6 practical ways to deal with urine loss

You step onto the dance floor, you start your daily run or someone makes you laugh and suddenly you feel your bladder leaking. Have you ever experienced this? Light or heavy urine loss: it is annoying in all cases. Good news: with a few tricks you can regain control over your bladder.

Involuntary urine loss comes in all shapes and sizes: from a few drops to a whole puddle. In the Netherlands, almost half of all women will sooner or later experience this discomfort. Most women have stress incontinence or urge incontinence. With stress incontinence, you do not have to urinate, but you suddenly lose urine when coughing, laughing or sneezing. With urge incontinence, you suddenly have to go to the toilet. Then you urinate more than ten times a day. This mainly occurs in women over 60, but also during and after pregnancy.

Causes of incontinence

Urinary incontinence can have various causes. The bladder is closed off by a sphincter and is held in place by the pelvic floor muscles. If the cooperation between the sphincter, pelvic floor muscles and the bladder does not work well, you will get unwanted urine loss. This often involves weakened or overactive pelvic floor muscles. This can be caused by heavy physical work, pregnancy, childbirth, frequent coughing, constipation, nerve damage, the effects of an operation, certain medications or infections (such as a bladder infection). Weakened bladder or pelvic floor muscles are a well-known ailment of old age.

If you have urinary incontinence, it is always a good idea to visit your doctor to find out the cause. The cause will affect how it should be treated. If it is a weak bladder or weak pelvic floor muscles, here are some tips on how to strengthen these muscles and reduce urinary incontinence: *

Combating urinary incontinence

Urinary incontinence is not something you simply have to live with. Take charge of your bladder, find out what is going on, and most importantly, don’t let your bladder dictate your schedule!

1. Train your pelvic floor muscles

It is important to know where your pelvic floor muscles are. Discover it on the toilet, hold your pee. You can train the muscles you feel then (do this exercise once to locate this muscle). The best-known pelvic floor exercise is the cone. The first time, lie on your back with your legs bent and your feet on the floor. Tighten your pelvic floor muscles for 6 counts. Then slowly relax these muscles for 6 counts. Repeat this ten times. You can then do this exercise anywhere: at your desk, walking, cycling, while doing the dishes or during yoga. Just don’t do it on the toilet, don’t interrupt your pee. Additional benefit: Strong pelvic floor muscles not only reduce urine loss, they can also improve orgasms. A nice bonus!

2. You can also train your bladder!

Bladder training also helps to reduce urine loss. Teach your bladder to hold more urine and prevent it from becoming overactive. Do you have to pee? Wait two minutes before you go to the toilet. It might be hard but doing breathing exercises can help. If you need to, find a way to distract yourself during these 2 minutes. Play a game on your phone or call a friend. The more you train the less often you’ll have to pee during the day. Try to get your bladder on a schedule.  Train until you have to go to the toilet every three to four hours and then plan fixed toilet moments per day. Peeing five to eight times is normal. And when you pee, do it well. Sit up straight with your pelvis slightly forward and after peeing wait a moment to make sure you’ve emptied your bladder entirely.

3. Don’t stop drinking water!

Drinking water is important! Coffee and alcohol…less so. Some women drink less water because they think this will reduce incontinence. But this actually makes your urine more concentrated, which can result in a bladder infection. Coffee can make things worse unfortunately. Studies show that women who drink more than two cups of caffeine per day are more likely to lose urine. Caffeine ensures that the bladder fills up quickly, which means it can leak. Also take a close look at your alcohol consumption, as this can irritate or put unnecessary pressure on the bladder.

4. Use incontinence material

Incontinence material absorbs urine loss and helps you stay dry throughout the day. Especially if you are exercising your bladder by holding your pee for 2 minutes before going, using liners can ease your mind if you’re afraid you won’t make it. Since you may use this on a daily basis, it is important that this material does not irritate. Therefore, use products with a 100% organic cotton top layer, this reduces the chance of allergic reactions. Some women use menstrual pads to absorb their urine loss, but this is not the best option since menstrual pads are made to absorb uterine lining which is a very different consistency than urine. Also incontinence uses odour control to decrease any odoour that is released from the urine. Therefore, use pads or liners meant for absorbing urine loss.

5. Do yoga

Studies show that yoga can reduce the symptoms of urine loss. People who participated in yoga classes that exercise the pelvis had 70% less urine loss afterwards. They gained more control over urinating, which stopped the leaking. Yoga strengthens your core which also effect the pelvic floor muscles that support the bladder, thus protecting you against incontinence.  So get on the mat!

6. Live your life

Urinary incontinence causes anxiety in some women, making them reluctant to go out. Being constantly aware of the possibility of urine leakage is not nice. If you suffer from urine leakage, remember that you are not alone. The woman next to you at the gym probably leaks a few drops too. In fact, almost half of all women have suffered from urine leakage at some point in their lives. Although it is very common, we do not talk about it very often. Don’t let it get in the way of your schedule, such as a fun evening with friends or family. It can help to talk to your girlfriends about it. They may be in the same boat!

If you suffer from heavy, persistent urine loss, see a doctor. Fortunately, urine loss is treatable for most women and can be managed with incontinence products. Small changes to your lifestyle can make a big difference. Don’t let light urine loss stop you from going out!

* Please note: tips to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles are not always good to do if you have overactive pelvic floor muscles, for example. That is why it is important to know what is causing your urine loss. Your doctor can help you with this.

Source: Anna Keijsers, pelvic floor physiotherapist at DaCosta Physio