Bladder Retraining in Urge Incontinence

When you experience a sudden and strong need to urinate, your body causes your bladder to contract violently, leading to urine leakage. This is what is known as urge incontinence. The symptoms include uncontrollable urine leakage, discomfort in the abdomen and urinating frequently or with great urgency.

There are many reasons why urinary incontinence may occur. Typically a chronic problem, it may be the result of lower urinary tract dysfunction, or it may indicate that there is a problem with the kidneys or nervous system. It may also result from changes that occur as a result of aging.

The process of urination involves two distinct functions. First the bladder must be able to receive and store urine, the release of which is regulated by a sphincter muscle. Second the bladder must have a stable muscle wall. The bladder stretches as it fills, and can generally hold up to 550 ml of urine. The urge to urinate is generally triggered when the bladder is at about half of its total capacity. When normal urination occurs, the bladder muscle contracts as the sphincter relaxes to empty the bladder. As infants our bladders automatically contract when the bladder is full. As we achieve physical maturity, our brain controls this contraction of the bladder muscle, allowing us to control urination.

Urge incontinence is found mainly in older adults, especially in women, although it can happen to anyone at any age. It occurs when our bladder muscles contract independent of our brain’s signal to empty, so that the bladder may contract not only when it is full but also when it is almost empty. How full the bladder is does not seem to be a factor with urge incontinence. Frequently the cause of urge incontinence is never discovered. There are some conditions that can predispose towards the development of urge incontinence, such as bladder inflammation, stones, cancer, and obstruction, as well as neurological diseases and injuries and, for men, prostate- related disorders. Because there are so many possible causes for urge incontinence, it is a wise idea to check with a medical professional if you are experiencing urge incontinence symptoms.

There are many ways to treat urge incontinence, including drug therapy, surgery, diet and bladder training. In many cases, making some slight adjustments to your diet can help make the bladder training process more successful. Simple measures, such as controlling how much, what and when you drink may help. Ideally, you want to spread out your fluid intake throughout the day so that you are not taking in overly large quantities of fluid all at once. Drinking less than eight ounces at a time and not drinking with your meals may also help. You may also try eliminating foods or drinks that irritate your bladder like caffeine, carbonated drinks, and spicy or acidic foods.

Bladder retraining begins with consciously monitoring what your patterns of incontinence are. Keep a log of every time you feel the urge to urinate and any incidence of incontinence. Next, build a new schedule of times for you to urinate, and try to stick to it. When building your schedule stretch the times between trips to the bathroom by 15 minutes. Then gradually increase your times by an additional ½ hour despite any urges or leakage that may occur. By following a schedule such as this, you will eventually be able to hold your urine for up to four hours in between bathroom trips.

To help you achieve success with your new schedule you can use Kegel exercises to help strengthen weak pelvic floor muscles. To perform Kegels, you must first identify the muscles of the pelvic floor that are so important to achieving continence. To learn how to isolate these muscles, you can practice starting and stopping the flow of urine. Once you are able to identify and control these muscles, you can perform Kegels several times a day, increasing the number of Kegels you can do and increasing the length of time you can hold the contraction. Strengthening these core muscles will help you learn to control the urge to urinate and will help decrease incontinence episodes.

Dryforlife.co.uk appreciates the challenges of dealing with urge incontinence. We offer a wide variety of products designed with your comfort and security in mind. Frequently, urge incontinence can be an indication of some underlying medical condition that can be diagnosed and treated. For discreet advice, a catalogue of products, an informative incontinence guide and friendly service, visit our web site.

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