Ways To Control Your Bladder

How Is Urinary Incontinence Treated

You and your doctor or nurse will work together to create a treatment plan. You may start with steps you can take at home. If these steps do not improve your symptoms, your doctor or nurse may recommend other treatments depending on whether you have stress incontinence or urge incontinence or both.

Be patient as you work with your doctor or nurse on a treatment plan. It may take a month or longer for different treatments to begin working.

Seek Help From A Qualified Physical Therapist

Vaginal childbirth can damage the ligaments, nerves, and pelvic floor muscles that support the vagina, bladder and urethra. While pelvic floor exercises may help some women after birth, many need more intensive physical therapy.

Talk to your doctor, who may refer you to a qualified physical therapist who specializes in pelvic floor therapy if you have any incontinence or pain that doesnt go away after giving birth. Embarking on proper rehabilitation soon after having your baby may help you avoid more serious gynecological problems later on.

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Pelvic Floor Muscle Exercises

Also known as Kegel exercises, these exercises are especially effective for stress incontinence but may also help urge incontinence. To do pelvic floor muscle exercises, imagine that youre trying to stop your urine flow. Then:

• Tighten the muscles you would use to stop urinating and hold for five seconds, and then relax for five seconds.
• Work up to holding the contractions for 10 seconds at a time.
• Aim for at least three sets of 10 repetitions each day.

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Control Bladder Spasms Naturally

06 November, 2018

Your bladder is in charge of storing the urine filtered by your kidneys. When your bladder starts to get full, you feel a sensation of pressure. This tells you that its time to get rid of this liquid in order to avoid bladder spasms.

Patients that suffer from spasms feel a similar feeling. However, the difference is that the muscles contract often and suddenly. It almost never gives you this signal in time to get to the bathroom.

This problem causes involuntary leakage. Generally, it comes with a strong painthat goes from your pelvis to your abdominal area.

In fact, this is considered to be one of the phases of hyperactive bladder and urinary incontinence. These are two diseases that regularly affect older adults.

Luckily, this is a symptom that you can fight naturally. This is because there are habits and home remedies that help strengthen this organs muscles. This makes it easier to control.

Are you interested in learning more?

Drink Enough Fluids To Keep Your Bladder Happy

Drinking less water and other fluids to decrease your risk of an accident is not a good idea, says Tomas Griebling, MD, a professor of urology at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City and president of the Geriatric Urological Society of the American Urological Association. While its true that chugging down a lot of fluids especially in a short amount of time can lead to leaks, not drinking enough can also make you need to pee suddenly.

When you dont drink enough water, the urine becomes more concentrated and that can be irritating to the bladder and increase urgency, explains Dr. Griebling.

How much fluid is enough varies from person to person, but the National Association for Continence estimates that six to eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day is about the right amount. Checking the color of your urine can help you know if youre on target, according to Harvard Health. In general, a pale yellow color means youre adequately hydrated, while a darker yellow suggests you need to drink more.

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Increase Your Magnesium Intake

Magnesium is a mineral that helps your body keep its muscles in good condition.

Even though its used in hundreds of functions in your body, sometimes you dont get enough. This causes some problems and inflammatory reactions.

Because of this, those who suffer from bladder spasms need to increase their magnesium intake. This helps to relieve the contractions.

You can find this mineral in foods like:

• Wheat and oat bran

Effective Ways To Get Your Bladder Under Control

One of the most challenging health issues faced both by men and women today is the bladder controlling issues. This is a major problem, which generally takes place when there are health issues like post-pregnancy condition in females or a prostrate misbalance in males. To control this unconventional issue and help patients cope with it, there are many different yet good ladder control products available, which are now being used in high numbers.Among the various bladder control products now available in the market, let us understand which would suit the best for you according to the need.

Disposable underwearThe disposable underwear is used to protect the heavy flow of bladder and can be used by both men and women as they come in different sizes. You can also get disposable undergarments, which are quite comfortable and would not give you the feeling of some extra baggage.The soft and cotton-like outer materials give the dry yet comfortable feeling to an individual. Ensure that the inner layers are strong and efficient to hold the fluid inside it, while you use it to go to work or any other purpose. There are also disposable underwears, which can soak more than 100% liquid and are 20times bigger in depth and size.

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Speak Out In Your Community

Too often, embarrassment prevents people with bladder control issues from getting the help they need. You can change that by speaking up about this important issue. Here are some tips for talking about your diagnosis, treatment, and results in your local community.

