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Lifestyle and home remedies
By Mayo Clinic staffHealthy lifestyle practices can go a long way toward easing symptoms of stress incontinence.
- Shed extra weight. If you're overweight — your body mass index (BMI) is over 25 — losing excess pounds can help reduce the overall pressure on your bladder and pelvic floor muscles. Losing 5 to 10 percent of your body weight may help improve your stress incontinence.
- Add fiber to your diet. Constipation contributes to incontinence, especially if you often strain during bowel movements. Keeping your bowel movements soft and regular allows urine to flow freely and reduces the strain that's placed on your pelvic floor muscles. Eat high-fiber foods — whole grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables — to relieve and prevent constipation.
- Avoid eating or drinking substances that can irritate your bladder. For instance, if you know that drinking coffee throughout the day tends to make you go to the bathroom more frequently, try reducing the amount you drink.
- Maintain proper fluid intake. Drinking too much fluid can make you urinate more frequently. But not drinking enough can lead to a concentration of waste in your urine, which can irritate your bladder, too.
- Don't smoke. Smoking can lead to a severe chronic cough, which can aggravate the symptoms of stress incontinence.
References
- DuBeau CE. Clinical presentation and diagnosis of urinary incontinence. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Sept. 9, 2008.
- DuBeau CE. Patient information: Urinary incontinence. http://www.uptodate.com/patients/content/topic.do?topicKey=~/0j/LeBKevVnHo. Accessed Sept. 9, 2008.
- Urodynamic testing. National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse. http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/urodynamic/index.htm. Accessed Sept. 9, 2008.
- Norton P, et al. Urinary incontinence in women. The Lancet. 2006;367(9504):57-67.
- Holroyd-Leduc JM, et al. Management of urinary incontinence in women: Scientific review. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2004;291(8):986-995.
- Norton PA. Female urinary incontinence: Epidemiology and evaluation. In: Gibbs RS, et al. Danforth's Obstetrics and Gynecology. 10th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2008:870-876.
- DuBeau CE. Patient information: Urinary incontinence treatments. http://www.uptodate.com/patients/content/topic.do?topicKey=~aup1.o0ho/j5Wk. Accessed Sept. 9, 2008.
- Baharak A, et al. Nonsurgical management of urinary incontinence and overactive bladder. In: Gibbs RS, et al. Danforth's Obstetrics and Gynecology. 10th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2008:890-899.
- Rogers RG. Urinary stress incontinence in women. The New England Journal of Medicine. 2008;358(10):1029-1036.
- Nager CW, et al. Operative management of urinary incontinence. In: Gibbs RS, et al. Danforth's Obstetrics and Gynecology. 10th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2008:877-889.
- Costa P, et al. Advancing the treatment of stress urinary incontinence. BJU International. 2006;97(5):911-915.
- Khan F, et al. Surgical treatment of stress urinary incontinence in women. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Sept. 9, 2008.
- Urodynamic testing. National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse. http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/uimen/index.htm. Sept. 9, 2008.
- Rapp DE, et al. Surgical technique using AdVance sling placement in the treatment of post-prostatectomy urinary incontinence. International Brazilian Journal of Urology. 2007;33:231-237.
- Wolter CE (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Oct. 6, 2008.
