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Care of older Americans with incontinence costs billions annually; Communication and education are key in combating the issue

AKRON, Ohio, Sept. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Here's the popular belief held by many older people suffering with the embarrassing issues of overactive bladder and incontinence: This isn't a problem that's appropriate to talk about -- you just deal with it -- because it's what happens when you get old.

Unfortunately, this thinking leads to an alarming number of older Americans either being isolated or institutionalized. The real tragedy is that this is a highly treatable problem, according to Dr. Raymond Bologna, a urologist and author of The Accidental Sisterhood, a book addressing the multifaceted issue of pelvic floor disorders like overactive bladder and incontinence. Visit www.AccidentalSisterhood.com  for more information.

"When an older person is dealing with a bladder control problem or incontinence, they often cut themselves off from friends and family. They're afraid that if they visit their children and stay the night, for example, they'll have an embarrassing accident. Instead of enjoying life, many seniors stay at home and suffer in silence," said Dr. Bologna. "It definitely isn't something that many people are willing to talk about and, unfortunately, there are real consequences to this thinking."

Injury related to incontinence is a leading cause of admission to assisted living and nursing care facilities. In fact, more than 50% of nursing facility admissions are related to this problem.

What typically happens is that the person falls and sustains an injury during the night, because they get up frequently to urinate or have an accident. This renders them unable to live without help.

"The thing that's particularly frustrating about this problem is that it's highly treatable and preventable in many cases. Billions are spent each year, caring for people who may not have ended up in nursing care if their overactive bladder or incontinence problems had been managed early on," said Dr. Bologna.

The annual cost for caring for incontinence in nursing facilities: an estimated $5.2 billion dollars. That number doesn't account for costs associated with purchasing absorbent pads and diapers, which cost an individual thousands of dollars per year.

"The problem is that doctors often don't have time to discuss these issues when treating many other illnesses and patients aren't asking about the problem," Dr. Bologna continued. "The healthcare system doesn't recognize this, but incontinence is among the leading chronic health problems in the U.S. We all need to start talking about pelvic floor issues. Better communication alone will have a significant impact in combating this problem."

  Here are the facts:

   * Bladder control issues and incontinence aren't a natural consequence of growing old and these are highly treatable problems.

    * There is a number of causes of overactive bladder and incontinence; however, these problems commonly result from weakness in the pelvic floor.

 * Routine exercising of the pelvic floor can help prevent these problems in many cases.

  * There are a number of treatments for overactive bladder and incontinence -- pelvic floor therapy, medication and minimally invasive surgery.

"Regardless if you are age 25 or 85, understanding pelvic floor disorders can save you and your loved ones a whole lot of heartache," says Dr. Bologna. "It also seems clear that education and communication can potentially save people billions of dollars per year."