Mayo Clinic on Managing Incontinence

Mayo Clinic on Managing Incontinence provides reliable information about getting help for incontinence. Much of the information comes directly from the experience of health care professionals at Mayo Clinic. This book supplements the advice of your personal physician, whom you should consult for individual medical problems.

This book is intended to be a source of hope for all people who experience bladder and bowel control problems. Our message is that incontinence isn’t something you need to live with. Most incontinence can be improved or cured. A variety of therapies — from changes in lifestyle to minimally invasive procedures to surgery — can help with this common condition. In recent years, a number of advances have been made in the treatment of both urinary and fecal incontinence. Newer medications have been approved. Minimally invasive treatments such as bulking agents and Botox injections now provide additional treatment options. Procedures such as sacral nerve stimulation are seeing greater use. In addition, advances have been made in surgical procedures to treat more severe symptoms.