Disorders of the urinary system -- including urinary incontinence -- may be caused by illness, injury, or age-

related physical changes, such as decreased kidney function, loss of muscle strength in the urinary tract, and
increased numbers of urinary infections. However, urinary incontinence is not a certain consequence of growing
old and can occur at any age.

Many forms of urinary incontinence are short-term and can be managed with simple therapy. Some temporary
causes of urinary incontinence include:

 Infection and/or inflammation of the urinary tract, vagina or prostate

 Constipation (impacted stool)

 Psychological factors

 Mental delirium (confusion)

 Polyuria (increased production of urine)

 Limited mobility

 Side effects of medications

Urinary incontinence that is longer lasting or chronic may be caused by conditions such as:

 Weakness of the muscles that support the bladder

 Weakness of the bladder itself

 Weakness of the sphincter muscles that surround the urethra

 Overactive bladder muscles

 Blocked urethra due to prostate enlargement

 Nerve disorders or injuries

 Birth defects

 Hormone imbalances in women

In addition, some unlikely diseases and medications have been linked with urinary incontinence. Each case will
vary, depending upon factors such as the time course of the incontinence, as well as the age, gender and the
medical history of the affected person.

Below is a list of the most common risk factors for urinary incontinence. To find out more about a risk factor,
and how it might cause urinary incontinence, click on the title.

 Childbirth
 Menopause

 Pelvic Surgery

 Diabetes mellitus
  Decreased Mobility

 Diuretic Medications

Childbirth
In women, incontinence is often related to pregnancy and childbirth, which can flatten, stretch and weaken
many of the pelvic floor muscles that provide the necessary support to the bladder neck and urethra, and are
therefore important in urination. But, if a woman loses bladder control immediately after childbirth, she should
not despair. The pelvic floor muscles may just need time to recover, and the incontinence may go away by
itself.

If incontinence continues after 6 weeks, a physician should be contacted. Without proper treatment, urinary
incontinence can become a chronic problem.

Incontinence also may be caused by other aspects of pregnancy and childbirth, such as a changed position of
the bladder and urethra, episiotomy (a cut made in the pelvic floor/vagina, which makes it easier for the baby
to come out), or damage to the bladder control nerves. Studies suggest that the more vaginal births (births
through the reproductive canal; non-caesarean births) a woman has had, the more likely she is to leak urine
during physical activity.

Women who exercise the pelvic floor muscles usually have fewer bladder problems than those who do not.
Bladder control problems do not necessarily occur immediately after childbirth. Some women do not begin to
experience incontinence problems until months or years after they have borne children.

Menopause
Between 45 and 55 years of age, most women's ovaries (egg-containing glands) stop making estrogen: the
female sex hormone that regulates monthly menstrual periods and controls how the body matures and adapts
during pregnancy and breast-feeding. This reduction in estrogen causes menopause (the end of monthly
menstrual periods). Lack of estrogen can result in a urethra with a thin lining that does not close properly. Lack
of estrogen also makes the bladder muscles weaken. The combination of a thin, injury-prone urinary tract and
weak bladder muscles can cause the urethra to open unexpectedly during physical activity, leading to stress
incontinence.

Some of the signs of menopause-related bladder changes include:

 strong, urgent need to pass urine

 frequent need to pass urine

 painful urination

Fortunately, estrogen products are available for the treatment of incontinence caused by menopause. Women
who have such incontinence have the option of choosing from a number of different forms of estrogen.
However, every woman who thinks about using estrogen therapy should discuss the pros and cons with her
physician. Estrogen products are available only by prescription.

Pelvic Surgery
Like pregnancy and childbirth, pelvic surgery can weaken and damage the pelvic floor muscles. As a result, the
pelvic floor muscles may no longer be able to provide the necessary support to the bladder neck and urethra,
and these structures may drop freely when downward pressure is applied. This condition, which is known as
hyper mobility, causes incontinence during physical activity, when the urethra cannot close tightly enough to
resist increased abdominal pressure on the bladder.

Urinary incontinence can result from common forms of pelvic surgery, including abdominal resection for
colorectal (intestinal) cancer, gynecologic (female genital tract) surgery such as radical hysterectomy (complete
removal of the uterus) or hysterectomy for benign (noncancerous) disease, and failed prolapsed
(restabilization) surgery for stress urinary incontinence.

Most patients with postoperative incontinence have either detrusor instability (DI or unstable bladder: an
involuntary, downward-pushing contraction of the bladder) or urethral/bladder neck incontinence (abnormal
function) due to nerve damage. Successful management of DI incontinence usually can be achieved by drug
therapy and urinary catheterization (passage of a tube through the urethra into the bladder to drain urine into
a bag outside the body); patients with bladder neck incontinence may require additional surgical measures.
Diabetes mellitus
Diabetes mellitus is a disease that is characterized by producing large amounts of urine. The bodily changes
caused by diabetes can result in nerve damage that affects the bladder. The bladder malfunction specifically
associated with diabetes mellitus is called diabetic cystopathy. Diabetic cystopathy progresses with few
noticeable symptoms, although patients may lose bladder sensation. Over time, impaired bladder sensation
may lead to increased bladder volume and overdistension (overstretching), urinary retention (bladder-
emptying) problems, and overflow incontinence. The few existing treatments for diabetic cystopathy include
catheterization, timed voids and control of hyperglycemia (too much blood sugar).

Decreased Mobility
Decreased mobility is a cause of functional incontinence in older people who have relatively normal bladder
control but who have difficulty reaching the toilet in time because of physical disorders (for example, arthritis
and other crippling conditions) or mental disabilities.

