Treating And Managing Urinary Incontinence
Today, there are more treatments and ways to manage urinary incontinence than ever before. The choice of treatment depends on the type of bladder control problem you have, how serious it is, and what best fits your lifestyle. As a general rule, the simplest and safest treatments should be tried first.
A combination of treatments may help you get better control of your bladder. Your doctor may suggest you try the following:
Does Incontinence Go Away After The Baby Is Born
Some womens incontinence symptoms go away in the days or weeks after their baby is born. For others, the leaking continues or may get worse. However, incontinence can be managed with first line treatments such as Kegels, bladder retraining, weight loss, and exercise.
Speak with your doctor about your concerns, especially if lifestyle changes dont work or youre still experiencing incontinence six or more weeks after delivery. You may want to consider other treatments such as medications and surgery after your pregnancy.
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Support Healthy Estrogen Levels Throughout The Transition To Menopause
Estrogen is an essential piece of your health, but it can be tricky to get the balance rightespecially during perimenopause. Its one of the first hormones that starts to change, but it doesnt just slowly decline over timeNo, its more like a loopy, crazy, adrenaline-junky roller coaster ride than a slow, steady descent.Since estrogen is spiking and dipping so unpredictably, it is absolutely essential to support both healthy estrogen production AND elimination to keep the level where it should be .Since low estrogen is a primary root cause of pelvic dysfunction and bladder leaks, focusing on these healthy levels will go far beyond band-aid solutions to help prevent the issue in the first place.The 2 key players for estrogen in perimenopause and menopause are your adrenals and your liver.Your adrenals take over producing estrogen as your ovaries decline in this function, so their health becomes critical after 40. Then your liver kicks in to help activate the estrogen as well as cycling it out once it has done its duty. Your livers detoxification process is crucial to make sure estrogen metabolizes in the correct way .
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Exercises Your Leaky Bladder Wants You To Do
There are exercises for your butt, your legs, your arms, your spare tire, even your ever-texting achy thumbs. So considering the bladder itself is a muscleand it’s surrounded by other musclesit makes sense that you can whip that puppy into shape, too.
Of course, unless you already have the occasional leakage due to aging, genetics, or childbirth, you might not focus much exercise attention on your bladder. But strengthening those down-there muscles can stop so-called stress incontinence in its tracks, says Candace Howe, MD, a board-certified ob-gyn in private practice in Newport Beach, California. “Who wants to undergo surgery?” Howe says. “I’m a surgeon, and I tell my patients I wouldn’t want to! If we can fix incontinence with exercise, that’s preferable.”
When Suzanne Andrews, host of Functional Fitness, was experiencing urinary incontinence after the birth of her son, her doctor told her to consider surgery. As an occupational therapy clinician, Suzanne was seeing patients with the same symptoms and realized her exercise background could help. She created the 30 Day Bladder Fix, a pelvic floor strengthening DVD that combines seated and lying-down exercises to help control incontinence. “I remember the day I realized I didn’t have it anymore,” Andrews says. “I sneezed and nothing came out!”
Conditions That Cause Urinary Incontinence
There are several health and lifestyle issues that can make you start to leak urine. They can include:
Problems with your prostate. Itâs common for prostate issues to cause urinary incontinence. Your prostate may be larger due to a non-cancerous condition called benign prostatic hyperplasia . Your prostate may also be bigger than usual because of cancer. An enlarged prostate can block your urethra. When your urethra is blocked, your bladder has to work harder to squeeze pee out. This makes its walls thicker and weaker. That makes it hard for your bladder to empty all the urine in it.
You can also struggle with urinary incontinence with prostate cancer or after having certain treatments for it such as radiation treatment or surgery to remove your prostate. The surgery may cause problems with the nerves that control your bladder.
Certain diseases. Multiple sclerosis is a disease that can damage the nerves that tell the bladder when to empty and can also lead to bladder spasms. Some other conditions that can damage your nerves and keep your bladder from sending or receiving the signals it needs to work correctly are:
Surgery. Major bowel surgery, lower back surgery, and prostate surgery can all cause problems with your bladder. This is usually because some of the nerves in your urinary tract have been damaged during surgery.
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What Kind Of Exercises Do You Do For Leaky Bladder
7 Exercises Your Leaky Bladder Wants You To Do 1 Kegels. 2 Pelvic Floor Ball Squeeze. 3 Elevator Lunge. 4 Pelvic Floor Activators. 5 Squats With Pulse. 6 C Curve Abdominal Contraction. 7 Running.
What can I do to improve my bladder health?
As a first step, your doctor may recommend lifestyle changes to train your bladder, such as performing pelvic-strengthening exercises and following a schedule for when you drink fluids and use the bathroom. For some women, medications help. For others, surgery provides effect treatment.
