About Incontinence - Contributing Factors - Smoking
Medical Reviewer: Tamara Dickinson, RN, CURN, CCCN, BCIA-PMDB
Current and previous cigarette smokers are at a higher risk of experiencing stress urinary incontinence.
Why?
Cigarette smoking causes chronic coughing, which can damage the muscles of the pelvic floor causing a loss of stability of the pelvic floor muscles. Smoking is also known to be a bladder irritant.
Prevention
Not smoking is the best way to prevent incontinence associated with smoking.
Treatment and Management Options
While previous smokers are also at a higher risk of experiencing urinary incontinence, quitting smoking now may reduce your future risk or severity. Please read about stress urinary incontinence for more treatment and management options.
Tamara Dickinson is a nationally and internationally recognized authority in urodynamics, incontinence, voiding dysfunction, and pelvic floor dysfunction. Ms. Dickinson is board certified in urology nursing and continence nursing and is certified in biofeedback for pelvic muscle dysfunction.
With 15 years in the field, Ms. Dickinson is experienced in pelvic floor therapy including biofeedback and neurogenic voiding dysfunction, as well as other pelvic floor and continence therapies such as sacral neuromodulation and pessaries. She is a frequent national presenter on these topics.
Ms. Dickinson is the Senior Research Nurse in Continence and Voiding Dysfunction in the Department of Urology at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas , TX . She is the Immediate Past President of the Society of Urologic Nurses and Associates (SUNA), a professional organization committed to excellence in clinical practice and research through education of its members, patients, family and community. She is also a member of the Continence Promotion Committee and the School of Urodynamics of the International Continence Society.
Ms. Dickinson is a recipient of the SUNA President’s Trophy for outstanding contributions to the association. She also received the Past President’s Lectureship Award at the 2006 SUNA Annual Conference.
Page last modified 25 October 2009