How to Treat Incontinence

Urinary incontinence is a medical condition that can be very embarrassing. It is the loss of bladder control, which can be caused by sneezing or coughing or can be uncontrollable urges to go. No matter what causes your loss of bladder control the following will help you treat it.

Things You'll Need

• Doctor

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Instructions

• 1

  Exercise. The Kegel exercises are the best to do for incontinence, but all exercises are helpful. The Kegel exercises are recommended because they help to strengthen the pelvic muscles, which strengthens the muscles around the bladder, thereby creating less problems.

• 2

  Train your bladder to work when you want it to rather than when it wants to. This involves holding off going when the urge to go comes on you. Start by waiting 5 or 10 minutes after the urge comes and then increasing the amount of time you wait.

• 3

  Continue bladder training. You may also want to make regular bathroom trips, which means you go every couple of hours and then increase the time in between. You can also try double voiding, which means you go and then wait a couple of minutes and try to go again. This will make incontinence less likely to happen.

• 4

  Avoid foods or drinks that may lead to incontinence. No one knows which food or drinks can irritate the bladder for each individual so it is something you need to discover on your own. However, alcohol and caffeine are known bladder irritants. Reducing liquids and losing weight can also help.

• 5

  Use sanitary napkins or adult diapers to keep the problem under control if not too severe. There are many products on the market that can help you control a small amount of incontinence.

• 6

  Talk to your doctor about medication to treat the problem. Certain medications such as Detrol, Ditropan and Vesicare can calm an overactive bladder. Others cause the bladder to relax thereby making incontinence less likely.

• 7

  Determine the severely of your condition. If your incontinence is extreme there are other methods to treat it such as electrical stimulation, medical devices and surgery. Your doctor is the best one to recommend which types of treatment you need.