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Guidelines for sites linking to mayoclinic.orgIntro: It's a problem thousands of women have but don't want to talk about. Urinary incontinence. It means not being able to enjoy everyday activities like going to the mall or taking a walk because you never know when the urge will hit. And when it does hit there's often not enough time to make it to the bathroom. But doctors at Mayo Clinic say a new device is helping women with urge incontinence avoid embarrassing moments.
| Video | Audio |
| Total Running time 1:24 | "HERE WE GO. OH MY GOODNESS!" |
| WHETHER IT'S A SPIN ON THE TILT-A-WHIRL. | |
| Eula Peterson | "HANG ON!" |
| OR A STROLL DOWN THE MIDWAY, | |
| Eula Peterson | "YOU WANT TO DO THAT ONE TOO?" |
| EULA PETERSON IS CONFIDENT. CERTAIN THAT SHE'LL MAKE IT THROUGH AN AFTERNOON AT THE FAIR WITHOUT AN EMBARRASING ACCIDENT. YOU SEE BEFORE SHE HAD A PROCEDURE TO CORRECT URINARY INCONTINENCE, | |
Eula Peterson Had Urinary Incontinence |
"I NEVER KNEW WHEN THE URGE WOULD HIT. AND I NEVER KNEW IF I HAD ENOUGH CONTROL WHEN IT HIT." |
Standup Vivien Williams Reporting |
LIKE EULA, THOUSANDS OF WOMEN HAVE INCONTINENCE OR PROBLEMS LEAKING URINE. IT HAPPENS FOR TWO REASONS: ONE IS AN ANATOMICAL PROBLEM WHICH CAUSES LEAKING WHEN YOU SNEEZE, COUGH OR JUMP. THAT CAN BE HELPED WITH SURGERY. SECOND TYPE, WHICH EULA SUFFERED, IS CAUSED BY OVER ACTIVE BLADDER REFLEXES. |
Christopher Klingele, M.D. |
"SO SIGNALS ARE BEING CONSTANTLY SENT TO THE BLADDER TO CONTRACT OR MAKE WOMEN FEEL LIKE THEY HAVE THE URGE." |
animation |
TO STOP THE FREQUENCY, DR. KLINGELE AND HIS TEAM IMPLANT A DEVICE CALLED THE SACRAL NERVE STIMULATOR. HE INSERTS WIRE ELECTRODES NEXT TO NERVES IN THE SPINE THAT CONTROL SOME OF THE BLADDER FUNCTION. AFTER A TEST RUN TO MAKE SURE IT WORKS, HE IMPLANTS A PULSE GENERATOR UNDER THE SKIN. THE DEVICE SENDS ELECTRICAL SIGNALS TO THE NERVE, ALLOWING THE BLADDER TO HOLD URINE AND EMPTY IT NORMALLY. |
| "WOO HOO!!!" | |
| THE DEVICE WORKS FOR EULA. | |
| Eula Peterson | "THERE AREN'T WORDS TO DESCRIBE WHAT IT MEANS TO BE WITH MY FAMILY." |
| AT THE FAIR WORRYING ONLY ABOUT WINNING THE BIG PRIZE... NOT ABOUT EMBARRASSING ACCIDENTS. | |
| FOR MEDICAL EDGE, I'M VIVIEN WILLIAMS. |
Tag: Eula had the device implanted only after being certain that medications, which help many women, did not work for her. She says she's not 100-percent back to normal, but almost.
Urinary incontinence is very common. And Dr. Klingele says medical advances are helping many women improve symptoms and get back to life. For more information, log onto our Web site at ...
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