Tonight we’re going to talk about bowel and bladder control primarily, so Dr. Graves and I both actually trained together at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. And we’ve been each practicing for close to ten years and we’ve had five years of urology training in residency and med school before that. And the topic tonight is something that we do have a lot of focus in and enjoy taking care of and have specialty in.
So what’s normal and what isn’t in regards to urinary bowel control so it’s you know aging does affect urination it is true you’ll pee more frequently an occasional accident can happen but it’s not completely normal and there could be underlying causes that could lead to loss of control so patients who are planning their life around the bathroom and thinking about where the nearest bathroom is before they leave you know they’re thinking about where they’re going which restaurant am i going to where’s that bathroom how long is my car ride where can i stop where’s that gas station do i need to wear a pad when i’m outside the house what can i eat or drink that is starting to tell you that there could be a significant issue because it is affecting the quality of your life obviously if you’re drinking a lot of fluid and you have to go a little more frequently that’s normal but if you’re losing control or have the constant fear that you’re not going to make it in time or actually having accidents that’s something that should be evaluated and can be fixed.
