Urinary incontinence is a common, but distressing condition that affects both men and women when they experience an involuntary leakage of urine at any time of day or night. Urinary incontinence is classified as stress, urge, functional, or overflow incontinence. Bedwetting is a form of urinary incontinence, as well.
Stress incontinence occurs as the result of pelvic muscle weakening, and pressure caused from coughing or sneezing can result in a small leakage of urine. Urge incontinence, which is the most common type, is an involuntary leakage of urine for no apparent reason while a person has the feeling they need to urinate.
Functional incontinence is a more serious malady, which often affects people who suffer from dementia, where they don't realize they have to urinate until it's too late, and they have a large leakage of urine. Overflow incontinence occurs when a person does not fully empty their bladder and then has some leakage moments later.
There are many helpful measures that you can do to prevent stress or urge incontinence. Maintaining adequate hydration is important to controlling incontinence. It is recommended that you drink approximately two liters of water every day. You should minimize the amount of alcoholic beverages, soft drinks, and coffee and tea, you drink, as these are diuretics and can encourage incontinence. Caffeine stimulates and irritates the bladder and it can cause urgent and frequent urination. Those individuals who drink more than two caffeinated drinks a day should reduce their intake in order to avoid symptoms of withdrawal such as sleepiness and headache.
Remember not to cut your intake of water or other liquids thinking that the urge to urinate will be lessened. This is not true, and it may lead to dehydration and other illnesses.
Incontinence can also occur when a person is experiencing constipation. Constipation can be prevented by drinking an adequate amount of fluids, as well as through maintaining a diet high in fiber. A high fiber diet helps cleanse the body's digestive system, which can prevent constipation. Regular exercise is also helpful in abating constipation, while keeping your body in good physical condition.
It is important to watch your weight as well. Obesity can increase the pressure on your abdomen, which in turn puts pressure on your bladder, which can lead to pelvic muscle weakness, as stated before.
One exercise therapy for incontinence prevention is bladder training. It is recommended that you empty your bladder frequently, at approximately two to three hour intervals. This will improve bladder control, so you won't experience a feeling of discomfort that you think you have to go to the bathroom. There are also exercises you can do to strengthen the pelvic muscles. One such exercise is known as the kegel exercise. There are also exercises that can strengthen the sphincter muscles to reduce leakage. You can also strengthen your bladder muscles by stopping your urine stream for a count of three, urinating for the count of three and then stopping it again.
Incontinence is most common among older men and women. It's a condition that affects women more than men. Controlling the causes of incontinence will reduce the discomfort in your daily life. Prescription medicine, as well as surgery can help treat the condition if it begins to limit your daily activities. Your physician can help you with these options.
