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Female incontinence causes a lot of trouble to the affected women.
According to a recent trial, Botox shots are more efficient in treating female urinary incontinence than the traditional control devices. The advantage of the Botox shots is the fact that they are less invasive and cheaper than the mechanical devices.
The researchers in charge of the study analyzed both the effects of InterStim and onabotulinumtoxinA in female patients that had an overactive bladder resistant to conventional treatments.
Besides the bladder control devices that are inserted via surgical means, doctors also prescribed to patients who were not opened to such invasive treatment methods to try fluid restriction and muscle training. The participants in the trial found these methods unsatisfactory.
Six months after the volunteer sample was treated with Botox, the women experienced approximately 3.9 fewer incidents, as compared to the InterStim group who only suffered a modification of 3.3. Statistically speaking, the 0.6 difference is quite substantial.
Botox is so efficient in treating the common disorder because it helps the muscles relax, incontinence being caused by random spasms in the pelvic muscles that press on the bladder, releasing small amounts of urine.
The substance is also cheaper, and the administration method is less invasive, the patient only feeling a small pinch when the Botox is injected.
The InterStim is a device that is surgically placed above the tailbone. It works by sending moderate electric impulses to the sacral nerves, those responsible for controlling the sensation and movement in the pelvic area.
Patients who opt for the InterStim are also given a remote control that helps them adjust the intensity of the electric impulses. Researchers believe that the device can teach the brain to communicate with the bladder better. However, this takes a lot of time.
Cindy Amundsen, the lead author of the study and professor at Duke University, declared that both treatments are effective in combating the effects of severe female incontinence.
In the US alone there are a couple of millions of women who suffer from the condition. Female incontinence is usually an effect of obesity, menopause, or childbirth. While the disorder is not life or health threatening, it does cause severe inconveniences because the affected women must wear special absorbent underpants that trap the small amounts of urine that are released during the incontinence episodes.
Image source: Pixabay
Brian Galloway
Brian’s philosophy is pretty straightforward: easy living, wishful thinking, heavy criticizing. Despite the fact that he wouldn’t go as far as describe himself a conspirationist, Brian does take everything with a grain of sand. He loves following every lead when covering a story and mostly enjoys to cover politics and US news.
