Urinary incontinence, simply put, is loss of bladder control. This ranges from a leaking when you cough to sudden urges to urinate, which make it difficult for you to reach the bathroom in time. There are a variety of reasons for this condition in women such as childbirth, certain medications, over filling your bladder and aging. Though embarrassing, there are solutions to this problem. It's simply a matter of finding the one that works for you.
Bladder Training
Bladder training requires you to wait 10 minutes once you feel the urge to urinate before actually using the bathroom. This helps your bladder learn to wait before urination actually takes place, while strengthening the muscles responsible for retaining urine in your bladder. The experts at Mayo Clinic recommend waiting an additional 10 minutes each time you feel the urge to go. Your ultimate goal is to lengthen your time between bathroom trips to between 2 and 4 hours.
Kegel Exercises
Also known as pelvic floor exercises, Kegel exercises help strengthen your pelvic muscles, giving you the ability to hold urine in when the urge presents itself. For many women, the pelvic floor becomes weak after giving birth. To perform the exercise effectively, you must first locate your pelvic floor muscles. This can be done by stopping urination midstream; the muscle you feel contract is the same muscle you will exercise. You can also locate it by lying down and inserting your finger into your vaginal opening. The muscle you feel tighten around your finger is your pelvic floor muscle. Once you have located the muscle, contract and release it 10 times, three times a day.
Prescription Medication
According to the doctors at the Mayo Clinic, prescription medications are frequently used in combination with other treatments such as bladder training. These medications include topical estrogen, imipramine and anticholinergics.
Topical estrogen comes in the form of a ring, cream and patch and helps revive the tissues of your vagina and urethra to help relieve incontinence. Imipramine is an antidepressant that can treat incontinence caused by stress and incontinence that appears suddenly. Anticholinergics help relax an overactive bladder and is best suited for women who suffer from urge incontinence (sudden need to urinate).
Urethral Inserts
Best compared to tampons, urethral inserts are a disposable medical device a woman can place inside her urethra to stop urine from leaking. This device is most effective for women whose incontinence is predictable; for instance if you you have a tendency to leak urine while working out at the gym, this device may work well for you. Once you have completed your activity, you remove the insert and urinate normally.
