How To Stop Incontinence Naturally and When To Seek Medical Assistance
Jessica Lubahn 9 min read
All you did was laugh.
And pee.
Urinary incontinence can be SO embarrassing.
One minute you are minding your business and the next minute you're soggy and praying nothing soaked through your clothes for the world to see.
If you are tired of dealing with urinary incontinence, you have come to the right place.
Here we’ll talk about how to stop incontinence both naturally and medically, and how ONDR urinary incontinence underwear can help.
Table of Contents
- Can Incontinence Be Cured?
- Types of Incontinence
- What Is the Best Treatment For Urinary Incontinence?
- How To Stop Incontinence Naturally 5 Different Ways
- 4 Ways a Medical Professional Can Help You Stop Incontinence
- Looking For How to Stop Incontinence From Showing? ONDR Leak-Proof Underwear Has You Covered — Literally
Can Incontinence Be Cured?
Urinary incontinence is a common problem and can happen to anyone, male or female.
Thankfully, in the majority of cases, incontinence can be cured or at least controlled through the right treatment.
Types of Incontinence
Urinary incontinence comes in all sorts of varieties, including:
- Stress incontinence
- Urge incontinence
- Overflow incontinence
- Reflex incontinence
- Functional incontinence; and
- Mixed incontinence, which is a combination of urge and stress incontinence
What Is the Best Treatment For Urinary Incontinence?
The best treatment for urinary incontinence depends the individual and the reason for the incontinence. However, with the vast array of both natural and medical treatments available, no one should have to suffer through incontinence.
How To Stop Incontinence Naturally 5 Different Ways
If you are a fan of all things natural, you will be happy to hear that incontinence responds well to a wide variety of natural methods of treatment.
Let’s take a look at some of the most common solutions for making incontinence a thing of the past.
#1: Manage Fluids: Think About WHAT You’re Drinking & When You Are Drinking It
What goes in has to come out.
If you are downing 2 liters of liquid in a day, you’re going to need to pee that same 2 liters at some point in your day.
Giving some thought to what you're drinking and when you are drinking, can be a huge help when trying to figure out how to stop incontinence.
Don’t get us wrong. We're not saying we want you to restrict your fluids (because then you’d wind up with a whole new set of problems), but you’ll definitely want to learn to manage what you drink — both in quantity and in the kinds of fluids you are taking in.
Some beverages, such as …
- Coffee, yes, even decaf
- Tea, including green, black, and decaf teas
- Caffeine
- Carbonated drinks
- Alcoholic beverages, including champagne and beer
- Orange juice; and
- Apple juice
… are diuretics, meaning they increase urine production and can also do a nasty job of irritating your bladder.
#2: Keep a Diary
Is your bladder feeling particularly agitated, or are you peeing a lot today? If so, jot it down. And make a quick note of what you ate or drank and how much.
Keeping a detailed diary of what you put into your body can be a helpful tool as you are determining how to stop urinary incontinence.
Besides the drinks we just listed above, there are some foods such as …
- Spicy dishes
- Tomatoes or tomato-based items; and
- All citrus fruits, including clementines, lemons, and limes
… that can do a number on your bladder and make you pee more than you normally would.
You will also want to jot down the time you pee, and how much. Are you experiencing some leakage? Document that, too.
The goal of keeping a diary of everything you put in your mouth — and the liquids that come out — is to find patterns and narrow down exactly what foods and drinks are guilty of keeping your bladder in overdrive.
#3: Ensure You’re Emptying Your Bladder Completely
You peed.
That means your bladder is empty, right? Not necessarily.
For a variety of reasons, some people may not always empty their bladder all the way. It might be that:
- They are impatient and in a hurry to get on to bigger and better things
- They have a bladder obstruction, like an enlarged prostate, kidney stones, or an enlarged uterus; or
- Their bladder muscles are not squeezing as well as they should
But it is super important that you are emptying your bladder completely each time you go to the bathroom. Residual urine can cause bacteria to grow. And bacteria can lead to a urinary tract infection.
This is where the technique of double voiding can be amazingly helpful.
Here is how it works:
- Sit comfortably on the toilet, leaning forward slightly
- Rest your hands on your thighs
- Pee like always, but focus on getting your bladder as empty as possible
- Sit on the toilet for 20 to 30 seconds longer; then
- Lean forward just a bit more and pee again
Double voiding can be an especially useful tool for people who feel like their bladder is never empty or those who pee only to find themselves making a quick return to the bathroom to pee again.
