Why am I leaking?

Sometimes we laugh a little too hard or cough or have that really big sneeze and all of a sudden we pee a little. This can be a funny experience for yourself that you usually don’t tell anyone, but you need to be careful and make sure it is not caused by something more serious.

Leakage can occur for different reasons, such as age, family history, and stress. I talked about the funny little sometimes while you are laughing so hard you can’t breath or coughing or sneezing. Leaking can happen while you are exercising or sometimes even when you are just sitting down.

For women, they have a common problem called “stress urinary incontinence.” As women get older and have delivered babies, the muscles and structures in the pelvis that support the urethra will weaken. This can result in urinary leakage when you laugh, cough, or sneeze. During pregnancy it is common to have leakage from the weight of the baby on your pelvic floor muscles, which support the bladder. The weight of the baby causes muscles to weaken. This weakening can last even after pregnancy. If you sneeze or laugh or walk around and you leak it may just be because you need to rebuild your pelvic floor muscles.

Men typically have the problem of leaking after they pee. It is called “post-void dribbling”. This can occur if the prostate is enlarged and impairs the way you urinate. For men, most urine problems are a result from some sort of prostate issue whether it is an enlargement or they just had surgery to remove their prostate.

If you are just sitting down and are not being active and are leaking, you may have an overactive bladder. This means that the bladder spasms and does not relax properly. There are different exercises to strengthen your bladder or there is medication to help solve this problem.

Leaking can be embarrassing and sometimes uncomfortable. Please consult with your doctor to find answers! There are different exercises to strengthen what muscles are weak and different medications to help regulate!

Please call to schedule an appointment for preventative/follow-up care: 512-694-8888