Why Can’t I Hold My Pee All Of A Sudden Female
Urge incontinence. You have a sudden, intense urge to urinate followed by an involuntary loss of urine. You may need to urinate often, including throughout the night. Urge incontinence may be caused by a minor condition, such as infection, or a more severe condition such as a neurological disorder or diabetes…. see details
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Do The Right Exercises
High-impact exercise and sit-ups put pressure on your pelvic floor muscles and can increase leaks.
To strengthen your pelvic floor to relieve symptoms, replace high-impact exercise, such as jogging and aerobics, with strengthening exercise, such as pilates.
Pilates strengthens your core muscles, which is beneficial for stress incontinence.
Small Lifestyle Changes Can Make A Big Difference
Several factors that can help eliminate or improve urinary incontinence are within your control. For example, losing weight if youre overweight helps to take some of the excess pressure off your bladder. This can significantly help your incontinence! Other things to consider include:
- Exercise regularly: Just 30 minutes of daily exercise has shown to improve urinary incontinence in some studies according to the Mayo Clinic.
- Manage medications: Certain medications such as antihistamines, anti-depressants, diuretics, heart medication, high blood pressure medication, muscle relaxants, and sedatives can all increase urinary incontinence. Talk to your doctor about an alternative if taking one of these aggravates your symptoms.
- Stop smoking: This is especially important if you develop a chronic cough since that problem tends to make urinary incontinence worse.
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How Does Body Control Flow Of Urine
The internal urethral sphincter and the external urethral sphincter both provide muscle control for the flow of urine. The internal sphincter is involuntary. It surrounds the opening of the bladder to the urethra and relaxes to allow urine to pass. The external sphincter is voluntary. The internal urethral sphincterinternal urethral sphincterThe internal urethral sphincter is a urethral sphincter muscle which constricts the internal urethral orifice. It is located at the junction of the urethra with the urinary bladder and is continuous with the detrusor muscle, but anatomically and functionally fully independent from it. https://en. wikipedia. org wiki Internal_urethral_sphincterInternal urethral sphincter Wikipedia and the external urethral sphincter both provide muscle control for the flow of urine. The internal sphincter is involuntary. It surrounds the opening of the bladder to the urethra and relaxes to allow urine to pass. The external sphincter is voluntary.
When Am I More Likely To Experience Incontinence During My Pregnancy
Since incontinence is caused by a weakening of the pelvic floor muscles there is no specific time at which incontinence is more likely to occur. However, as the baby grows there is added strain on the muscles, which can cause more severe symptoms. Birth causes the pelvic floor muscles to stretch, increasing the likelihood of incontinence.
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Bladder Control Is A Common Problem
You probably arent the only person in your book club or gym class that worries about bladder leaks. Thats because one in four women between 18 and 59 years of age have involuntary leakage.
Urinary incontinence is not an inevitable result of childbearing or menopause, said Sarah Randolph-Kaminski, a physical therapist at Franciscan Health Indianapolis. Even high school or college women athletes may have issues.
Experiencing leakage during activities that put pressure on your bladder is called stress incontinence, and its the most common type of incontinence in young and middle-age women. Stress incontinence is often the result of scar tissue in the perineum from an episiotomy or prolonged pushing during childbirth. Other causes include pelvic radiation treatment, chronic constipation that leads to frequent straining and recurrent urinary tract infections.
Another type of incontinence is when you feel like you need to urinate all the time . Thats called urge incontinence or overactive bladder.
Solutions For A Leaky Bladder
Research has found that at least half of people with urinary incontinence dont discuss the condition with a health care provider. But theres no need to feel embarrassed. If you have a leaky bladder, youre definitely not alone. Bladder leakage, or urinary incontinence, affects women and men of all ages, though it becomes more common later in life.
And its definitely worth discussing, because of the many ways it can interfere with enjoying daily lifefrom exercise and travel to social outings and romance, says E. James Wright, M.D., director of urology at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center.
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Who Is Most At Risk
In addition to the causes mentioned above, there are some things that can increase your risk of developing urinary incontinence without directly being the cause of the problem. These are known as risk factors.
Some of the main risk factors for urinary incontinence include:
- family history there may be a genetic link to urinary incontinence, so you may be more at risk if other people in your family have experienced the problem
- increasing age urinary incontinence becomes more common as you reach middle age and is particularly common in people over 80
- having lower urinary tract symptoms a range of symptoms that affect the bladder and urethra
Quit Smoking To Help Keep Your Bladder Healthy
People who have urinary incontinence should do what they can to stop smoking. Studies have found that people who smoke are more prone to incontinence, says urologist Yvonne Koch, MD, of the Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, Florida. Smoking damages the very small blood vessels in our bodies and causes tissue weakness, she explains. Furthermore, smoking can lead to coughing, which can cause urine leakage by putting pressure on the pelvic floor muscles. Plus, cigarette smoking triples the risk of bladder cancer, an early sign of which may be the need to urinate often or the urge to urinate immediately, even when the bladder isnt full, according to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
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Why Do I Leak Pee After Peeing
If you are leaking urine after urinating, a common recommendation is double voiding. Double voiding just means you void and then you try to push out a little more urine. However, it may be the case that your pelvic floor muscles are too tight and that you’re not actually fully emptying…. see more
What Your Treatment Will Involve
Your healthcare professionals recommended treatment plan will depend on the cause of your incontinence. An underlying medical condition may require medication, surgery, or other treatments.