Diuretic Medications
Diuretics, or water pills, are prescribed by physicians to increase the amount of urine that is released from a
patient's body. Diuretics are commonly used for the treatment of conditions such as hypertension (high blood
pressure) and edema (abnormal build-up of fluid in the body). Unfortunately, rapid-acting diuretics can
increase the urgency and frequency of urination in some people, particularly those who are elderly and/or
bedridden. Urinary incontinence may result.

The unwanted side effects of diuretics can be remedied by lowering or modifying the dosage of the medication:
for example, by flexible scheduling of rapid-acting diuretics.

Ailments & Remedies

Urinary Problems

The urinary tract is made up of the kidneys, ureters, bladder, and urethra.
These organs work together to produce, transport, store, and excrete urine,
the yellowish fluid that contains waste products removed from the blood.
Urine contains the by-products of our body's metabolism, salts, toxins, and
water. For instance, blood, protein, or white blood cells in the urine may
indicate injury, infection, or inflammation of the kidneys. Glucose in the
urine may be an indication of diabetes.

Problems in the urinary system can be caused by ageing, illness, or injury.

As you get older, changes in the kidneys' structure cause them to lose some
of their ability to remove wastes from the blood. Also, the muscles in your
ureters, bladder, and urethra tend to lose some of their strength. You may
have more urinary infections because the bladder muscles do not tighten
enough to empty your bladder completely. A decrease in strength of
muscles of the sphincters and the pelvis can also cause incontinence, the
unwanted leakage of urine. Illness or injury can also prevent the kidneys
from filtering the blood completely or block the passage of urine.

Some Diseases of the Urinary Symptoms:

Burning urine

While passing urine some people feel burning sensation in the urinary
passage. An infection in the urinary tract caused by diseases like
gonorrhoea, enlargement of prostate, a stone in the urinary bladder or
concentrated urine, as it happens in summer might be responsible for this
type of complaint. Burning sensation may occur along with the passage of
urine or may occur even after that. It may subside by taking some alkaline
drinks or few glasses of water.

Hematuria

Presence of blood in the urine is called hematuria. According to Ayurveda it

is a form of Adhoga Rakta Pitta. It is commonly caused by stones or
infection in the genito-urinary tract and some other haemorrhagic
conditions.

Nephritis

This refers to the inflammation of the kidney. It is of several types and in

different stages of the disease it produces different types of symptoms. In
Ayurveda it is called vrikka shotha.
Depending upon the variety of the nephritis, the signs and symptoms differ.
Usually there is oedema in the face, which is more prominent in the morning
and slowly subsides as the day passes on. The blood pressure may increase
and the patient may suffer from biliousness, nausea, vomiting, abdominal
pain, headache and diarrhoea.

Bed wetting

It is the involuntary urination at night. Children after the age of 3 or 4 years

normally possess sufficient control over their urinary sphincters in as much
as they pass urine only when they want. Because of certain reasons, this
control does not manifest because of which they continue to pass urine in
bed at night. This continues in some cases, even up to the age of 15. Both
boys and girls suffer from this ailment.

Kidney Stones

Urinary stones are generally formed by calcium, phosphates or oxalates.

The main parts of the urinary tract are the kidney, ureter, bladder and
urethra. The stones are formed primarily in the kidney and sometimes
remain there without being noticed for a long time. In certain circumstances
they are slowly dissolved or dislodged and come down, and during this
process, they become lodged in a narrow part of the tract, giving rise to
excruciating pain.
Stones are formed in the body because of vayu. It creates a type of dryness
I the body because of which the chemicals start accumulating over the
nucleus, that ultimately takes the shape of a stone. At times the entire
kidney is filled with these stones and it becomes calcified and stops
functioning. If urine is not excreted through the kidneys or excreted in small
quantities, uremia sets in and causes many complications. The same
phenomenon takes place if a piece of stone gets lodged in ureter or bladder.
The patient experiences pain in the lumber region of the kidneys at the back
of the body.
Urinary tract infections

It is caused by bacteria in the urinary tract. Women get UTIs more often
than men. Drinking lots of fluids also helps by flushing out the bacteria.
The name of the UTI depends on its location in the urinary tract. An
infection in the bladder is called cystitis. If the infection is in one or both of
the kidneys, the infection is called pyelonephritis

Prostatitis

It is inflammation of the prostate gland that results in urinary frequency and

urgency, burning or painful urination (dysuria), and pain in the lower back
and genital area, among other symptoms. In some cases, prostatitis is
caused by bacterial infection. But the more common forms of prostatitis are
not associated with any known infecting organism

Proteinuria

It is the presence of abnormal amounts of protein in the urine. Healthy

kidneys take wastes out of the blood but leave in protein. Protein in the
urine does not cause a problem by itself. But it may be a sign that your
kidneys are not working properly.

Healing Options

Herbal Remedy  Shilajit (Mineral Pitch, Asphaltum)

 Gokshura (Tribulus terrestris)
 Punarnava (Boerrhavia diffusa)
 Guduchi (Tinospora cordifolia)

 Chandan (Santalum album)

Ayurvedic  Chandraprabha Bati

Suppliments  Shilajeet Tablets / Capsules
 Chandanasava

 Gokshuradi Guggulu

Diet
 Hot spices are to be strictly avoided. The
patient should be given as much water as
possible to drink. Fresh lemon juice, fresh
coconut water, orange juice, sugarcane juice
and pineapple juice are extremely useful in
this condition. The patient should be given
fruits like apple, grapes, peaches and plums
in good quantity.
Lifestyle
 The patient should not expose himself to sun
or heat. Excessive perspiration takes away lot
of water from the body and the urine thus
becomes concentrated. Passage of this
concentrated urine through the urinary tract
causes irritation and gives rise to burning
sensation.  
Yoga  Gomukhasana (Cow's face pose)
 Pawanmuktasana (The knee to chest)

 Ardha Matsendra Asana (Half spinal

twist)