How Do I Do Kegel Exercises
To do Kegels:
If you are uncomfortable or uncertain about doing Kegel exercises on your own, a doctor or nurse can also teach you how to do Kegels. A pelvic floor physical therapist or other specialist may also be available in your area to help teach you how to strengthen these muscles.
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 .
How Do I Cope With My Fecal Incontinence
Doing the following can help you cope with your fecal incontinence:
- using the toilet before leaving home
- carrying a bag with cleanup supplies and a change of clothes when leaving the house
- finding public restrooms before one is needed
- wearing absorbent pads inside your underwear
- wearing disposable underwear
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Stress Incontinence: Natural And Conservative Treatment Options To Improve Your Urinary Control
We often work with women and men who experience stress urinary incontinence and are looking for natural treatments, rather than medications or surgery. The age, backgrounds and lifestyle of these patients vary wildly and, no, not everyone is experiencing the urinary leakage because they had a baby . The good news is that there are natural and safe options you can undertake to improve your stress incontinence, that do not involve surgery nor medications. This article will review your options:
Where To Go For Urinary Incontinence Treatment
For urinary incontinence treatment, start with your primary care doctor. Tell them you are having problems with bladder control. If your primary care doctor is unable to help, ask for a referral to a specialist. Doctors who specialize in treating urinary incontinence include urogynecologists, gynecologists with extra training in urinary incontinence, or urologists, doctors who specialize in problems of the urinary tract system in men and women.
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The Link Between Running And Urine Leaks
First, lets learn more about incontinence.
Leaking, or urinary incontinence, is a medical condition that refers to the involuntary loss of urine triggered by increased pressure or abrupt muscle contraction of the bladder.
In other words, its when youre unable to control your bladder.
Incontinence can be nothing but a minor nuisance to a complete loss of bladder control.
Surveys show that incontinence affects twice as many women as men.
This may be blamed on hormonal changes and delivery history .
At least one in three female runners over 30 may experience bladder leaks while running, research reports.
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.
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How Is Urinary Incontinence Treated
The kind of treatment you have will depend on:
- the type of urinary incontinence you have
- how severe it is
- your age, health and medical history.
Your doctor may refer you to a womens health physiotherapist or a doctor who specialises in womens pelvic floor problems . They may recommend one or more of these treatment options:
- Lifestyle changes such as losing weight, quitting smoking, eating more fibre, drinking more water or lifting less.
- Medication to help relax the bladder muscles, which play an important role in urge incontinence.
- Physiotherapy to strengthen the pelvic floor, which supports your bladder. A physiotherapist can design a special pelvic exercise program for you.
- Surgery to support or hold up your bladder or urethra . Surgery is usually only considered if medication or physiotherapy have not been successful.
- The success of treatment can vary. While treatment may not cure your incontinence, it can still help you live more comfortably with it.
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Can Overactive Bladder Be Controlled
Overactive bladder therapy can be challenging to manage. However, many people are very satisfied with the treatment they receive and they often see a dramatic improvement in their quality of life. Your doctor will guide you to the best steps to begin with and give you options for any additional treatments you may need over time.
Natural Incontinence Remedies Prevention In Dogs
Urinary incontinence in dogs is often the result of a medical condition. Taking steps to maintain your dogs good health is key in preventing urinary tract issues. This incudes providing good nutrition and adequate hydration. Keep in mind that your pets urinary incontinence is not only difficult for you but it can be distressing and painful for your pet as well. During treatment it may help to keep doggy diapers and pads available to keep messes to a minimum, and have baby wipes on hand. Urine is very harsh on your dogs skin use wipes to clean skin that may be in prolonged contact with the urine.
Most of all, be understanding and patient to your dog, as it is not their fault they keep having accidents. If you are struggling to cope, talk to your vet as many owners have been in the same position before and your vet will have some good advice.
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I Dont Want To Leak Urine All The Time What Are My Natural Conservative Treatment Options For Stress Incontinence
There are numerous things you can do to help your stress urinary incontinence.
