Urinary incontinence affects both men and women, that “should not underestimate its symptoms”, alerts Paulo Temido , urologist at Hospital da Luz Coimbra and Hospital da Luz Clínica de Pombal, in an interview to Diário de Coimbra . The disease is not a natural consequence of ageing and in 85% of the cases, it has an “effective treatment”, further highlights the specialist, in the scope of the European Week of Urinary Incontinence, happening between 14 and 19 March, with the purpose of raising the awareness of the population to the need of seeking medical help, so as to resolve the problem and achieve better quality of life. For the great majority of patients, urinary incontinence remains a taboo, thus suffering in silence: “50 to 70% of patients do not seek medical help”, compromising the diagnosis and treatment, reveals the specialist, who is the president of the Portuguese Association of Neuro-urology and Uro-gynaecology (APNUG). In fact, the prevalence is huge, being estimated that urinary incontinence affects around 35% of people over 60, and that 80% of the elderly in residential institutions suffer from this pathology. A large part of the population actually believes that the disease is “a normal consequence of ageing, such as getting wrinkles”, adds Paulo Temido. Therefore, there is “an average delay of six to nine months in the diagnosis and in the treatment of the disease”, which brings “adverse consequences to life, the person affected spending years and years with a non-treated disease”. And the COVID-19 pandemic, he further states, has just aggravated the propensity to underestimate a disease that, in 85% of cases, has an “effective treatment” , either through pharmacological therapy, minimally invasive surgery, or pelvic physiotherapy, for instance. Paulo Temido also draws attention to the fact that urinary incontinence may not only be caused by a malfunctioning of the bladder, but may be associated to a more serious disease. Thence the importance of not underestimating the alert signs and seek medical help . Interview of Paulo Temido to Diário de Coimbra
