option for someone experiencing urge incontinence. If you find that you’re traveling or may be away from a restroom facility for an amount of time, using a travel urinal is probably the most appropriate of the mens incontinence products.
Disposable Pads and Briefs
For men, using disposable pads or briefs might be a foreign idea. However, there are plenty of pads for male incontinence designed to be both discreet and comfortable. The types of pads include everything from a “drip collector,” which is a disposable pad that sheaths around the penis, to pads you can insert into briefs as “guards,” to absorbent underwear.
Bed Pads
If male incontinence is more of a problem at night, a sanitary bed pad can be a good investment. Bed pads are made to be comfortable and to minimize the hassle and embarrassment of cleaning up after an accident.
External Catheters
Unlike the kind of catheter you get at a hospital, external catheters go on the outside of the penis, rather than connecting through the inside of the urethra. These can be rolled on to fit like condoms. The urine is funneled into a separate plastic bag. These may be useful products at night, but it’s important to get the right fit for an external catheter in order to prevent leaks.
Penile Clamps
Penile clamps, or “external compression devices,” might sound like the most unpleasant of the mens incontinence products, but can be good options for some men with urinary incontinence. A small amount of pressure temporarily closes off the urethra, which will prevent involuntary leaks or dribbles. The “clamp” is made of soft foam, and should not be uncomfortable. These are only meant to be solutions for a few hours at a time, and using these particular mens incontinence products too frequently might cause circulation problems. Talk to your doctor to see if a penile clamp might be a good temporary solution for you.
As you can see there are many incontinence products available for you, so take heart that there are solutions and you are not alone. Learn more about mens incontinence products by visiting our other posts.