5 Things That Make Incontinence Worse

There are three main types of incontinence -- stress incontinence, urge incontinence and overflow. Stress incontinence is triggered by a laugh, cough, sneeze or something similar, while urge incontinence happens when your bladder spasms and suddenly releases urine. Overflow incontinence causes your bladder to release small amounts of urine quite frequently rather than large amounts at once. Only a doctor can pinpoint the exact cause of your incontinence, but whatever the cause, what you eat may be making your symptoms worse.

Caffeine

Drinks that are caffeinated may contribute to or worsen your incontinence. Dr. Henry Lai, an expert on incontinence at Washington University School of Medicine, in St. Louis, Missouri, advises replacing regular coffee or tea with their decaffeinated counterparts so you consume no more than 200 milligrams of caffeine per day. Lai recommends avoiding carbonated beverages as well as caffeinated ones; caffeinated sodas are doubly hard on the bladder. Chocolate has caffeine it it, but it shouldn't be enough to affect your bladder.

Citrus

Citrus in any form is a bladder irritant, but citrus juices may be wreaking havoc with your bladder if you are consuming them daily in large quantities. Lai says grapefruit juice and orange juice are the most common culprits and the first things to cut out. Citrus flavors are popular in some alcoholic drinks, such as screwdrivers, but alcohol is also a diuretic that can increase your need to urinate, so these types of drinks especially should be avoided. Casual alcohol consumption, however, won't make your incontinence worse, Lai says.

Smoking

Smoking can cause your bladder to contract, leading to an overactive bladder, notes scientists at MayoClinic.com. Smoking also damages your lungs, potentially leading to smokers cough, which can cause stress incontinence and worsen other types of incontinence. Even being around secondhand smoke in your workplace or home may lead to a cough that could affect your incontinence. Lai says smoking also has been tied to lower urinary tract symptoms in men, such as increased frequency of urination and an increasing need to urinate.

Weight Gain

Any amount of weight gain around your midsection puts added stress on your bladder. If you have been avoiding exercise because you are afraid it will exacerbate your stress incontinence, you actually may be making your incontinence worse, Lai explains. Gaining weight may be the sole cause of your incontinence if your body mass index, a measure of body fat based on height and weight, is greater than 25.

Sweeteners

Artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, found in Equal, or sucralose, found in Splenda, can irritate your bladder. Instead of sweetening your foods with these compounds, try agave nectar, date sugar or honey. Even though it is distilled from a plant, corn syrup is also a bladder irritant. Corn syrup is added to a variety of processed foods, ranging from soda to ketchup, so cutting it out is not always easy.