We should start with the facts and the awareness that you are not alone and incontinence affects millions of Australian Men and Women. In Australian alone there are over 4.8 million people living with incontinence and it affects 1 in 4 Women and 1 in 10 Men.
People can suffer from incontinence for many different reasons and at all stages of life. So it’s important to remember that there is nothing to be ashamed of and you shouldn’t feel the need to hide it or feel alone during this time.
Medical advice, facts and support for incontinence are readily available and easy to find on websites like ours.
Given that there is a large number of Australians living with incontinence this is a good indicator that our society in general has not been properly informed or conditioned about the importance of proper physical and dietary awareness. It’s important to maintain good emotional support by surrounding yourself with family, friends and loved ones.
Taking a positive approach can help you, to put you in charge of your incontinence, rather than it having control over you.
The term Incontinence describes involuntary loss of or accidental urine from the bladder (urinary incontinence) or wind from the bowel, faeces or bowel motion (faecal or bowel incontinence). The severity of this widespread condition can range from a small leak to complete loss of bladder or bowel control. Pelvic floor strengthening exercises can improve and often cure the symptoms.
Who it affects:
Incontinence affects 21% of the Australian community population with either urinary or faecal incontinence and aged anywhere from 15 years and over. The residential aged care population has almost 70% of sufferers. 80% of people with urinary incontinence are women and over half of them are under the age of 50.
Urinary Incontinence affects up to 13% of Australian men and up to 37% of Australian women however it has been found that nearly 70% of these women and men who visit the doctor or health care professional don’t discuss having incontinence, when the information is available to them to manage or even cure the symptoms. One in three women who have had a baby suffer from urinary incontinence.
Studies have shown that Faecal Incontinence affects up to 20% of Australian Men and 13% of Australian Women and is one of the three major causes of admittance to a residential aged care facility.