Urinary incontinence is common, especially among women. If you’re one of the millions dealing with the condition, could you be making your symptoms worse?
When you are dealing with incontinence, the last thing you want to do is make the situation worse. But all too often, our everyday habits can be setting us up to do just that.
So, how can you overhaul your habits and stop being your bladder’s worst enemy? Read on as we take a look.
Incontinence is defined as the loss of bladder control. There are two main types — stress incontinence and urge incontinence, with the latter also known as “overactive bladder.”
Urinary incontinence is much more common in women than in men, since women experience pregnancy, childbirth and menopause, which can all make incontinence more likely. But men can also be affected.
If a person is affected by incontinence, he or she may leak urine during normal everyday activities, like bending over or coughing, feel a strong urge to urinate, leak urine without warning, be unable to get to the toilet in time or even wet the bed overnight.
But what exactly causes urinary incontinence? There are a number of potential triggers, many of which are our own lifestyle habits.
While anyone can experience incontinence and it can occur for a variety of reasons, specific instances or “leaks” can often be traced back to a specific trigger. That’s because many of the things that are considered normal parts of our lifestyle, such as the foods we eat, can actually make incontinence worse.
Common triggers include:
While we’ve identified some factors that can make incontinence more likely, there are steps you can take to decrease your risk of leakage and other symptoms:
Dr. Henry Okafor is a board-certified, fellowship-trained urologist who specializes in disorders of the female genitourinary system. He specializes in Specializes in Urology Incontinence and Pelvic Reconstruction at Erlanger Urology.
If you’re dealing with incontinence, your doctor can offer solutions that may help alleviate the problem and lessen your symptoms. Talk to your doctor or request an appointment at Erlanger Urology.
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