Wellness Check
About Comfort Keepers
Comfort Keepers provides award-winning in-home care for seniors and other adults in need of assistance with daily activities. Our highly trained and dedicated caregivers can help your loved one stay in their home for as long as safely possible—a dream come true for many elders.
Care Services
In-home care isn't a one-size-fits-all approach. Comfort Keepers provides home care services tailored to each individual's needs and unique situations.
Information Centre
Uplifting In-Home Care Services for Seniors & Other Adults Right Where You Need It. Comfort Keepers Orangeville, ON provides in home care services and senior care.
Locations
Comfort Keepers provides services in Orangeville and the surrounding areas of Ontario.
Employment
Testimonials
Blog
Accessibility
Home > Senior Care Blog > Seniors and Bladder Incontinence
Uncategorized | April 12, 2021
Seniors and Bladder Incontinence – bladder incontinence is a highly prevalent disease that not only affects a senior’s health, but impacts their daily lives emotionally, socially, and economically. With a rapidly growing senior population, more people will experience incontinence – however, it is not an inevitable part of aging.
The body stores urine in the bladder, a hollow organ much like a balloon. During urination, muscles in the bladder tighten to move urine into a tube called the urethra, while the muscles around the urethra relax and let the urine pass out of the body. When the muscles in and around the bladder don’t work properly, urine can leak. Incontinence can occur for short periods of time due to urinary tract infections, constipation, or as a side effect of a medication.
|
Urinary incontinence diagnosis: Your loved one may feel embarrassed by accidents and the use of absorbent pads or protective underwear, which, in turn, could trigger a reluctance to visit the doctor. Or there could be some confusion about which specialist to see. But stress to your loved one that the best reason to see a doctor is that senior urinary incontinence is quite treatable. If your loved one feels comfortable with his or her primary care doctor, start there. Women can also find a urogynecologist, while men could visit a urologist; either can see a geriatrician, or a nurse practitioner who specializes in incontinence issues.
A urinalysis to rule out infection or blood in the urine; blood tests to check on kidney function, calcium and glucose levels; a thorough discussion of one’s medical history; and a complete physical exam, including a rectal exam and a pelvic exam for women, and a urological exam for men. The doctor may prescribe a medicine that calms muscles and nerves to treat an overactive bladder. If leakage is caused by weak muscles, the doctor or nurse can suggest exercises to strengthen the pelvic muscles. The doctor may fit a woman with a device worn in the vagina that helps lift the bladder. If other treatments fail, surgery may be suggested to improve bladder control.
Avoid giving drinks like caffeinated coffee, tea, and sodas that increase urination, but don’t limit water; keep pathways clear and the bathroom clutter-free with a light on at all times; make sure there are regular bathroom breaks; if there is a tendency to leak urine at certain times of the day, trips to the bathroom ahead of time can help; supply underwear that is easy to get on and off; and use absorbent underclothes for trips away from home.
Find a time when you and your loved one can be alone together, and discuss the subject with sensitivity and clarity. This is a dignity issue. Help your loved one understand that dignity is very important to both of you.
Comfort Keepers® can help. We offer a wide range of in-home care services ranging from personal care to companionship. Our services can include bathing, grooming, and hygiene; mobility assistance; toileting and incontinence care; dementia care; meal preparation; household tasks; and more. Call the Comfort Keepers Orangeville office today!
References:
A Place for Mom. “Elderly Urinary Incontinence: Causes & Care.” Web. 2016.
AgingCare.com. “Urinary and Bowel Incontinence for the Elderly and Aging.” Web. 2016.
WebMD. “Over Half of Seniors Plagued by Incontinence: CDC.” Web. 2014.
AgingCare.com. “How to Approach the Subject of Incontinence and Adult Diapers with an Elderly Parent.” Web. 2016.
NIH National Institute on Aging. “Urinary Incontinence.” Web. 2016.
Share This Post:
© Copyright 2025, Comfort Keepers | Privacy Policy | Code of Ethics | Call: 519-942-9101