Prostate Cancer and Bladder Weakness
For men prostate cancer is like breast cancer for women, many are concerned when they hear these words. Currently prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer diagnosed in men here in the UK. According to the NHS 35,000 men are diagnosed with it every year and one man dies every hour of the disease.
I must confess I was baffled when I first read these figures. To be honest I was more scared than baffled. Why? For the simple fact that it is also the second most deadliest cancer, behind only lung cancer.
In most cases cancer is a hereditary disease, but there are ways to prevent this malignant menace.
1. Healthy Diet based on anit-prostate cancer foods
2. Healthy sex life
3. Aerobic Exercises
4. Eat more Cereal high in Flax
Source: Ask Men
A common side-effect of prostate cancer is bladder weakness; currently the condition affects 3.6 million UK men, making it just as common as asthma or arthritis.
With both disease and condition closely related Tena Men made a partnership with The Prostate Cancer Charity. The partnership is aimed to support men with prostate problems, whilst highlighting possible side effects, such as bladder weakness, and encouraging them to seek help and advice.
Tena is also using the partnership to promote the re-launch of its Tena Men incontinence products range. The product range remains the same, with Level 1 and Level 2 available, but packaging has been changed to become more masculine, more discreet and more consumer-friendly.
We will be discussing Tena Men incontinence products range in more detail in future posts. For now, all of us here at Allanda we wish all our readers a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year.
Treating Mixed Urinary Incontinence with Magnetic Stimulation
Mixed urinary incontinence is probably the most difficult type of incontinence to treat because leakage can occur by urgency as well as by stress. In most cases it requires a staged multimodal treatment.
A recent study published on the BJUI (British Journal of Urology International) analysed the effectiveness of a pulsating magnetic field created by a device called Pulsegen – a small pocket device designed to fit in a patient’s underwear that produces a pulsating magnetic field of B = 10 microT intensity and a frequency of 10 Hz.
Powered by a small battery with a lifespan of about 8 weeks the stimulator provides 8 weeks of continuous functional magnetic stimulation.
The study assigned 39 with mixed urinary incontinence randomly in double-blind fashion to stimulation with either an active or inactive identical device.
After a two month follow up patients who remained blinded to treatment reported the success. Patients using the active device reported a significant decrease in 24-hour voiding frequency (from 9.0 to 6.7), nocturnal (from 2.6 to 1.4), and incontinence pad use (from 3.9 to 2.2).
Overall, 42% of the patients in the active functional magnetic stimulation group reported a clinical cure compared with 23% in the placebo group.
Sourced from: http://www.bjui.org/
Sacral Nerves Electric Stimulation a Surgeon’s View
Nearly 30% of adults in Britain have experienced some degree of incontinence, be it men or women. The worst part of all this is that the majority are ashamed to seek help or to bother about their condition.
There are many treatments and therapies available and some times cure incontinence completely. Today we bring you an extract from an article published on The Daily Mail Online.
The article is about a patient’s and surgeon’s view of a procedure used to treat and sometimes cure urge incontinence or if you prefer overactive bladder. In medical terms the treatment is called sacral neuromodulation for us mortals it is the stimulation of the nerves surrounding the bladder via electric pulses.
The Surgeon’s View
Jeremy Ockrim, consultant urological surgeon at University College Hospital and the Wellington Hospital, London.
Bladder problems can range from a sudden urge to go to the loo, which people are able to control, to cases where the urge is almost immediate — the patient passes urine before they can find a lavatory.
These conditions are caused by an overactive bladder — when the bladder fills with urine, it spasms, causing the urgency and, if the spasms continue, leakage of urine.
This is an embarrassing and debilitating condition.
Research shows sufferers are also at higher risk of depression and falls in older age, as they become anxious and rush to get to the loo. The cause is largely unknown, although it is linked to hormones (it’s more common in women after the menopause), childbirth and nerve problems.
Although men and women suffer equally, women are more likely to be wet because men have two sphincter muscles and the prostate to help control the bladder, rather than just one partial sphincter in women.
The condition also gets more common with age, affecting between 15 and 20 per cent of women in their 30s and 40s, and 30 per cent by 60 to 65.
Traditionally, there have been only two ways to treat the condition: physiotherapy, medication and bladder training for mild cases, and reconstructive surgery for severe cases, with nothing in between.
In the past ten years, Botox has been used to paralyse the bladder muscle, but there’s a 30 per cent risk of over-paralysing the bladder.
Sacral neuromodulation is a new treatment and works on the nerves rather than the bladder itself. It’s a bit like a pacemaker for the bladder.
In babies, passing urine is a reflex, which is why they do it every ten to 15 minutes. Adults normally have greater control because nerve messages from the brain stop this reflex. But in people who have bladder problems, this blocking signal from the brain doesn’t work properly, so they revert to reflex control.
This new technique ‘tickles’ the nerves with an electric current to reset the system back to adult setting.
