Urinary Urgency & Menopause

Older women tend to experience urinary urgency or urinary incontinence (UI) more so than younger women, but anyone can be afflicted by this problem. Pregnancy can exacerbate this condition in younger women.

Loss of Estrogen

• As women enter menopause, they produce less estrogen. When estrogen is in ample supply it helps maintain the bladder's lining and keeps the urethra healthy. When estrogen diminishes, tissue structure deteriorates and this can cause incontinence.

Aging

• The older we get, the older our bladder muscles get. The bladder can no longer store urine as it used to. If you have high blood pressure, smoke, have a blood vessel disorder or you're overweight, this could aggravate your urinary urgency.

Surgery

• If you have had a hysterectomy, or any surgery that involves your reproductive system, this can damage the pelvic floor muscles, which can result in urinary incontinence, according to Kidney.niddk.nih.gov.

Long-Term Outcomes

• If you have given birth earlier in your life, this may have led to damage of the bladder nerves as well as harm to the supportive tissues, which can lead to a prolapsed or dropped pelvic floor, so notes the Mayo Clinic. When a prolapse occurs, your small bowel, rectum, bladder or uterus can get jammed down and protrude into your vagina, causing incontinence.

Kegel

• Fight back by doing Kegel exercises. Squeeze your pelvic muscles, not your leg, butt or stomach muscles, which may have the opposite effect and make you want to urinate. The Mayo Clinic suggests that you imagine that you are sucking or drawing a marble into your vagina.