The Manneken Pis statue in the centre of Brussels temporarily stopped peeing on Monday afternoon. The statue’s short dry spell was part of an initiative by the Flemish organisation PlasPraat vzw and the Dutch organisation Bekkenbodem4all to mark the start of World Continence Week. Around 1 in 3 people suffer some form of continence issue.
With their Never Too Late campaign PlasPraat vzw and the Bekkenbodem4all are trying to break the taboo surrounding incontinence. People with incontinence or other urine-related issues wait an average of 6.5 years before seeking medical help.
The Urologist An-Sofie Goessaert, is PlasPraat vzw’s Chairwoman. Dr Goessaert says that shame is often the reason for the long delay in seeking help.
“Many people wait a long time out of shame and as a result, they miss out on help, isolate themselves and end up becoming socially isolated.” There is also a misconception that urine loss is simply part of ageing. “The risks do increase with age, but that does not mean that nothing can be done about it.”
Treatment
Currently numerous treatments are available. “With the majority of patients, we can keep the problem under control fairly easily by means of pelvic floor physiotherapy, nerve stimulation or medication,” Dr Goessaert explains.
“In addition to this, there are more specialised techniques such as Botox injections or implantable nerve stimulators. We can often keep the problem in check so well that people can resume their lives.”
The problem is not limited to adults. Children can also have issues. These are caused in part by poor hygiene in school toilets and insufficient opportunities to drink. “If children drink or urinate too little during the day, this can lead to problems later on.”
The campaign also draws attention to (the lack of) public toilets. “More public toilets would help a lot of people. While not being a treatment in itself the provision of more public toilets would make suffers’ lives much easy and prevent social isolation.”