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Treatments for Urinary Incontinence

Urinary incontinence is not a result of aging. Many different things including urinary tract infections, constipation, and medications can cause it. A man may suffer from urinary incontinence because of an enlarged prostate and a woman because of the thinning and drying of the vagina and urethra as they age. Urinary incontinence may be temporary or may be something that is constantly a part of your life. You should talk to your doctor about this problem. You do not have to wear panty liners or adult diapers for the rest of your life. Urinary incontinence is a symptom and most of the time can be cured or leakage can be significantly slowed.

One simple way of treating incontinence is to retrain your bladder. Setting a specific time between urinating easily does this. Training your bladder to be emptied every two hours can be lengthened as your body gets used to the schedule. If you have a schedule to void every two hours, you should stay on that schedule until you can stay dry for that time length. Gradually increase the time between visits to the bathroom until you are comfortable with urinating every three to four hours.

Kegel exercises can be used to treat incontinence caused by stress. These exercises will help strengthen the muscles that control the bladder. These exercises can be done at any time of day and anywhere you happen to be. No one should know you are doing the Kegel exercises. The Kegel exercises can also treat stress incontinence for men also though it may take from three to six months for a man to see the results. The exercise is simple; the muscles you need to strengthen are the ones that will allow you to stop urinating in midstream. You should not have to use abdomen, buttock, or leg muscles. If you can stop urinating, you have found the muscles that need to be strengthened.

Squeeze these muscles for a count to ten, relax for a count to ten, and then repeat the exercise at least 20 times. You should do this three to four times a day. If you find the exercise is too much for you in the beginning, you may start slower and work up from there.

Medications have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat urinary incontinence. These are prescription only medications that need to be prescribed by your doctor. These medications can be used for urge incontinence and cases when the need to urinate is too frequent. Women may also find that using an estrogen cream in the vagina. This seems to work well for those women who suffer from stress incontinence.

Surgery may be an option for some women if all other treatments have failed. Sutures can be used to support the bladder and the muscles that control it. A newer surgery uses the woman's own tissue as a sling to support the bladder. This has been effective in relieving the symptoms of urinary incontinence caused by stress or help with the need to urinate often.