Did you know that drinking alcohol could be increasing your chances of incontinence or making your incontinence worse? Even at a young age, you may have discovered that bladder leaks become that much more likely when you have drunk alcohol. It is expected that from the start of drinking you struggled with an irritated stomach and bowel. It should not be surprising that if you continue drinking, then you will exacerbate the damage you are doing.

Alcohol is not the reason people become incontinent. However, alcohol can make the symptoms of bladder and bowel incontinence worse. Let's explore what it does to our passing of urine and feces thanks to HARTMANN Direct.

The impact on the bladder 

The depressing news is that alcohol is a diuretic. This means it will naturally make you want to go to the toilet more. You will increase urination output as well as the number of times you will want to go to the bathroom. Therefore, you have a direct cause and effect: alcohol can make you incontinent because it decreases the health of your toilet habits.

There are further impacts of drinking alcohol. The increase in urine also means you are dehydrated. Constant dehydration can lead to irritation and inflammation of the bladder lining, which can lead to incontinence. Alternatively, it can lead to urinary tract infections, which in turn can lead to incontinence. Your urine is highly concentrated after drinking alcohol, which is what causes the infection.

Another consequence of all that alcohol is an increase in the amount of sugar you are taking in. Sugar is also a major irritant on your bladder. It can also cause you to increase in weight, and this weight can put pressure on your pelvic floor, which is the muscle that controls your ability to go to the toilet when you need to.

The impact on the bowel 

Alcohol has a double effect on the bowel. It can cause you to suffer diarrhea, or it can cause constipation. It is possible that you can have one followed by the other. The constipation can be particularly troublesome, as the straining can cause damage to muscles that will control your level of continence.

The dehydration that causes problems for your bladder also has an impact on your bowel. It can slow down bowel motility, which are the contractions that allow you to push out a stool. It can also cause the stool to be hard and painful to pass.

Generally, however, alcohol is a significant irritant for the gut. It can cause acid and inflammation, and it can increase the symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome. All these problems are precursors to fecal incontinence.

A sensible message 

In conclusion, I would suggest to anyone to stop drinking. If you are already suffering discomfort from urinary or fecal incontinence, then you should consider stopping alcohol consumption. Any dietary change is going to make a massive difference to your symptoms, but arguably none more than withdrawing alcohol. It is less that you are drinking less fluid, if anything you should replace it with water, it is that you are taking away an element that causes significant inflammation. Inflammation in the body can lead to all sorts of other problems, not just incontinence. Therefore, it is a vital means of taking control of the health of your body.

I have been self employed for eight years now. I work from home and have enjoyed every minute of it up until the time I started to want to buy our home. We had been renting the house we lived in for five years and after a years of asking, our landlord was willing to sell to us! It was like a dream come true that we could possibly own our home. But we still had to figure out how to get approved for a home loan.

Getting a home loan when you're self employed isn't impossible but it's harder than if you had a 9-5 job. When you're self employed, they don't look at your gross income like if you had a normal job. They go by your net income which is your income after every single deduction. So if you take a lot of deductions every year, chances are you might not qualify.

That's what happened to us for the first two years of trying to get a home loan. We had taken too many self employment deductions in our taxes so it brought our net income down too low. Of course we could still afford the house payment but when it came to the bottom line, it looked like we couldn't. So we had to wait two more years.

When you're self employed, a mortgage company will look at the past two years of tax returns. Sometimes even three. That way they can see if your income is steady or if it's declining.

It wasn't until early in 2018 did I try to apply again after waiting and I was approved for our home loan! My income had gotten higher and it showed I had a steady income throughout the year. It was finally official in late June 2018 when we signed our mortgage papers. We were officially homeowners!

If you're wanting to buy a home and you're self employed too, don't give up! Here are some tips that we used that might be able to work for you as well:

1. Plan ahead. It's harder to get a loan when you're self employed so you will need to have a good track of your taxes for the past two years. If you had low income in the past year, you will need to wait until the next year so you can show it's increasing.
2. Take less deductions. Yes, I know this one can be so hard but it works. If you take less deductions, you will have a higher net income and the higher it is, the more banks will be willing to give you a home loan. 
3. Shop Around. There are a lot of places that will work with people who are self employed for home loans. Shopping around will help you be able to find some promising companies to see what they can offer your situation. Call them on the phone and explain your situation first though before doing an entire application. That way it doesn't hurt your credit score. 

Choosing the perfect rug for your living room can make all the difference in the overall vibe of your home. Your living room rug can say a lot about you and your personal style, so it’s important to consider all of your options and go with one that feels right. Here are a few tips for picking the perfect rug for your living room.

Size 

Figuring out the size of the rug you want is the first and most important step of choosing the perfect rug. To do this, first take measurements of your living room and figure out how much space you want your rug to take up. If you have hardwood floors, leaving a few inches of clearance between the rug and the wall is a great way to show off the beautiful wood underneath and can help prevent the rug from completely overwhelming the room. After you’ve taken measurements of the room, you can start looking for a rug that fits that space! You can either shop in-store or browse rugs online to find one that has the measurements you’re looking for.

Material 

Choosing the material of the rug you want to get depends on a few factors. First, if you have small children or pets, going with a stain-resistant material like nylon or other synthetic materials will most likely be your best bet. If you want a cozy, warm rug, then something like wool or shag could be a good option for you. Other kinds of rugs, like viscose, jute, and flatweave are also popular choices for living rooms, so assess your individual needs and choose a material that will work best in your home.

Color & Pattern 

This is fun part of choosing a living room rug. Based on the color scheme of the room and your existing decor, you should choose a rug that compliments your living room well. If your walls and furniture are mostly neutral, muted tones, don’t be afraid to go with a rug that adds a pop of color to the room. Patterned rugs are also great for playing up an otherwise neutral color scheme, and oriental rugs are among some of the most common patterned living room rugs. If you do want to keep a more natural color palette, beige is one of the most popular rug colors at the moment, so explore your options and choose a shade that you love!

Have Fun With It 

While rectangular rugs are typically the most common in living rooms, don’t be afraid to play around with different shapes! Purchasing a circular or oval rug can be a fun way to add an interesting element to your living room, and you’re sure to get a lot of compliments on having such a unique space. Other shapes, like animal rugs, are also becoming more common, and can really add something to a room. When it comes to choosing the perfect rug for your living room, the most important thing is to go with one that feels right and fits your space!