<< Back

Ever Laugh So Hard That Tears Stream Down Your Leg?

October 12, 2017

Stress urinary incontinence affects 1 in every 4 adult women. It may be an embarrassing topic, but you don’t have to live with it. Dr. Christine LaSala is a urogynecologist at Hartford Hospital.

Q: What is stress urinary incontinence? 

This is a condition that occurs in women and it’s not a good one to have. What happens is when a woman laughs, or coughs or sneezes or runs, she leaks urine. That’s not how we’re supposed to live our lives. We should be able to laugh heartily and not leak. We’re supposed to be exercising. That’s good for our health. We’re not supposed to leak. It’s embarrassing and it’s limiting. And it’s very common.

Q: What are some of the treatment options for women?

We’ve got really good treatment options. Women these days are busy. We’re active. We’ve got families. We’re working. The good thing is that some of the treatment options that we have now are these minimally invasive procedures. We have a procedure that’s a same-day surgery. You come in, you go home. The down time is not bad. You’re back to work. Within a few days you’re back to living your life, caring for your children, caring for your family. And it’s very effective. We’ve got great outcome data on these procedures now. We have 10 years or more of outcome data that say ‘You know what? This minimally invasive procedure really works.” It gives you your life back. And the greatest thing for me is to see these women coming back for their follow-up saying, “I ran that marathon, and I didn’t leak. I didn’t have to worry about laughing and ‘tears’ rolling down my legs.” That’s the joke, but it’s a good thing that we can help women. We can get them better.

Denise D’Ascenzo: You don’t have to live that way. I think that’s the central message to what you’re saying. Thank you so much Dr. Christine LaSala. I hope someone out there listening will follow up because, again, there are treatments. And your life can be so much different.

Learn more about treatments by calling 1.855.HHC.HERE (1.855.442.4373).