Female urinary incontinence: types and treatment approaches
Bulgarian Medical Journal, 2025, 19(2), 7-12.
D. Davidova1,2, E. Ismail3,4
1 “Prof. Asen Zlatarov” University ‒ Burgas
2 New Life Clinic ‒ Burgas
3 Health Care Department, Medical University ‒ Varna
4 SHATOG “Prof. D. Stamatov” ‒ Varna
Abstract. Urinary incontinence is an involuntary loss of urine. It is a significant medical and social problem that affects the quality of life of many women. There are different types of incontinence depending on how and when the leakage occurs: stress, urge or mixed urinary incontinence. The frequency of the individual three types of urinary incontinence is difficult to establish because it varies greatly between different literary sources, but can be summarized as 40% stress urinary incontinence, 33% urgency and 20% mixed incontinence. Stress urinary incontinence is the most common type in women The treatment of the problem is determined by the type and degree of severity of symptoms; it can be conservative (with medication), surgical and minimally invasive (laser) treatment. Conservative treatment is specific to each type of urinary incontinence, using anticholinergics and serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Laser therapy is increasingly used nowadays in the treatment of stress urinary incontinence, and various surgical techniques play a role in cases where conservative treatment has failed or when urinary incontinence is severe. A review of conventional and modern treatment methods highlights the importance of a comprehensive approach to effective management of this condition. The choice of an appropriate method depends on the severity of incontinence, the underlying pathophysiological mechanism, co-morbidities and patient preferences. In this literature review, the types of urinary incontinence, their frequency and risk factors for its occurrence, as well as the different treatment approaches, will be considered.
Key words: urinary incontinence, stress incontinence, treatment approaches
Address for correspondence: Elis Ismail, e-mail: , ORCID 0000-0002-8415-8424