Bladder retraining and fluid intake balance
When we are talking about stress incontinence natural treatments one of the first places to start is to look at bladder retraining, behavioral changes and fluid intake. A physical therapist can help you learn how to retrain your bladder and can troubleshoot and advise you on your fluid intake. We often find that individuals are scared to lose urine so they unnecessarily empty their urine prematurely, which can in the long-run not work in their favor. Ideally, your bladder is strong and able to fill and hold a normal amount of urine, without experiencing bladder spasms, urgency and frequency. We also see people have vast problems with their fluid intake. Some people avoiding drinking, so they are dehydrated. Other people sip and drink water all day long, which for some people makes it hard to hold your urine. In some cases fluids like caffeine can worsen bladder control. A PT can help you figure out what would be the most strategic fluid intake for your circumstances.
Weight Loss is a great natural treatment option for stress incontinence
Pelvic floor muscle training with a pelvic physical therapist
Causes And Risk Factors
Aging
OAB occurs in both men and women. Its possible to have overactive bladder at any point in your life. But, its especially common in older adults. The prevalence of OAB in people younger than 50 years of age is less than 10 percent. After the age of 60, the prevalence increases to 20 to 30 percent.
The following are some of the other most common underlying causes and risk factors associated with OAB symptoms:
Nerve Damage
A healthy, normal functioning bladder holds urine until it gets full and is prompted to empty by nerve signals. However, when nerve damage occurs in the body, the muscles surrounding the urethra can be too loose. This undesirable looseness can cause someone to become incontinent. What can cause nerve damage that can then lead to bladder leakage? Some possibilities include:
- Back or pelvis surgery
- Stroke
Weak pelvic muscles
When a man or womans pelvic floor muscles are weak, bladder control issues can happen. The pelvic floor muscles are like a sling that holds up the uterus and bladder. For women, a pregnancy and childbirth can often lead to a stretching and weakening of the vital pelvic floor muscles. When pelvic floor muscles are compromised for this reason or another, the bladder can then sag out of place. The opening of the urethra also stretches and urine easily leaks out.
Menopause
Extra weight or obesity
Diuretic medications
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Treatment For Urinary Incontinence
Today, there are more treatments for 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.
Bladder control training may help you get better control of your bladder. Your doctor may suggest you try the following:
- Pelvic muscle exercises work the muscles that you use to stop urinating. Making these muscles stronger helps you hold urine in your bladder longer. Learn more about pelvic floor exercises and how to do them.
- Biofeedback uses sensors to make you aware of signals from your body. This may help you regain control over the muscles in your bladder and urethra. Biofeedback can be helpful when learning pelvic muscle exercises.
- Timed voiding may help you control your bladder. In timed voiding, you urinate on a set schedule, for example, every hour. You can slowly extend the time between bathroom trips. When timed voiding is combined with biofeedback and pelvic muscle exercises, you may find it easier to control urge and overflow incontinence.
- Lifestyle changes may help with incontinence. Losing weight, quitting smoking, saying no to alcohol, drinking less caffeine , preventing constipation and avoiding lifting heavy objects may help with incontinence. Choosing water instead of other drinks and limiting drinks before bedtime may also help.
Why Did Incontinence Happen To You
These days, so many of us have weak pelvic floor muscles because we spend most of our days sitting at a desk. And then, when theres a major stress on the body like childbirth particularly if the delivery involves interventions, such as an episiotomy, forceps or a vacuum the pelvic floor is especially vulnerable to damage.
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What Exercises Should I Be Doing To Train My Pelvic Floor Muscles
Working with a pelvic health therapist you will learn a wide variety of exercises clinically shown to help improve urinary control. Exercise is natures gift, as it is a natural treatment for stress incontinence that has no unpleasant side effects, like you would experience with pharmaceuticals and surgery. There is not one exercise to do and, definitely, doing a kegel is not what we are talking about. Stress incontinence occurs when your bladder control is overwhelmed by abdominal pressure that is generated through your movements. We will assess the symphony of muscular coordination that should be occurring. We also look at your movement patterns and see if your strategies are optimal for promoting bladder control. When we help you train your pelvic floor muscles we also coordinate your breathing, abdominal wall, pelvic floor, glutes/hips and thighs and we address speed and timing.
Why we do NOT recommend you do Kegels:
Pessary, an option for women.
Address and improve your constipation
There is hope! You can improve your stress incontinence if you undertake the above tips!
