Herbal Tea for Urinary Incontinence

Weakened muscle tone as people age can eventually lead to urinary incontinence, a condition in which urine leaks involuntarily. Sometimes this leakage only occurs during an activity such as laughing, sneezing, coughing or picking up something heavy. Some people may experience leakage throughout the day without realizing it until they feel wet. Incontinence pads or larger "adult diapers" are helpful for controlling wetness and odor. There are ways to improve the condition, and possibly reverse it.

Urinary Tract Tonics

• Through the ages before surgical options or pharmaceuticals, urinary incontinence in women and men was treated with herbal teas. Your first step is to improve your overall diet by increasing your vegetable and fruit intake. Reduce or eliminate caffeine because it causes more frequent urination becaust of its diuretic and stimulant effect. Add eight ounces unsweetened cranberry juice to your daily breakfast routine to keep the bacteria count down in your kidneys, bladder and urethra.

  Herbal practitioners often prescribe horsetail tea for their patients who suffer from urinary incontinence. Horsetail can be found in powdered form at most health food stores and online. Put three teaspoons in a mug and fill with boiling water. Let the tea steep for at least five minutes and drink it all. You can take this three times a day to tone your urinary tract. Horsetail tea is a diuretic, promoting urine flow, so do drink plenty of water while you use it to avoid dehydration. A great side benefit of horsetail is that it contains silica which promotes bone and cartilage development to help prevent osteoporosis.

  Green tea (preferably caffeine free) is an excellent overall tonic. The antioxidant effect of this herb is well documented, and it can help prevent further damage to the urethra and sphincter. You can take green tea in tea form. It's also available as a standardized dose capsule to make it more convenient.

  Men who suffer urinary incontinence due to an enlarged prostate may benefit from taking saw palmetto as a tea. Saw palmetto is often prescribed to reduce the size of the prostate, and this alone may give you relief from urine leakage. Look for the powdered version of this herb and steep two or three teaspoons in boiling water until cool enough to drink. If you prefer to take it in capsule form, you can find it in most pharmacies and health food stores.

Other Factors

• Urinary incontinence is usually the result of age and overweight stretching and weakening the muscles that hold urine until you're ready to pass it. Losing excess weight will help reduce the problem by lowering the pressure exerted on your bladder. You can strengthen the muscles, no matter what your age, by doing Kegel exercises. These involve tightening the muscles in your genital area as if you were trying to stop your urine flow. Hold for a few seconds and relax. Repeat this action as many times as possible, building up to at least a hundred a day.