You’ve probably either experienced a leaky bladder or know someone who has. It’s so common that 50 percent of adult women – and 75 percent of women over the age of 65 – report bladder leakage.
Although most people are embarrassed and don’t want to talk about it, the good news is that most cases can either be cured or significantly improved with lifestyle changes.
November is Bladder Health Month, and today we’re discussing the lifestyle changes you can make to help with a leaky bladder also known as urinary incontinence.
Two Types of Leaky Bladders
There are two different causes of leaky bladder, stress incontinence and urge incontinence.
Stress incontinence
This is when pressure in the abdomen increases, causing urine to leak through the muscle that usually holds it in. Coughing, sneezing, jumping and lifting heavy objects can cause stress incontinence.
Smoking, childbirth and prostate cancer treatment can increase your risk for stress incontinence.
Urge incontinence
Your brain, spinal cord and bladder work together to allow your bladder to hold and empty urine at the right time. When they don’t work together correctly, your bladder can suddenly empty without warning causing urge incontinence.
In many cases, doctors don’t find a reason for urge incontinence. They do know that an enlarged prostate and diseases of the nervous system like multiple sclerosis or stroke can cause it.
What You Can Do to Help Your Leaky Bladder
At least half of people with urinary incontinence don’t discuss the condition with their healthcare provider because they’re embarrassed or think it’s just a normal part of aging. Talking about it can help because there are ways you can improve your bladder health, including some simple lifestyle changes.
Pelvic floor muscle exercises
Pelvic floor exercises can help strengthen the muscles around your bladder and can prevent and treat incontinence. You don’t have to wait until you get incontinence to do them. In fact, you probably shouldn’t. Every woman can benefit from pelvic floor exercises.
To get started, you’ll need to know where your pelvic floor muscles are. You can do this by stopping your urine flow for a few seconds to feel where they are.
Once you know where your pelvic floor muscles are, you can sit comfortably or lie down. Then, squeeze your pelvic floor muscles 10-15 times, holding each one for a few seconds. You want to keep breathing through them, and you don’t want to squeeze any other muscles. Just focus on your pelvic floor.
Many people report improvements by doing pelvic floor muscle exercises, but it’s not a quick fix. You may need to do this for 2-3 months before seeing benefits.
If you need help learning how to do them, don’t hesitate to talk to a doctor, especially an OBGYN, urologist or pelvic floor specialist.
Stop smoking
Smoking irritates the bladder and increases the risk of developing stress incontinence and bladder cancer. Quitting smoking can be one of the best lifestyle changes you can make for your bladder health.
Fluid and diet management
Paying close attention to what you eat and drink can help prevent bladder leakage and improve your health.
Try to balance your fluid intake so that you’re not dehydrated, but you’re not drinking too much. Stop drinking a few hours before bed can help prevent middle-of-the-night trips to the bathroom and improve your sleep.
Some foods irritate the bladder, making leakage worse. You can try to reduce or eliminate the following foods:
- Alcohol
- Chocolate
- Caffeine
- Artificial sweeteners
- Carbonated drinks
- Spicy foods
- Citrus fruits and citric acid
Bladder training
Bladder training is simply peeing on a schedule to prevent bladder leakage. The goal is to increase the length of time between bathroom trips so that you’re going every 2-3 hours. If you’re interested in bladder training, talk to your healthcare provider about how to get started.
Double voiding
This term describes when you pee twice in a short amount of time. You’ll pee, wait a few minutes and then try again. This can help empty the bladder and prevent overflow incontinence.
Scheduled toilet trips
This is precisely what it sounds like. You’ll go to the bathroom on a schedule, every 2-3 hours instead of waiting until you have the urge to go.
Treat constipation
Straining to have a bowel movement can weaken your pelvic floor muscles and worsen bladder leakage. If you’re having trouble with constipation, you can increase fiber in your diet, exercise and drink water. If constipation persists, talk to your healthcare provider about other treatment methods.
Exercise
Exercising is important for overall health, and it can help improve your bladder health because staying active and maintaining a healthy weight can improve bladder leakage.
Many of these lifestyle changes are easy enough for you to try on your own. It may take some trial and error to figure out what works for you. Don’t hesitate to talk to a trusted healthcare provider about your bladder leakage and other options that might be right for you.
Sources
Is Urinary Incontinence Normal For Women?
Solutions For a Leaky Bladder?
What Are Pelvic Floor Exercises?
