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Self-help tips to make
your bladder behave
Avoid caffeine, alcohol, spicy foods
and artificial sweeteners, and stop
smoking. These can irritate the
bladder.
Ladies, cross your legs. If you have
stress incontinence, crossing your
legs when you feel a sneeze or
a cough coming on can prevent
leakage.
If nighttime incontinence is a problem,
stop drinking fluids after 6 p.m.
If you’re overweight, try to shed
unwanted pounds to take some of
the strain off your bladder and
pelvic muscles.
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Incontinence is common — and treatable
Do you know the location of
every restroom in town?
Do you find yourself making
frequent stops on road trips? If
this sounds familiar, you may have
a bladder condition. Roughly
13 million Americans suffer from
incontinence or an overactive bladder.
Symptoms range from mild
leaking to uncontrollable wetting.
These common problems can
happen to anybody at any age.
Unfortunately, many people don’t
realize it can be treated or are too
embarrassed to tell their doctors.
Women are more likely than men
to have bladder problems. For
women, the most common cause is
stress incontinence, where a spurt of
urine is lost when coughing, sneezing,
standing or being active. A
cough or sneeze puts physical pressure
on weak muscles or ligaments
at the bladder opening, causing
urine to leak.
Other causes are urge incontinence
(or overactive bladder), characterized
by the need to urinate
more than eight times a day, and
pelvic organ prolapse, in which the
bladder, uterus, rectum or small
bowel has dropped and requires
surgical treatment.
In men, incontinence is frequently
caused by overactive bladder or
prostate problems. Other causes are
bladder infections; prostatitis,
which usually appears suddenly and
lasts a short time; and tumors that
irritate the bladder, causing the urge
to urinate.
Effective treatments
The good news is that many
treatments are available for incontinence.
For women, stress incontinence
can usually be treated
through pelvic muscle, or Kegel,
exercises, or a surgical “sling,” which holds up the bladder. Urge
incontinence therapies include new
medications, physical therapy or a
bladder pacemaker.
For men with overactive bladders,
oral medications can help.
Enlarged prostates are usually treated
with medication or minor surgical
procedures. Some enlarged
prostates are caused by malignant
growth, however, and may require
major surgery.
If you feel you have a bladder
problem, you should see your doctor.
The most important thing to
realize is that you’re not alone.
Multiple treatments are available to
help you enjoy life without having
to constantly worry about your
bladder.
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