What simple measures are available to treat urinary incontinence?
The average fluid intake in a day is four pints; this is e quivalent to about 10 cups. Drinking less puts a strain on the kidneys and drinking more may unnecessarily increase the risks of incontinence. In warmer or hotter climates than the United Kingdom, your fluid intake should be increased.
Excess weight with a large abdominal girth will stretch and damage the pelvic floor. Calorie control and increasing exercise should help. Lifting heavy objects should be avoided. Tight clothes and support girdles should be discarded.
Straining associated with increasing the abdominal muscle activity pushes the abdominal contents firmly down against the pelvic floor muscles. Stretching these muscles decreases their function and the nerve supply to them may also be damaged. A chronic cough is to be avoided. For smokers, the advice is obvious stop! Similarly, constipation requiring straining to empty the bowel should be avoided. Increasing the fibre content of your diet may be all that is necessary. Vegetables, fruit and wholemeal bread may be enough, but cereals particularly with bran in the morning may also be considered.
For postmenopausal women, hormone replacement therapy HRT (HRT-hormone-replacement-therapy) may provide benefit. Some women already taking HRT find that when they also introduce oestrogen locally into the vagina, there is further improvement in bladder symptoms.
The use of pessaries to treat urinary incontinence is becoming popular again.
Related Medical Abstracts - Click on the paper title:-
- Continence nurse treatment of women's urinary symptoms. (2004-01)
- The effect of oestrogen supplementation on post-menopausal urinary stress incontinence: a double-blind placebo-controlled trial. (1999-01)
Please click on the required question.
- 1 How is urine produced?
- 2 What is cystitis?
- 3 How prevalent is cystitis?
- 4 What is honeymoon cystitis?
- 5 What are Frequency and nocturia?
- 6 How prevalent are Frequency and nocturia?
- 7 What is urinary incontinence?
- 8 What is stress incontinence of urine?
- 9 What is urgency, urge incontinence and the urge syndrome?
- 10 What causes stress and urge incontinence?
- 11 What is dribbling incontinence?
- 12 How prevalent is urinary incontinence?
- 13 What is the urethral syndrome?
- 14 How can I record my bladder problems and monitor the effects of treatment?
- 15 What simple measures are available to reduce urinary incontinence?
- 16 What are pelvic floor exercises?
- 17 How successful are pelvic floor exercises?
- 18 What is bladder training?
- 19 How effective is bladder training?
- 20 Are there any alternatives to bladder training for urgency symptoms?
- 21 If simple measures do not suffice, what else is available for the treatment of urinary stress incontinence?
- 22 What are urodynamic studies?
- 23 Where can I obtain further information about bladder problems?
- 24 Support Groups.
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This is the personal website of David A Viniker MD FRCOG, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at Whipps Cross University Hospital, London - Specialist Interests - Reproductive Medicine including Infertility, PCOS, PMS, Menopause and HRT.
I do hope that you find the answers to your women's health questions in the patient information and medical advice provided.
