Bladder leakage tends to occur as a woman ages. This particular condition is also known as urinary stress incontinence, which is just a term to describe accidental urine leakage. The issue may cause embarrassment and affect various aspects of a woman’s life, but it is possible to reverse the problem and prevent it from worsening in many cases.
Types of Bladder Leakage
Three types of bladder leakage exist: stress incontinence, urgency incontinence, and mixed incontinence. Stress incontinence describes when a woman loses urine while coughing, sneezing, laughing or exercising. It’s the most common type of incontinence. Urgency incontinence occurs when a woman feels a strong, sudden urge to urinate right before losing urine. Some women experience both forms of bladder leakage.
Causes of Bladder Leakage
Sometimes, it’s a short-term issue stemming from a urinary tract infection (UTI), constipation or a medication. Other times it’s a chronic problem. Chronic cases may be a result of childbirth, menopause, surgery, pregnancy or weight gain. The pelvic floor muscles being unable to support the bladder causes the organs in the pelvis to fall out of place and put pressure on the vagina. You won’t be able to close off the muscles that close the urethra when this happens, so urine may leak as a result of the pressure on the bladder when you laugh, exercise or etc.
Treating Bladder Leakage
Reducing the amount of caffeine and carbonated and alcoholic drinks can help reduce the problem. Consuming a diet high in fiber will help a woman avoid constipation. Quitting smoking can reduce symptoms of bladder leakage as well. However, one of the best ways to combat the problem is by doing kegels. A kegel is an exercise that works the pelvic floor muscles. By using the same muscles, a woman uses to start and stop the flow of urine, a female is able to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles, so they’re able to support the bladder and other pelvic organs.
Start slowly by tightening the muscles for three seconds and then releasing them for a few seconds. Repeat the exercise 10 times in a row. Keep working until you can hold them longer and do more. Do a set of kegels two to three times per day.
Unfortunately, these exercises aren’t as simple as they sound. If a person performs them wrong, it can do more harm than good. For that reason, PeriCoach helps ensure the exercises are performed properly. Via a small device inserted into the vagina that tracks the contractions and an app that monitors progresses, a woman can take the initial step to stopping and reversing bladder leakage naturally.