One study showed that people who used the double voiding technique had a lower occurrence of bacteria in their pee than those who didn't.
#4: Create a Schedule to Go Regularly
Watering plants.
Coffee with friends.
“Me” time.
In this day and age, we have a schedule for all sorts of things — but have you ever thought about scheduling your trips to the bathroom?
When you’re struggling with incontinence, scheduled potty breaks are something to seriously consider.
If you’re wondering …
- How to stop stress incontinence
- How to stop urge incontinence
- How to stop incontinence at night
- How to stop male incontinence; or
- How to stop incontinence after prostate removal
… bladder training may be what you are looking for.
Bladder training helps you change your urinary habits by:
- Stretching out the amount of time between your trips to the bathroom
- Upping the amount of pee your bladder can hold; and
- Giving you greater control over the urge to pee
In short, you will be scheduling your trips to the bathroom. This means that you are going to sit down to pee at set times, whether you feel like you need to or not.
For example, you might start by visiting the bathroom once an hour and gradually increasing the time until you find the sweet spot that best works for you.
If you are giving scheduled bathroom trips a try, don’t give up. It may take three to 12 weeks of bladder training before you start to see the results.
#5: Strengthen Your Pelvic Floor
Some of the most common forms of incontinence are because the muscles in the pelvic floor, which is made up of the …
- Bladder
- Small intestines
- Rectum; and
- Uterus, in women
… need to be strengthened. But how?
To stop urinary incontinence, you may want to try pelvic floor exercises.
There are several to choose from, such as Kegels, a simple 30-second exercise that can work wonders when it comes to the overall tone of the muscles that make up your pelvic floor.
4 Ways a Medical Professional Can Help You Stop Incontinence
While incontinence is common, it’s not generally a life-threatening condition. And since it is almost always treatable, or at least manageable, incontinence isn’t something that you just have to suffer through.
If you decide to get traditional medical treatment for urinary incontinence, here are a few things your doctor may recommend.
#1: Medication
Typically, medications are not the first line of defense when you are trying to determine how to stop urinary incontinence. That being said, the medications that are most commonly prescribed for urinary incontinence include:
- Ditropan
- Oxytrol
- Detrol
#2: Electrical Nerve Stimulation
Electrical nerve stimulation is a therapy that may give you better control of the muscles in your bladder — which may translate to a decrease in the symptoms of urinary incontinence.
How does it work?
Electrical nerve stimulation uses a mild electrical current to treat your overactive bladder and ease your strong urge to pee and may include treatments such as:
- Sacral nerve stimulation (SNS)
- Percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (PTNS); or
- Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS)
#3: Surgery
When it comes to the question of how to stop incontinence, surgery should be your last resort.
If you’ve tried other treatments and opt for surgery, your doctor may recommend one of the following surgeries for urinary incontinence:
- Colosuspension
- Sling surgery
- Vaginal mesh surgery
- Artificial urinary sphincter; or
- The injection of urethral bulking agents
#4: Botox
Another medical solution for putting an end to urinary incontinence is Botox injections.
Yes, the exact same stuff you used to bring your crow's feet in for a landing.
If you opt for Botox, you will receive your treatment in the office of a trained professional. The process may look something like this:
- A tiny catheter will be inserted into your bladder
- A local anesthetic, Lidocaine, will then be placed into your bladder via the catheter to numb the sensations of the lining of your bladder. This usually takes around 20-30 minutes
- A small scope connected to a camera will be inserted into your bladder through your urethra
- A series of Botox injections into your bladder muscle will then be done through the use of a small needle that is passed through the scope
While your appointment will most likely last an hour or so, the actual injection procedure usually takes around five minutes or less.
Botox treatment of urinary incontinence may take up to two weeks before you start to notice the results.
Looking For How to Stop Incontinence From Showing? ONDR Leak-Proof Underwear Has You Covered — Literally
Created by a urologist, ONDRwear is the perfect solution if you are wondering how to stop incontinence from showing.
Not only does it keep you fresh and dry, but ONDRwear is also:
- Super comfy
- Eco-friendly
- Sustainable
- Machine washable; and
- Naturally odor-free
And ONDRwear comes in all of your favorite styles — and is available for both men and women.