Urinary Incontinence in the Elderly

Thirteen million Americans and at least half of the 1.5 million nursing home residents in the U.S. experience urinary incontinence (UI), yet many people go without treatment because they feel embarrassed or don't realize that UI is highly responsive to treatment. Urinary Incontinence in the Elderly discusses how to educate health care providers and the public about UI and how physicians, directors of nursing, and other health care providers can begin and maintain a comprehensive, science-based approach to diagnosing and treating UI. In no time at all, you will be able to implement effective treatment plans that are consistent with your patients'conditions, goals, and wishes.In addition to its practical techniques and steps for managing acute and chronic UI, Urinary Incontinence in the Elderly contains tables and charts that will help you diagnose the patient's condition, identify the causes for UI, and select appropriate treatment methods. The book also gives you a list of helpful questions to assist you in the identification and assessment of UI and sample bladder records so that you or your patient can keep track of voluntary and involuntary urine voidings. To further increase your understanding of UI and its management, this helpful guidebook discusses:


teaching women about gestational and postpartum pelvic muscle exercises

proper bladder-emptying techniques

behavioral, pharmacologic, and surgical treatment of UI

risk factors associated with UI, such as low fluid intake, high-impact physical activities, diabetes, and estrogen depletion

stress incontinence

how your body makes, stores, and releases urine

ensuring proper care of long-term residentsUrinary Incontinence in the Elderly will help consumers and caregivers treat and manage UI, but it will also enable them to work together to target and alleviate specific risk factors before UI even sets in. Don't let UI go untreated--with dedicated teamwork and this book's advice and suggestions, you can overcome it, or at least manage it, with surprising levels of success.