How to Cope with Stress Incontinence

Any action that engages your core muscles, such as sneezing, coughing or laughing, can stress weak bladder muscles and trigger them to release with a condition known as stress incontinence. If you have had your prostate removed and experience incontinence, the surgery could be to blame. You may be tempted to drink fewer liquids or cut out laughter if you have stress incontinence, but neither will increase your overall health and happiness. Instead, focus on strengthening your bladder muscles and keep living your life.

Weight Loss

Weight loss can improve stress incontinence if you are overweight or obese. The added pounds push on the already weakened muscles of your bladder, stressing them further, says Mayoclinic.com. Dr. Henry Lai, assistant professor of surgery at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, explains that weight gain can be the cause of incontinence in some cases. If you have recently gained a significant amount of weight, try diet and exercise to shed the pounds before considering more invasive procedures for your incontinence.

Time Voiding

Visit the bathroom every three hours whether or not you feel the urge to go. Time voiding helps ensure that your bladder is never overdistended or stretched too far. It also limits the amount of liquid stored in your bladder so if you do sneeze, there isn't as much urine to release. Time voiding is particularly effective if you have an overactive bladder, but it can help with stress incontinence, too.

Rashes

As if dealing with unexpected urine isn't enough, incontinence can lead to rashes from contact with urine. These can be painful and unsightly. While it may be embarrassing at first to wear a pad, an absorbent layer wicks away the moisture and keeps your skin healthy. Keeping extra pads and a change of underwear in your car or office desk can help you stay comfortable and lets you get out of wet clothes before your skin becomes irritated.

Kegels

If you think Kegel exercises are only for women, think again. The Mayo Clinic says Kegels improve and prevent incontinence by strengthening the all-important bladder sphincter -- think of it as the door to your bladder that you want to remain closed. To do a Kegel, tighten the muscles you use to stop urinating, hold for at least five seconds and then release. No one can see you doing Kegels, so do them at home, during your commute and even in meetings -- the more you do them, the more improvement you may see.

Add Fiber

Because your bowels and your bladder are so close together, constipation can worsen stress incontinence, as there is extra weight pushing on your bladder. Lai explains that managing your constipation is one of the best ways to cope with incontinence. It may be a cough or a sneeze that pushes you over the edge, but backed-up bowels can make leaks bigger. If your stools are hard or irregular, add extra fiber to your diet.

Stay Active

There are many physical ways to combat stress incontinence, but often the mental aspects of the issue are hardest to ease, the Mayo Clinic notes. Your first reaction may be to want to stay home and near a toilet, but isolating yourself from friends, family and activities can make you feel worse. Wearing a pad can allow you to focus on enjoying yourself rather than running to the restroom for every tiny leak. Lai tells his patients that cutting out activities such as running just to avoid stress incontinence problems negatively affects their lives and may not be healthy.