Since january 1st of this year, people over 65 years old had a fall in Europe, sometimes with serious consequences.
Since january 1st of this year, people over 65 years old had a fall in Europe, sometimes with serious consequences.
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Urinary incontinence is an involuntary leak of urine. It can occur during the day or night. It is a very frequent problem, as is affects between 14 and 18% of people over 75 living at home and up to 40% of people over 75 living in nursing homes. The risk is twice as high among women than men.
The frequency of these disorders explains why incontinence constitutes a risk factor for falling: the urgent and repeated need to urinate leads to hasty trips to the toilet which can be dangerous.
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Many illnesses can lead to incontinence: bladder trauma, or a neurological disease such as multiple sclerosis for example. However, muscle ageing is responsible for a failure in the suspension means of the bladder which can lead to urinary incontinence during physical effort: this is known as passive incontinence and caused by a decrease in the resistance of the urethra. Leaks of urine occur when abdominal pressure is suddenly raised, for instance during coughing, sneezing or laughing.
Another form of incontinence is frequent among elderly women: urge incontinence, which is caused by the hyperreflexia of the vesical wall muscles. Their abnormal contractions occur involuntarily and lead to an urgent need to urinate.Among elderly men, incontinence problems are most frequently linked to prostate problems: it leads to a block in the urethra, the bladder distends and then, when pressure exceeds the resistance level of the sphincter, the overflow leakage occurs; this is known as overflow incontinence. Following prostate surgery, incontinence can also occur temporarily.