Peace,
Prevention Of Urinary Incontinence
Being overweight, being constipated, lifting heavy weights and drinking a lot of caffeine all make incontinence more likely. So, if youre worried about incontinence, try to maintain a healthy weight, eat and drink healthily and to reduce the amount of strenuous exercise you do.
You may be able to prevent incontinence during pregnancy and in the first few months after by doing pelvic floor exercises while youre pregnant. Ask your midwife for more information.
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Selecting Medications For The Treatment Of Urinary Incontinence
BARRY D. WEISS, M.D., University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson, Arizona
Am Fam Physician. 2005 Jan 15 71:315-322.
In response to the growing population of older patients with incontinence, pharmaceutical companies are developing new drugs to treat the condition. Before prescribing medications for incontinence, however, physicians should determine the nature and cause of the patients incontinence. The evaluation should rule out reversible conditions, conditions requiring special evaluation, and overflow bladder. The best treatment for urge incontinence is behavior therapy in the form of pelvic floor muscle exercises. Medications, used as an adjunct to behavior therapy, can provide additional benefit. Many therapies are available for patients with stress incontinence, including pelvic floor muscle exercise, surgery, intravaginal support devices, pessaries, periurethral injections, magnetic chairs, and intraurethral inserts. No medication has been approved for the treatment of stress incontinence, although medications are under development.
Urinary incontinence is one of the most common chronic medical conditions seen in primary care practice. It is more prevalent than diabetes, Alzheimers disease, and many other conditions that receive considerably more attention. Incontinence is an expensive problem, generating more costs each year than coronary artery bypass surgery and renal dialysis combined.1,2
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Natural Cures For Incontinence
The loss of urinary bladder control is known as incontinence. This disease is often left undetected as people avoid discussing their problems with doctors. However, a recent survey has shown that millions of people over the world have been detected with incontinence.
Women are more likely to be diagnosed with incontinence than men. Instead of opting for surgery and drugs for the treatment of incontinence, choose the below listed natural cures for incontinence.
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Choices In Protective Underwear And Briefs
When it comes to UI, men have many products available for dealing with occasional leaks.
- Drip collectors wick up moisture if you have occasional leaks
- Incontinence shields go inside your usual underwear to protect against light, infrequent leaks
- Absorbent underwear is built with padding in the right places to keep leaks off your skin and clothes. These may or may not be washable, so check the label
- Pull-ups are disposable briefs pulled on and off like typical underwear and work for heavy leaks
- Diapers with tabs are disposable options that stand up to heavy leaks
Kegel Exercises And Muscle Training
You can also do special pelvic floor exercises, or Kegel exercises, in addition to regular exercise. Kegel exercises strengthen the muscles to minimize involuntary contractions and improve posture. Its also one of the safest behavioral therapies without side effects and complications.
To do Kegel exercises:
You can also talk to a physical therapist to see if youre squeezing the right muscles.
Yes, Kegel exercises works for men, too »
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Some General Lifestyle Measures Which May Help
- Your GP may refer you to the local continence adviser. Continence advisors can give advice on treatments, especially pelvic floor exercises. If incontinence remains a problem, they can also give lots of advice on how to cope. Examples include the supply of various appliances and aids such as incontinence pads, etc.
- Getting to the toilet. Make this as easy as possible. If you have difficulty getting about, consider special adaptations like a handrail or a raised seat in your toilet. Sometimes a commode in the bedroom makes life much easier.
- Obesity. Stress incontinence is more common in women who are obese. Weight loss is advised in those who are overweight or obese. It has been shown that losing a modest amount of weight can improve urinary incontinence in overweight and obese women. Even just 5-10% weight loss can help symptoms.
- Smoking can cause cough which can aggravate symptoms of incontinence. It would help not to smoke.
Urinary Incontinence In Older Adults
Urinary incontinence means a person leaks urine by accident. While it may happen to anyone, urinary incontinence is more common in older people, especially women. Incontinence can often be cured or controlled. Talk to your healthcare provider about what you can do.
What happens in the body to cause bladder control problems? The body stores urine in the bladder. During urination, muscles in the bladder tighten to move urine into a tube called the urethra. At the same time, the muscles around the urethra relax and let the urine pass out of the body. When the muscles in and around the bladder dont work the way they should, urine can leak. Incontinence typically occurs if the muscles relax without warning.
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