In certain situations, they may not be able to cure your bladder incontinence. In these cases, they will likely provide steps you can take to manage your condition.
Treatment options for urinary incontinence may include:
You cant prevent all cases of urinary incontinence, but there are steps you can take to reduce your risk of developing it.
For example, try to:
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If I Have Incontinence Do I Need To Speak To A Gp
Anyone experiencing incontinence or problems with their bladder is always encouraged to speak to a health professional, GP or medical expert. While pelvic floor exercises can assist, a professional will be able to determine if there are other underlying issues that are causing bladder leakage or incontinence.
Its also common for GPs to refer patients for a full continence assessment, which may help them with individual exercises. Its also important to talk to a professional as soon as possible so investigations can occur and treatments can be implemented to avoid permanent damage.
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What Causes Bladder Leaks
There are two main types of urinary incontinence:
Stress incontinence
If you have this type, activities that raise the pressure inside your abdomen cause urine to leak through the ring of muscle in your bladder that normally holds it in. Coughing, sneezing, jumping and lifting heavy objects could lead to a leak.
Going through childbirth, smoking or being overweight can raise the risk of stress incontinence for women, Wright says. Stress incontinence in men is rare, and when it arises, its often due to prostate cancer treatment, such as radiation or surgery.
Urge incontinence
With this type, your brain, spinal cord and bladder dont work together properly to allow you to hold and release urine at the right time. Your bladder may suddenly empty itself without warning. Or you may feel like you need to urinate frequently, a problem called overactive bladder.
Some diseases that affect the nervous system, such as multiple sclerosis or stroke, can cause this kind of incontinence, says Wright. In men, an enlarged prostate may be the culprit. But in many cases, doctors dont know what causes urge incontinence.
It is possible to have both types of incontinence at the same time.
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How Urinary Incontinence Is Treated
Initially, your GP may suggest some simple measures to see if they help improve your symptoms. These may include:
- lifestyle changes, such as losing weight and cutting down on caffeine and alcohol
- pelvic floor exercises taught by a specialist
- bladder training guided by a specialist
You may also benefit from the use of incontinence products, such as absorbent pads and hand-held urinals .
If you are still unable to manage your symptoms, medication may be recommended.
Surgery may also be considered. The specific procedures suitable for you will depend on the type of incontinence you have.
Surgical treatments for stress incontinence, such as tape or sling procedures, are used to reduce pressure on the bladder, or strengthen the muscles that control urination.
Operations to treat urge incontinence include enlarging the bladder or implanting a device that stimulates the nerve that controls the detrusor muscles.
Read more about non-surgical treatments for urinary incontinence and surgery and procedures for urinary incontinence
Symptoms Of Urinary Incontinence
Urinary incontinence has several types but there are two notable forms. The symptoms a woman experiences can tell a lot about which type she has, as well as what can be done to manage the problem.
- Stress incontinence is the most common type of incontinence, affecting up to 88% of those with urine leakage.4 Caused by weakened pelvic floor muscles, stress incontinence is marked by leakage that occurs from increased abdominal pressure think sneezing, coughing, laughing, bending, or lifting heavy objects.
- Urge incontinence or overactive bladder is caused by overly active or irritated bladder muscles. Its characterized by sudden, frequent urges to urinate.
In addition to leakage, some women with incontinence experience other changes to the way they urinate too. Some may notice a change in the stream force or direction of their urine, as well as urinary spraying or a sensation of relaxation of the bladder or urethra, Dr. Dweck says.
There are many factors that can lead to urinary incontinence:
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Will I Have Incontinence For My Entire Life
Sometimes incontinence is a short-term issue that will go away once the cause ends. This is often the case when you have a condition like a urinary tract infection . Once treated, frequent urination and leakage problems caused by a UTI typically end. This is also true for some women who experience bladder control issues during pregnancy. For many, the issues end in the weeks after delivery. However, other causes of incontinence are long-term and related to conditions that are managed throughout your life. If you have a chronic condition like diabetes or multiple sclerosis, you may have incontinence for a long period of time. In those cases, its important to talk to your provider about the best ways to manage your incontinence so that it doesnt interfere with your life.
A note from Cleveland Clinic
It can be embarrassing to talk about bathroom habits with your healthcare provider. This embarrassment shouldnt stop you from treating incontinence, though. Often, your healthcare provider can help figure out the cause of your bladder control issue and help make it better. You dont need to deal with it alone. Talk to your healthcare provider about the best ways to treat incontinence so that you can lead a full and active life without worrying about leakage.