When 24-year-old Christin Young walked into the urology clinic at a major Sydney hospital, she was struck by the fact that she was the only person under 30 in the room. “There was nothing to validate me as a young person experiencing incontinence,” she says. “There was no information at all about urinary problems in young people and I felt it reinforced that incontinence is an older person’s issue and it was not okay for me to be experiencing it.”

There is not much that is interesting about a bin, but for one in ten Australian men, the presence of disposal bins for incontinence products in public toilets can have a profound impact on their lives.

WHAT ARE LOWER URINARY TRACT  SYMPTOMS (LUTS)?

Article provided with kind permission of Healthy Male

By Vicki Patton, Clinical Services lead, continence foundation of australia

WHY DO I SOIL MY UNDERWEAR?

Having a small amount of bowel incontinence (or soiling) can be very distressing and embarrassing.

As an Air Force veteran, Alan was never afraid  to speak his mind. This might explain why he  is comfortable talking to groups of forty or four hundred about his lived experience of incontinence.

“It is a myth that incontinence is only a women’s problem; it’s more common in men than we appreciate.” 

These are the words of Dr Darren Katz, a urologist, and the medical director of Men’s Health Melbourne. He specialises in continence issues, voiding dysfunction, erectile dysfunction, and male infertility.

Each year, the Continence Foundation of Australia calls for nominations for the Carer of the Year Award, to publicly recognise the important role that carers hold in ensuring the health and wellbeing of so many in our community. The Carer of the Year Award was presented during the National Conference on Incontinence in May 2022.

In March 2011, Allan became severely incontinent after undergoing an operation to remove his prostate gland due to cancer. After seeing a Nurse Continence Specialist, he joined a support group where he learnt about managing his incontinence and was advised to apply for the Continence Aids Payment Scheme (CAPS).

Pelvic Floor Muscle Training in men - correct technique

Firstly, think of what it feels like to be busting to go to the toilet and the pressure "down there."

Thirty-six-year-old William’s incontinence started approximately three and a half years ago. At the time he was moving from Canberra to start a new life in Sydney, and so thought his constant need to urinate was a symptom of nerves and anxiety. Due to frequent urges to urinate, he gradually began experiencing leakage.

REHABILITATION FOR MALE PELVIC FLOOR MUSCLES WITH PHYSIOTHERAPIST DAVID COWLEY

David Cowley works as the Men’s Health Clinical Stream Leader at Active Rehabilitation Physiotherapy in Brisbane. He has a special interest in physiotherapy to rehabilitate pelvic floor muscles for men.

Pelvic Floor Muscle Function in men: Continence Control for Life!

In 2021, World Continence Week focused on the national launch of the BINS4Blokes campaign, which highlighted a massive gap in the existence of incontinence product disposal bins for males in public toilet facilities across Australia.

Providing a Light at the End of the Tunnel - Dr Michael Whishaw
 

"Nocturia is more common as you age, but it is not always an issue with the bladder, it may be related to sleep issues, kidney issues, fluid intake or even respiratory issues. The majority of older people who get up at night make more urine at night than is normal. To wake once in the night is common, twice or more is worth investigating.”

Ray's story - Managing incontinence after an accident

In May 1999, on the night of his 50th birthday, Ray was involved in a serious car accident. He suffered broken ribs and punctured lungs, but his most

Faecal Incontinence by Dr Rosemary Crone

Dr Rosemary Crone is a geriatrician who specialises in continence. She works at Barwon Health in the community continence clinic based at the McKellar site, comprising a sub-acute rehabilitation area, community clinics and residential aged care facilities (RACF). For Dr.

Council on the Aged (COTA) Victoria

Sadly, older people often experience ageism, which can result in them being viewed as a homogenous group by policymakers who make decisions on
funding, support services and legislation. In some settings, our rights and opinions appear to matter less as we age.

Nicky Barry from the Council on the Aged (COTA) Victoria says she often assists people who are capable of making decisions and interacting with services independently but are not given the opportunity because of the way the system is set up.

Ann's Story - "A Bladder Augmentation Gave Me Freedom"

As a child, Ann developed an aversion to using the toilet, and instead attempted to hold her urine. Consequently, the muscular wall of her bladder thickened, and her bladder worked less effectively, making it harder for her to pass urine. Eventually, too much pressure in the bladder may overwhelm the urethral sphincter and cause the bladder to leak. Ann was repeatedly told her inability to hold urine was either psychological or because of bladder stones.

Debunking Myths about Older People and Incontinence by Dr Joan Ostaszkiewicz

Dr Joan Ostaszkiewicz, Director Aged Care Division, National Ageing Research Institute (NARI) and Ms Elizabeth Watt, Senior Research Fellow, Aged Care Division, NARI

Nurse Continence Specialist Janie Thompson, Clinical Services Manager, Continence Foundation of Australia talks Laxatives

Laxatives are a commonly used medication to treat and manage constipation, however many people don’t realise that not all laxatives are the same. It is important to get advice from your GP, pharmacist or continence specialist
to help you work out if you need laxatives and, if so, what type, how much, when and how often to take them.

Pelvic Floor Maintenance for Seniors

Pelvic Floor Maintenance for Seniors by Kathryn Rogers, Pelvic Floor Physiotherapist at Alfred Health and Elizabeth Crowe, Nurse Continence Specialist at Alfred Health.

Incontinence and pelvic floor muscle weakness are very common in seniors but should not be accepted as “just old age.” The pelvic floor muscles play a key role in bladder and bowel contro