What Helps Women Manage Incontinence?

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Urinary incontinence affects over 200 million people worldwide, and more than 75% of them are women. Some women feel that their incontinence prevents them from living an active fulfilling life. There are ways that can reduce the symptoms, and prevent leakage, allowing you to live however you choose.

  1. Products And Suppliers

One of the most important things in dealing with urinary incontinence is having the right products and using the right supplier.Some people prefer to order their products direct from the supplier. Suppliers like HARTMANN Direct are able to deliver these products direct to your door. You also need to use the right product for your size, leakage, and gender. Not all incontinence products are identical. Size is important, because ill fitting products can leak. The absorbency is crucial, because the products needs to be able to cope with the amount of leakage. Your gender is also important because men and women need more support in different areas.
Once you have found the right product, you should keep an emergency kit. You can pack a bag with any emergency supplies you might need, such as:

  • Change of clothes
  • Products
  • Underwear
  • Plastic bag for soiled clothes
  • Any medications you take

  1. Pelvic Floor Exercises

The pelvic floor is the sheet of muscles that support the bladder and bowel. If the muscles are weak, you can experience urine leakage, a frequent need to urinate, or a sense of urgency to urinate. You can strengthen these muscles by performing pelvic floor exercises. A review of various studies in urinary incontinence found that people who practice these exercises were much more likely to recover.
Experts suggest that you should perform pelvic floor exercises every two hours during your waking hours. There are two types of pelvic floor exercises - slow contraction, and fast contraction. Slow contraction means that you keep the pelvic floor muscles contracted for at least ten seconds, then relax for ten seconds. Fast contraction means that you hold the muscle contraction for one second.

  1. Bladder Training

Bladder training is a non surgical method of managing urinary incontinence. Some physicians suggest combining bladder training with Kegel exercises for maximum success. The idea behind bladder training is to increase the time between your trips to the bathroom. Women with urinary incontinence tend to visit the bathroom more frequently than they need, to avoid accidents. This can be a learned behaviour, rather than a need. However, it can actually cause the bladder to become more sensitive, and over active.
Bladder training means that you will schedule your bathroom trips. You will gradually increase the time between the visits. Also, if you do feel the urge to urinate, try to delay going by about five minutes. Of course, before you undertake any kind of program, you will need to discuss it with your health-care provider.

  1. Limit Some Liquids

Some drinks, such as alcohol, and caffeine, increases the amount of urine your bladder produces. Most health-care professionals will advise people with urinary incontinence to avoid them, or limit their consumption. A study showed that there is a link between the amount caffeine consumed and urinary incontinence in women.
You should drink at least six to eight glasses of water per day to keep your body hydrated. However, if you have issues with overnight incontinence, then you should limit your liquid intake after a certain time in the afternoon.

  1. Exercise

A study by the University of California, San Francisco showed that exercise can help to reduce the symptoms of urinary incontinence. The research showed that people who participated in an exercise routine specifically designed for pelvic health experienced a reduction in their symptoms by up to 70%. There are a few possible explanations for this.
Firstly, incontinence is often linked with other conditions like anxiety, depression, and stress. Exercise can help alleviate the symptoms of these conditions, which in turn, alleviates incontinence. Secondly, exercise on a regular basis can help strengthen the pelvic floor muscles.

  1. Surgery

For some people surgery can seem like an extreme solution, and it may not be a suitable solution for everyone. However, a review of all medical papers related to urinary incontinence written from 2005 to 2015 found that surgery is the most successful method of treating incontinence. It was found to be successful in 82% of cases, although other methods of managing urinary incontinence are not to be discounted. The review found that a pelvic floor exercise program is successful in 53% of cases, while drug treatments have a 49% success rate.

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