Urinary Incontinence in Women - Home Treatment

SYMPTOMS & TREATMENTS

If you have urinary incontinence, you can take some steps on your own that may stop or reduce the problem.

  • Set a schedule of urinating every 2 to 4 hours, regardless of whether you feel the need.
  • Talk with your doctor about all prescription and nonprescription medicines you take. Find out if any of them may be making your incontinence worse.
  • Use a bladder diary Click here to view a form. (What is a PDF document?) to keep track of your symptoms and any leaking of urine. Your diary can help you and your doctor find the best treatment for you.
  • If you have trouble reaching the bathroom before you urinate, try making a clearer, quicker path to the bathroom and wearing clothes that are easily removed (such as those with elastic waistbands or Velcro closures). Or keep a bedpan close to your bed or chair.
  • Wear a tampon while doing activities such as jogging or dancing to put a little pressure on your urethra and to temporarily slow or stop leakage.
  • Avoid drinking too much or too little fluid. Too much can increase the need to urinate and increase incontinence. Too little can cause dehydration.

Exercises

Pelvic floor (Kegel) exercises can help women who have any type of urinary incontinence.1 These exercises are especially useful for stress incontinence. But they may also help urge incontinence.

Lifestyle changes

Losing weight often helps stress incontinence. Remember that effective weight-loss programs depend on a combination of diet and exercise. For more information, see the topics:

Sometimes making lifestyle changes can help with urge incontinence. Try to identify any foods that might irritate your bladder—including citrus fruits, chocolate, tomatoes, vinegars, dairy products, aspartame, and spicy foods—and cut back on them. Also, avoid alcohol and caffeine.

If you smoke, try to quit. This may reduce coughing, which may reduce your problem with incontinence. For more information, see the topic Quitting Smoking.

Take steps to avoid constipation:

  • Include fruits, vegetables, beans, and whole grains in your diet each day. These foods are high in fiber.
  • Drink plenty of fluids, enough so that your urine is light yellow or clear like water.
  • Get some exercise every day. Try to do moderate activity at least 2½ hours a week. Or try to do vigorous activity at least 1¼ hours a week. It's fine to be active in blocks of 10 minutes or more throughout your day and week.
  • Take a fiber supplement, such as Citrucel or Metamucil, every day if needed. Start with a small dose and very slowly increase the dose over a month or more.
  • Schedule time each day for a bowel movement. Having a daily routine may help. Take your time and don't strain when having a bowel movement.
By: Healthwise StaffLast Revised: April 11, 2011
Medical Review: E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine
Avery L. Seifert, MD - Urology

© 1995-2011 Healthwise, Incorporated. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated. This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. How this information was developed to help you make better health decisions.

Advertisement
Care Circle

It Seems That You Are Not Logged In...

OR

Join Now

Welcome to Care Circle, an exclusive tool to help you take care of yourself and your loved ones. Here's how it works:

  1. Create profiles for yourself and your loved ones.
  2. Select the topics and conditions that interest each of you.
  3. Get customized news updates, original content, tools, and expert advice for each Care Circle member delivered directly to your personalized homepage.

The information you input is strictly private; you choose who has access to your Care Circle.

How do I add myself or someone else to my care circle?

Click on "Add someone." Fill out the short profile. Choose an avatar. Select the topics and conditions that interest this person from the pulldown menu. You can select as many as you want, but you must choose at least one. Click on "Add Someone" again. You should start getting updates immediately.

How do I save content to my Care Circle?

Click on "Manage My Care Circle." Select the tab of the person for whom you're saving content. Put your cursor over the piece of content that you want to save; a disk icon will appear in the righthand corner. Click on the disk and the piece of content will be moved to a save folder.

How do I add additional topics and conditions for someone in my Care Circle?

Click on "Manage My Care Circle." Select the tab for the person whose preferences you'd like to update. Under "Add More to Follow," select additional topics and conditions.

How do I delete topics and conditions for someone in my Care Circle?

Click on "Manage My Care Circle." Select the tab for the person whose preferences you'd like to update. Under "Follows," scroll over the topic or condition you want to delete. An "X" should appear on the righthand side. Click on the "X" and the topic or condition will be deleted from the list.

See All News

Advertisement