Posting on social media

• Join OAB groups on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube
• Be open about the realities of your experience
• Contribute consistently and be open to questions

Sharing face-to-face

• Contact local support groups for OAB or bladder issues
• Offer to speak at community centers, libraries, and hospitals
• Sign up to help educate at a local health fair
• Tell your doctor you can speak with prospective patients

Speaking with journalists

• Connect with a reporter covering health, community, or features
• Think of a personal anecdote that really captures how you feel
• Recall key details about your symptoms, diagnosis, therapy, and results
• Prepare two or three simple, clear points to repeat during your interview

What Medications Can I Use For Overactive Bladder

Your doctor may suggest trying behavioral techniques before having you use a medication to treat overactive bladder. However, medications can work very well to return normal function to the bladder. Ask your doctor about the risks and benefits of using the following commonly prescribed medications:

Anticholinergic medications

These medications control muscle spasms in the bladder:

• Oxybutynin , oxybutynin XL , oxybutynin TDDS .
• Tolterodine .

• Mirabegron .

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What The Caregiver Can Do

• Encourage or help the patient with appropriate skin care after using the bathroom. Use warm water and pat the area dry.
• Help the patient keep a diary that records specific foods or drinks that may affect how frequently the patient goes to the bathroom.
• Help the patient maintain a bladder or bowel plan.
• Encourage the patient to go to the bathroom at consistent time frames during the day, like after a meal.
• Encourage regular daily exercise, as permitted by the health care team.

Living With Bowel Or Bladder Incontinence

There is no single, right way to cope with bladder or bowel incontinence. The challenge is to find what is best for your situation, so you can get the help you need and return to a normal daily life. Talk with your health care team if you notice a change in bowel or bladder habits, and about the best ways to manage incontinence, if it is a problem. You might find it helpful to talk with other people who are dealing with incontinence, too. Ask a member of your cancer care team about support groups in your area.

Here are some things you can do that may help make incontinence less of a problem:

• Empty your bladder every 3 to 4 hours while awake, to avoid accidents.
• Empty your bladder before bedtime or before strenuous activity.
• Limit drinks with caffeine, or and avoid alcohol and citrus juices, which can irritate the bladder and make you have to go more often.
• Avoid hygiene products that may irritate you Women should avoid feminine spray or over-the-counter vaginal suppositories.
• Because belly fat can push on the bladder, avoiding weight gain or losing needed weight sometimes helps improve bladder control.
• Avoid tobacco use which can cause coughing and bladder irritation due to harmful substances in tobacco products.
• Talk to your doctor about all medicines, vitamins, herbs, and supplements youre taking. Some may affect urine control.

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Altering The Bladder With Bladder Augmentation Surgery

When all other approaches to strengthen and retrain the bladder have failed, you may need to alter the bladder itself. This surgery is typically used as a last resort and in only the most severe cases of an overactive bladder.

Bladder augmentation involves enlarging the bladder with a section of your large intestine, so theres more physical space to store urine in and less pressure to urinate frequently. The surgery is the most invasive and complicated procedure for solving overactive bladder problems, and includes a long recovery time and possible lasting consequences. Once you have bladder augmentation surgery, you will cease to be able to urinate naturally you will have to use a catheter or stoma.

The good news is that many, if not most cases of an overactive bladder can be very well controlled with healthy lifestyle changes, and natural and traditional medical treatments. Its important to remember that not all of the listed treatment options may work for everyone.

Remember to discuss the above overactive bladder treatment options with your doctor before beginning them.

Avoid Caffeine And Alcohol

Caffeine and alcohol are diuretics. That means that they increase urine production. They can also irritate your bladder. If youve been diagnosed with overactive bladder, drinking caffeine or alcohol might be making the problem worse.

Cutting back on drinks such as coffee, tea, caffeinated pop and soda, and alcoholic beverages might help you to control your overactive bladder.

Other sources of caffeine to limit include chocolate and certain medications.

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What Is An Overactive Bladder Symptoms To Look For

Overactive bladder is a syndrome, or a set of symptoms, that is believed to be due to sudden contractions of the muscles in the wall of the bladder. When you have overactive bladder syndrome, the muscles controlling bladder function start acting involuntarily. This often leads to urinary incontinence or loss of bladder control. The urine leakage experienced by someone with OAB can be as little as several drops to up to several ounces. Sometimes, incontinence can be a sign of something simple like drinking way too many caffeinated beverages on a daily basis. Other times the underlying cause can be something more serious.

An overactive bladder is said to account for 40 to 70 percent of incontinence. What is incontinence? Incontinence is a lack of voluntary control over urination or defecation. When you have overactive bladder, you can experience urinary incontinence or loss of control over urination.

There are actually two different types of overactive bladder. Dry is when you have a sudden, urgent need to urinate many times during the day. Wet means you have the sudden, urgent need to urinate and you experience bladder leakage, which is also referred to as urge incontinence. Both dry and wet can occur without any underlying health condition. An estimated 60 percent of OAB patients have dry OAB while 40 percent have wet OAB .

