Columns

Q. Are there different forms of urinary incontinence?

There are several types of urinary incontinence:

Ÿ If urine leaks when you sneeze, cough, laugh or put pressure on the bladder in other ways, you have stress incontinence.

Ÿ When you can't hold urine, you have urge incontinence.

Ÿ When small amounts of urine leak from a bladder that is always full, you have overflow incontinence.

Ÿ Many seniors who have normal bladder control but have difficulty getting to the bathroom in time, have functional incontinence.

Q. Are probiotics safe?

There is debate over the precise definition of probiotics. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization call probiotics "live microorganisms, which, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host."

Microorganisms or microbes are living organisms that can be seen only under a microscope. Microbes are everywhere; the human body contains billions of them.

Q. I seem to be getting sick a lot lately and I'm worried that my immune system isn't working right. Could that be a reason?

A diminished immune system could be the cause of your problems. Go to your doctor for a checkup and diagnosis.

The immune system is a network of cells, tissues, and organs that work together to defend the body against attacks by organisms such as bacteria, parasites, and fungi that can cause infections.

The cells that are part of this defense system are white blood cells, or leukocytes. Foreign substances that invade the body are called antigens.

(This is the second of two columns about sun exposure.)

Ultraviolet (UV) rays, an invisible component of sunlight, can cause skin damage, cataracts, wrinkles, age spots, and skin cancer. These rays also impair the skin's immune system.

UV rays can hurt you on cloudy as well as sunny days. UV rays also bounce off surfaces of the ocean, sand, snow and cement.

One of the surest ways to reduce your exposure to UV rays is to stay out of the sun when it is the strongest. Those times in North America are between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. in the late spring and early summer.