Ajay Nehra, M.D., will present a discussion on urology and aging at “Breakfast with the Docs,” at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 8, at the Oak Park Arms retirement community, 408 S. Oak Park Ave.

Roughly 13 million Americans suffer from urinary incontinence—the involuntary leakage of urine. Though it can happen at any age, it is often a condition seen in the older population.

One in five individuals over 40 suffers from overactive bladder or symptoms of urgency or frequency and over 50 percent of seniors in the nursing home population experience elderly urinary incontinence.

As a person gets older, muscles in the bladder and urethra lose strength. Changes with age reduce how much the bladder can hold and can increase the chances of elderly incontinence. Despite weakening muscles, however, incontinence isn’t normal at any age except during infancy.

Causes of incontinence can widely vary, from simply not drinking enough water to more serious conditions like an inflamed bladder wall.

Types of urinary incontinence include:

•    Stress Incontinence- Pressure exerted on the bladder from sneezing or coughing causing loss of urine
•    Urge Incontinence- A sudden, intense urge followed by an involuntary loss of urine
•    Overflow Incontinence- Frequently or constantly dribbling urine
•    Mixed Incontinence- Suffering from more than one type of incontinence
•    Functional Incontinence- Inability to make it in time due to physical impairment (i.e. arthritis)
•    Total Incontinence- Continuous leaking

There are ways to improve this condition. Changes in diet, such as eliminating alcohol, acidic foods and caffeine, and regular exercise to strengthen the lower body can help. Medications may also be used in conjunction with behavioral techniques to decrease incontinence.

Dr. Nehra serves as the vice chairperson and professor and director of men’s health in the Department of Urology at the Rush University Medical Center. Prior to his current position he was a professor of urology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

He received his medical degree from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, where he also completed an internship. He went on to complete a transitional surgical internship at Malden Hospital in Massachusetts, a surgical residency at Boston University School of Medicine, and a residency at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he served as chief resident in urology.

Currently Dr. Nehra serves as president-elect of the International Society of Men’s Health and as editor of the Journal of Men’s Health. In addition, he has contributed over 130 articles and 170 abstracts to numerous peer-reviewed journals.

The Oak Park Arms is a rental retirement community which provides independent and assisted living apartments and a full schedule of activities and services. Furnished apartments are also available for a short-term stay – a weekend, a week, a month or longer.

The event is free and open to the public. And it’s not called “Breakfast with the Docs” for nothing: Participants who attend will also be served a healthy breakfast.

For more information, or to reserve a seat, call Jill Wagner at 708-386-4040.