OAB symptoms can differ on an individual case basis. Common symptoms of an overactive bladder include:

Who Is At Risk For Urinary Incontinence

In adults, you are at higher risk of developing UI if you:

• Are female, especially after going through pregnancy, childbirth, and/or menopause
• Are older. As you age, your urinary tract muscles weaken, making it harder to hold in urine.
• Are a man with prostate problems
• Have certain health problems, such as diabetes, obesity, or long-lasting constipation
• Are a smoker
• Have a birth defect that affects the structure of your urinary tract

In children, bedwetting is more common in younger children, boys, and those whose parents wet the bed when they were children.

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Ways To Control Your Bladder When Theres No Bathroom In Sight

When your bladder is about half-full, you will already start to feel the urge to go to the bathroom. As most of you know, this might get you into an uncomfortable situation when theres no time or place available. Luckily, there are some tricks to help you out. The Bright Side team put together 9 ways to help you reach the toilet just in time. Weve prepared a bonus feature explaining how to train your bladder at the end of the article.

How Is Urinary Incontinence Diagnosed

Your health care provider may use many tools to make a diagnosis:

• A medical history, which includes asking about your symptoms. Your provider may ask you to keep a bladder diary for a few days before your appointment. The bladder diary includes how much and when you drink liquids, when and how much you urinate, and whether you leak urine.
• A physical exam, which can include a rectal exam. Women may also get a pelvic exam.
• Urine and/or blood tests
• Imaging tests

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Some Ways To Control Bladder Spasms

By | Submitted On January 26, 2010

When you experience sudden, uncontrolled, and irregular contraction on the area of your stomach where your bladder is located, chances are, you are experiencing bladder spasms. These spasms can be mild to intense. Depending on the rhythm of contractions, having these types of spasms can be very painful.

Usually, irregular contractions of the bladder are caused by problems such as bladder infection. This type of spasms is temporary and not persistent. When the infection is already treated the spasm will be gone. However, persistent bladder contractions can also be caused by underlying medical conditions such as multiple sclerosis, nerve damage, neurological injuries, and obesity.

In order to control spasms of the bladder muscles, you need to avoid the foods that can trigger irregular spasms. Such foods would include coffee, carbonated beverages and alcoholic beverages. The caffeine in coffee can trigger contraction of the bladder muscles thus, it can worsen the condition. Aside from that, all of these beverages can also cause a diuretic effect leading to increased urination.

Apparently, exercise is important to keep a physically fit and healthy body. You need to exercise regularly and maintain a physically active lifestyle. You can try out various exercises at home through the convenient use of a Swiss ball.

Personal Trainer and fitness expert Josh Panebianco is the owner of

Path To Improved Health

Ask your doctor about starting a bladder training program. He or she may ask you to keep a diary. You can use the diary to record how much and how often you urinate. This information will help your doctor create a plan thats right for you.

Three bladder training methods are listed below. Your doctor may recommend 1 or more of these methods to help control your incontinence.

Keep in mind it may take 3 to 12 weeks of bladder training to see results. During your training program, your doctor may have you keep track of the number of urine leaks you have each day. This will help you and your doctor see if bladder training is helping. Dont be discouraged if you dont see immediate results or if you still experience some incontinence.

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What Are The Symptoms Of Bladder Control Problems

Signs and symptoms of urinary incontinence can include

• leaking urine during everyday activities, such as lifting, bending, coughing, or exercising
• being unable to hold in urine after feeling a sudden, strong urge to urinate
• leaking urine without any warning or urge
• being unable to reach a toilet in time
• wetting your bed during sleep
• leaking during sexual activity

Consider Prescription Medication Options

You can visit your doctor to learn about all the medications available to help with overactive bladder. These range from medications that target the bladder specifically to antidepressant medications that have effects that can potentially help.

One medication to consider is Myrbetriq. It can work within a couple of weeks to make you need to urinate less often and avoid accidents. You can find out more to decide if this is something youd like to discuss with your doctor.

Antidepressant medications like Tofranil can potentially help as they can relax your bladder. However, you may have the best results if you have bladder issues due to stress.

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Bladder Woes As We Age

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has estimated that more than 50 percent of senior Americans suffer from incontinence. Due to muscle weakness in the pelvic floor, urine can leak leading to embarrassment and a fear of heading out in public.

To combat bladder leakage and overactive bladder individuals may wear diapers or pads, or worse yet not leave the house. This can have a negative impact on their mental health. Therefore combating incontinence is necessary for these sufferers to take back control of their life.