Incontinence
Symptoms of urinary incontinence
With there being different types and causes of incontinence, the symptoms can vary from person to person. Some may experience the occasional leak, while others may completely lose control of their bladder.
Common symptoms of urinary incontinence include:
- Peeing a little when coughing, sneezing, laughing or exercising
- Needing to pee frequently or urgently
- Not being able to get to the toilet in time
- Finding it difficult to start peeing
- Wetting the bed during the night
- Feeling like your bladder doesn't fully empty
Types of urinary incontinence
There are 2 main forms: stress incontinence (from physical stress like sneezing, laughing or exercise) and urge incontinence (when you leak as soon you need to go and may need to wee urgently and often). This could be triggered by changing position, the sound of running water or sex, particularly when you reach orgasm.
Other types of incontinence include:
- Overflow incontinence – this is when you’re unable to fully empty your bladder, leading to frequent leaking
- Total incontinence – this happens when your bladder can’t store any wee at all. This can make you wee constantly or leak frequently
In some cases, you might have a mixture of both stress and urge incontinence.
Certain factors can increase the chances of urinary incontinence:
- Pregnancy and vaginal birth can strain or damage the muscles and ligaments of the pelvic floor
- A menopause-related drop in oestrogen can weaken the pelvic floor and bladder muscles
- An enlarged prostate may grow and press on the bladder and urethra (the tube that carries wee)
- Obesity
- A family history of incontinence
- Increasing age – but incontinence isn’t an inevitable part of ageing
It’s important to speak to a GP if you have any symptoms of urinary incontinence. It’s a common problem and you shouldn’t feel embarrassed talking about symptoms. It can be the first step towards finding a way to effectively manage it.
Your GP can diagnose the type of incontinence you have. They might:
- Ask specific questions about when your incontinence happens
- Ask you to keep a diary of your bladder habits
- Do a physical exam to confirm or rule out things that might be causing incontinence
- Check if you have a urinary tract infection
If they can’t tell what’s causing your incontinence, they may refer you for further tests.
The good news though is that some types of incontinence can be treated with simple lifestyle changes, which may help treat the issue, depending on the cause. Even if you don’t have a problem with leaks, it’s never too early to adopt good bladder habits to help prevent potential instances in future.
Treatment & management of urinary incontinence
Do those kegels
Pelvic floor exercises, or kegels, strengthen the muscles around your bladder, bottom, vagina, or penis, helping with urinary incontinence. To find the right muscles, try briefly stopping your urine flow while on the toilet (avoid stopping urine midstream regularly, as it can harm your bladder). The muscles activated to stop urine flow are your pelvic muscles. Contract these muscles 8 times, holding for a second each time, and repeat 2–3 times a day.
The Elvie Smart Pelvic Floor Trainer offers personalised workouts and feedback, while the Sensatone Pelvic Floor Stimulator helps strengthen muscles and targets different types of incontinence.
Understanding bladder control
The urge to wee starts with a signal from a full bladder to the brain. If we consistently wee when our bladder isn’t full, our brain will think this is our new maximum capacity. This can cause your bladder to become overactive, leading to urge incontinence. Don't go to the toilet unless you really need to go. You can also manage this by gradually increasing the length of time between trips to the toilet.
Retrain the bladder
If you have urge incontinence, the next time you feel a pressing need to go, set a timer and try to wait 5 minutes.
Hit the gym
Consider trying a pilates class, these kinds of exercises can help improve abdominal core and pelvic floor muscles. Blitz those bad bladder habits (that you may not even know you had).
Pay attention to your water intake
On average, you should drink around 2 litres of water a day and your wee should be pale yellow. If it’s dark yellow or orange, you could be dehydrated. If it looks like water, you could be overhydrated.
Avoid hovering over the seat
This means your pelvic floor muscles can’t fully relax and the bladder doesn’t empty fully, meaning you eventually need to go more often.
Prevention of urinary incontinence
Pay attention to your diet
Your diet can impact bladder function, and certain foods may worsen incontinence. It's helpful to limit or avoid:
- Artificial sweeteners and sugary foods: these can stimulate the bladder and cause sudden urges
- Chocolate: due to caffeine, try white or milk chocolate as an alternative to dark chocolate
- Spicy foods: chilli peppers can irritate the bladder lining
- Acidic foods: tomatoes, oranges, and other citrus fruits may affect bladder control
- High vitamin C: found in foods like oranges, peppers, and strawberries, it can worsen bladder control
These foods don’t cause incontinence, but they can trigger irritation. Try keeping a food diary to track any changes and identify potential triggers, like curry or citrus.
Review your drinking habits
Staying hydrated is key, but the types of drinks you choose matter for managing incontinence. