Evaluation for Female Urinary Incontinence
Evaluation for Female Urinary Incontinence
Incontinence is a common condition but one that should not be ignored. Women suffering from incontinence should see Dr Erhard because there are a number of treatment interventions that can dramatically improve their urinary control. Dr Erhard will often ask patients to fill out a voiding diary, or a frequency/volume chart, to establish urinary patterns.
She may perform a urinalysis to rule out an infection or other problems, a bladder ultrasound or scan after voiding to ensure that the patient is emptying her bladder completely, and a cough stress test to investigate whether stress incontinence exists. Dr Erhard will have you schedule urodynamics test (also called a bladder function test). This evaluation allows Dr Erhard to determine the bladder capacity, whether the bladder is spamming while it is filling, whether incontinence is present, and if so, what type, and whether bladder pressures while it is filling are appropriate. She can also analyze the voiding pattern analyzed with this test, and get an X-ray of the bladder.
