5 Things You Need to Know About Treating Bladder Control Problems

1. Lifestyle Changes May Improve Bladder Control

Bladder control problems, known as urinary incontinence, consist of one's bladder leaking urine uncontrollably. Incontinence is a common medical problem, but there are treatments that can help to minimize or cure this problem. One of the first courses of treatment is making behavioral changes to help minimize incontinence. People experiencing bladder control problems should make sure that they avoid drinking more than 8 cups of fluids per day and that they avoid eating foods that can irritate their bladder. Some of these foods include caffeine, citrus, tomatoes, chocolate, alcohol, spicy foods and carbonated beverages. In addition, people with incontinence should try to urinate regularly and never resist an urge to go to the bathroom. If the person is overweight, losing weight may also help eliminate or reduce incontinence problems.

2. Strengthen Pelvic Floor Muscles

Weakened pelvic floor muscles can cause incontinence in some people and strengthening these muscles can help treat the problem. To do this, women can perform kegel exercises in which they tighten their pelvic floor muscles. Placing a finger inside her vagina, a woman can then tighten her muscles until she feels squeezing on her finger. She should then keep her muscles tightened for 10 seconds. Women should repeat this exercise about 10 times in a row and do these series 2 or 3 times per day. Another way to strengthen pelvic floor muscles is to electrically stimulate them. A small electrical device placed in the rectum or vagina sends a small pulse of electricity to those areas. This then helps the pelvic muscles tighten and strengthen.

3. Use Prescribed Medical Devices

Medical devices can also help to treat bladder control problems. Women have the option of using a urethral plug, such as FemSoft, that when placed in the woman's urethra will block the flow of urine. A woman can use this device on an as needed basis to help stop bladder control problems. A pessary is a device placed inside of a woman's vagina that helps improve the control of urine. This device works well for women with a prolapsed uterus or bladder. Men and women can both use catheters to help eliminate urine from the bladder as well.

4. Medication Can Help Relieve Incontinence

For some people with bladder control problems, prescribed medication can help. A class of drugs called anticolinergic drugs help treat incontinence by preventing the bladder from contracting as often and by making the bladder's muscle relax. Some examples of these drugs include tolterodine (Detrol) and oxybutynin. However, these medications only work for certain types of urinary incontinence. A doctor will determine if a patient should take these medications to treat their incontinence.

5. Consider Surgery as a Last Resort

As a last resort, surgery can serve as an effective treatment for incontinence. Doctors can perform various types of surgeries to treat incontinence. A doctor may repair severely weakened muscles of the pelvic floor, sling the patient's urethra to prevent it from releasing urine uncontrollably, suspend the neck of the bladder to improve its overall function and prevent sagging or increase the overall size of the bladder.