Ask An Incontinence Nurse Reaches a Milestone

PRLog (Press Release) - Sep 24, 2009 -
Concord, NH -- A free service that allows visitors to ask questions about urinary incontinence and receive answers from experts has been available on SeekWellness.com at www.seekwellness.com/askanoabnurse/ since 2006. The questions are submitted anonymously and are answered by a panel of nurse specialists in pelvic health. The database has grown to 400 questions and answers about incontinence topics. Typical questions and answers in the database:

* Can you help me with bed-wetting?
* My husband had radical prostatectomy in early March. it is now late April ...
* I seem to have a problem. When I sneeze or cough real hard, I have urine passing…
* How is a urinary tract infection transmitted, and what causes it?
* If I have groin pain, what type of doctor do I need to see?
* I have cystitis. How can I tell if it's a UTI or my cystitis flaring up?
* I am a male and would like to know if urinary catheterization is painful?

You can find the answers to these and 392 other questions by visiting Ask an Incontinence Nurse at www.seekwellness.com/askanoabnurse/.

Diane K. Newman, RNC MSN, CRNP FAAN, a certified nurse practitioner and internationally-known authority on incontinence is in charge of the program. According to Newman, “Urinary Incontinence (UI) is the unwanted leakage or loss of urine. Overactive bladder (OAB) is the uncontrollable urinary urgency and frequency usually experienced with UI”. These two conditions are very common in the United States and are estimated to afflict 33 million Americans. More than two thirds of the persons with UI and OAB are women. The total annual cost of providing care for persons with UI is estimated to be $28 billion.”

“The inability to control urine is one of the most unpleasant and distressing problems from which a person can suffer, often causing isolation, depression and physiological problems,” continues Newman. “In addition to the drain on the patient, UI is also a burden for family caregivers and the community, and the major reason aging parents are put into nursing homes. Unfortunately, many people with incontinence are too embarrassed to talk about it or don’t think it can be successfully treated.”

“For example,” Newman says, “patients with overactive bladder (OAB) tend not to tell their health care providers about their symptoms and ‘episodes’. Additionally, many health care providers do not ask about urinary control problems, at least as a matter of routine or as part of an overall health assessment. OAB is quite common but, according to a recent study, only one out of four women with symptoms of OAB with urinary incontinence (UI) seeks clinical help. OAB is both mis-diagnosed and under-treated, partly due to the ‘stigma’ attached to bladder control problems and partly due to the rampant misconceptions that exist among patients that inhibit them from seeking care.”

“The Ask an Incontinence Nurse feature is our attempt to address these issues with patients,” explains Newman. “Our visitors can search other people’s questions and our answers to them without learning anyone’s identity and, if they can’t find a relevant answer, they can ask us their own question easily. The visitor receives a reply by email and his identity is stripped from the question and answer, which are then added to the database for other people to use. We answer all questions and try to help our visitors find the information, support or products they need to solve their incontinence problems.”

Wellness Partners, LLC was formed in 2001 by a group of healthcare professionals who want to put the “heart” back into healthcare. They hope to empower consumers and form partnerships with them to change the health care system through education, interaction and support. Most importantly, they want the consumer to seek wellness always.

Access their web sites at:
* www.SeekWellness.com
* SEPHIAsChoice.com
* ContinenceNurse.net
* www.WellnessWeb.com

For more information, contact Josee Archer at 800 840-9301 or by email jarcher@seekwellness.com.

Contact:
Josee Archer
Seek Wellness, LLC
26 South Main Street, PMB #162
Concord, NH 03301
603-574-4915
jarcher@seekwellness.com
http://www.SeekWellness.com