Incontinence

Did you know this week is 'World Continence Week'? It's time for us all to ask ourselves the following questions: Do you have to rush to use the toilet? Are you frequently nervous at the thought that you might lose control of your bladder or bowel? Do you wake up twice or more during the night to go to the toilet? Do you sometimes leak when you lift something heavy, sneeze, cough or laugh? Do you sometimes leak when you exercise or play sport? Do you strain to empty your bowel? Incontinence is defined as any accidental or involuntary loss of urine, bowel motion, or wind. Incontinence can affect children and adults of all ages, genders and cultural backgrounds. Incontinence is an extremely common condition, yet sadly many people suffer in silence being too embarrassed to seek help. According, to the Continence Foundation of Australia, over 5 million Australians have bladder or bowel control problems for a variety of reasons. To help us better understand continence I had the absolute pleasure of speaking with Mary King - a Nurse Practitioner of 40 years who has specialised in this area of medicine. Mary diagnoses and manages continence - urology in people aged 18 - 100+ years at Sir Charles Gairdener Hospital, in Perth. I hope you have found this podcast episode of value and if you feel it can help others please share. Excellent resources to further your knowledge and ask for help with continence concerns reach out to Continence Foundation of Australia www.continence.org.au and your General Practitioner. If you have a few minutes to write a quick review on Apple Podcasts I would be most grateful. Thank you for taking the time to listen and support MeditalkPodcast. Stay safe and stay well, D :-) Episode Reference: Continence Foundation of Australia www.continence.org.au Free Helpline number: 1800 33 00 66