Tips for Dealing with Urinary Incontinence (For Women)

What is urinary incontinence (UI)?

Urinary incontinence (UI) is when you have trouble controlling the flow of your urine. This can mean anything from leaking a little urine when you strain, sneeze, or cough, to a total lack of urine control. UI is not painful. If you have pain with incontinence, talk to your provider, as this can be a sign of infection.

UI can be caused by pregnancy, childbirth, obesity, and surgery or radiation therapy for gynecologic or pelvic cancers. These things can change the nerves and muscles used to control urine flow. There are things you can do to improve your bladder health and to make your pelvic floor muscles (the muscles below your bladder) stronger.

How can I fix or prevent UI?

• Make a bathroom schedule for yourself. Most people need to urinate about every 3 to 4 hours. Set times to go to the bathroom to help retrain your bladder.
• Decrease how much caffeine, alcohol, carbonated drinks, and spicy foods you have. These can irritate your bladder.
• Make time just in case you have to stop at the bathroom before leaving the house, getting in the car, or going to bed.
• Try not to drink a lot of fluid before going somewhere where you will not have easy access to a bathroom.
• You can do Kegel exercises to make your pelvic floor muscles stronger and lower the risk of UI.
  • During Kegel exercises, you want to tighten the two most important pelvic floor muscles. This can be done by tightening as if you were trying to stop the flow of urine and tightening as if you were trying to stop passing gas.
  • Tighten the pelvic muscles and hold for a count of 3. Then relax for a count of 3. Try to do 10 to 15 each time you exercise. Do your pelvic exercises at least three times a day. Doing these exercises in different positions (lying down, sitting, and standing) makes the muscles strongest. You can exercise while lying on the floor, sitting at a desk, or standing in the kitchen. You may not feel your bladder control improve for 3 to 6 weeks, so be patient. A doctor, nurse, or therapist can help make sure that you are doing the exercises correctly.

Other Tips

• Protect your pelvic muscles by tightening them before a strain, such as sneezing, lifting, coughing.
• Biofeedback helps you become aware of how your body works so that you can learn to control some of its functions. Ask your care team if biofeedback is right for you, and they will set you up with a therapist.
• Small doses of electrical stimulation can strengthen your pelvic floor muscles. Electrodes are placed in the vagina or rectum to stimulate the muscles to contract, in turn "exercising" them.
• Talk to your therapist about devices you may be able to use to help with UI.

When should I call my care team?

If you are having urinary incontinence or pain/burning with urination, talk with your care provider. There are things you can do to help with UI.

Resources

American Cancer Society: Bladder Incontinence (Urine Leakage)