Before a patient goes ahead with the full treatment, we test they are suitable (it won’t work in around 30 to 40 per cent of people).
To do this we insert a tiny wire in the sacrum (the lower part of the back), alongside the nerves leading to the bladder. This wire can be placed using local anaesthetic or sedation.
The patient then carries around a small generator for three weeks. If the treatment works, then we permanently implant a stimulator.
Here we place a small battery device under the skin in the lower back and then patients are given a remote control so they can change the settings if they need more or less control over their bladder.
Some have also reported a big improvement in their sex lives! This is because the nerves that supply the bladder also supply the genitals. This has been a surprising, but welcome, benefit for many.
In about 20 per cent of patients, the wire slips out of place, stops the device from working and needs to be replaced.
However, the latest devices have new leads, which hopefully will reduce this problem.
Although the treatment is approved by NICE, it is not widely used in this country because there are not many doctors trained to carry it out and the costs are high.
Last year, I performed 70 cases — mostly women between the ages of 40 and 60 — and currently have another 70 people on the waiting list.
The operation costs between £10,000 and £12,000 privately and has the same cost to the NHS.
New rights for million of carers
The first of October 2010 will be marked as a historical day for UK carers. Thanks to Equality Act 2010, millions of unpaid carers gained new rights; they cannot be directly discriminated against or harassed because they are caring for disabled people.
The Equality Bill introduces four important new opportunities for carers:
• Socio-economic disadvantage
Clause 1 requires public authorities to have due regard to socio- economic disadvantage when exercising strategic planning functions.
• Associative discrimination
The Bill recognises the concept of ‘associative’ discrimination in relation to disabled
people – and widens the impact of the Coleman decision (clause 13 of the Bill) to make unlawful such discrimination, not only in relation to a person’s employment, but also in relation to goods, services, housing and other fields.
• Indirect discrimination
The Bill contains an explicit provision relating to indirect discrimination and disabled
People (clause 19) – which is not found in the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. Indirect discrimination occurs where an apparently neutral provision, criterion or practice puts, or would put, people with a protected characteristic (i.e. due to disability or sex or race etc) at a particular disadvantage compared with other people, unless that provision, criterion or practice can be objectively justified as being a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. A problem with this formulation is that there is a need to establish a comparator – i.e. a person who has not got the protected characteristic, and would not be adversely affected. An example is a height restriction for people wanting to enter the police force. This was neutral (i.e. it affected men and women alike) but because women are generally shorter than men, this provision adversely affected more of them than men.
• Impact assessments
The Bill (clause 145) extends the current duty on public bodies – such as local authorities and the NHS – to ensure that their policies and practices do not have an adverse impact on disabled (and other) persons. This duty is not merely negative: it includes an obligation to ensure that policies and practices are designed to eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation and to advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations. This includes an obligation to consider the impact of their policies and practices because of the concept of ‘associative’ discrimination.
The text above was extracted from a briefing of the Equality Act 2010 provided by Carers UK and you can download it here.
Behavioural Therapy and Male Incontinence
Urinary incontinence is a condition that affects millions of men worldwide and it is caused by a variety of reasons. One of the most prominent cause is benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), a natural enlargement of the prostate gland that occurs as a natural part of aging.
First of all don’t panic just because I said it is natural enlargement of the prostate and it happens as men age, this doesn’t mean that all men will have incontinence at some point in life.
Benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH is related to age factors such as uncontrolled hormone balance and causes commonly known as “overflow incontinence“. This type of incontinence occurs when a certain individual is unable to empty their bladder completely during a deliberate urination session due to constriction or blockage of the urethra, in BPH cases the enlargement of the prostate blocks the urethra.
Since the bladder depends on a clear urethra to empty itself properly, pressure can build up inside and force urine out past the blockage without warning.
The first line of defence against BPH is behavioural therapy. Maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle will help preserve muscle tone in the pelvic area. Some say that sex is also a good way to prevent BPH as regular ejaculation helps maintain muscle tone in the pelvic and urinary sphincter area, but unfortunately there is no medical evidence to back this claim.
Not to worry if you haven’t lived a healthy life up until now, there are a number of therapies available to help you improve you condition. Bladder retraining and Biofeedback are two of them.
With bladder retraining you will learn how to strengthen the bladder muscles and adjust urinating time spans by voiding at repetitive, timed intervals. This will improve the bladder’s capacity and extend the interval between voiding.
Biofeedback is also a type of behavioural therapy, where a simple instrument detects when a chosen muscle relaxes or contracts and provides a secondary method of feedback for the patient, such as a light or sound. The added feedback allows patients to exercise and improve control of selected muscles.
It is important to highlight the fact that with incontinence there isn’t a set treatment for all patients, each case should be accessed individually. Because what works for one patient might not work for others. So our last piece of advice is, if you are experiencing some sort incontinence episodes talk to your GP and let him suggest what is the best treatment for your type of incontinence.
Incontinence caused by Childbirth
Childbirth is the most wonderful experience a woman can have in her entire life but for a small minority this experience can leave lasting injuries that will degrade their lifestyle.
One of these injuries is called obstetric fistula – a fissure, or hole, between her rectal and vaginal passages that can damage nerves cutting brain communication with the bladder leading to a severe case or urinary incontinence.
Such problem is not very common here in the UK but a recent article on The Guardian caught our attention and we decided to share it with our readers.
The article “Torn Apart by Childbirth” tells the story of Mel who had a problematic delivery that caused her change ever since. Sex is difficult and painful; she rarely goes out socially, and she has only been able to return to work in the last two months.
Despite Mel’s case being a rare one, birth injuries that lead to long term or permanent damage are more common that many people think. One study found that between 25 and 40% of patients will have a birth injury of some kind if you actually look for it. It’s much more widespread than anyone believes.
Many women suffer in silence and here is where the problem needs to be tackled. We’ve heard from women in their 50′s that gave birth in their 30′s and have lived with faecal incontinence all this time and done nothing because they thought they were freaks.
Maureen Treadwell at the Birth Trauma Association agrees: each week, she says, her organisation hears from women who haven’t known where to turn for advice before. “It’s a totally hidden problem, and it affects women’s lives in devastating ways,” she says. “Many of the women who contact us have rectal as well as urinary incontinence, and they can’t have sex . . . for some, their relationship totally breaks down as a result of it all. Women tell us it makes them feel dirty; it wrecks their work, their home and their social life. And it’s a total taboo.”
Every day we hear from people that are ashamed of their condition and don’t seek help because they simply don’t have the confidence to do so. For years now here at All About Incontinence we have been stressing out the fact that Incontinence is nothing to be ashamed off and it is TREATABLE.
Our aim here is to help you feel more confident through giving you the best incontinence products for reliable protection and the right information to help you understand and manage your condition.
Do not hesitate to contact us or ask our nurse specialist Shona with your doubts. All emails and calls are dealt with total discretion.
Facts and Figures about Stress Urinary Incontinence
Stress urinary incontinence is by far the most common type of incontinence there is. In our previous article “NHS approves new pelvic muscles’ toner”, we talked about a revolutionary new treatment to this condition and now we decide to bring you some facts and figures about the stress urinary incontinence.
1. Stress incontinence occurs as a result of reduced support for the bladder.
2. It affects both men and women.
3. It is the most common form of incontinence for both genders
4. In men, stress incontinence is common following a prostatectomy.
5. In women, physical changes resulting from pregnancy, childbirth, and menopause often contribute to stress incontinence.
6. IT IS TREATABLE
7. Pelvic floor exercises are the most effective treatment.
8. Obesity can increase stress urinary incontinence episodes in patients already experiencing the symptoms.
9. One in ten women in the workplace experience it, as do a third of all new mothers.
10. It accounts for 65 % of female urinary incontinence.
11. It is estimated that 4 million women in the UK are affect by stress incontinence.
12. Surgery is only suggested after other treatments have not shown any positive results.
Got any more questions about stress urinary incontinence? Don’t hesitate to contact us or our nurse specialist Shona.
NHS approves new pelvic muscles' toner
Pelvic floor exercises are widely known as one of the most effective treatment for urinary stress incontinence but a lack of orientation from GP’s and the NHS itself has devalued this practice. Nevertheless, things are about to change thanks to brand new device called the Pelvic Toner.
It’s been 60 years since Arnold Kegel developed its worldwide famous exercise programme, also known as Pelvic Floor Exercises, to strengthen pelvic floor muscles and reduce the episodes of stress incontinence in women. But as afore mentioned scarcity of resources and information led women to loose faith in this practice.
The main reason was that they were simply handed a sheet of paper with instructions to use unsupervised. With PelvicToner things are about to change, following an extremely successful clinical trial and a robust cost-benefit evaluation, GP’s can now offer a more effective and faster treatment option to the millions women of all ages that present with the distressing symptoms of Stress Urinary Incontinence.
Published in the British Journal of Urology International the study reported an exceptional level of satisfaction with over 80% of PelvicToner users reporting significant improvement within a couple of weeks. Based on that the NHS has decided that the PelvicToner™ will be available on prescription with effect from January 2011. The PelvicToner will be the only product available under the brand new Drug Tariff category of Pelvic Toning Devices.
Research leader and author of the British Journal of Urology International article, Professor Marcus Drake of the Bristol Urology Institute, stated:
“Continence service provision is patchy and this sort of product empowers women, gives them better privacy and the prospect of not wasting their time. In our study the PelvicToner aided women to identify their pelvic floor confidently. It increases patient choice and may promote subsequent compliance and sustained efficacy.”
Clinical trials also confirmed that the PelvicToner is much more effective than expensive electrical stimulation devices and weighted vaginal cones reason why it has been recognised by the NHS and a special new category of ‘Pelvic Toning Devices’ has been created on the Drug Tariff IXA.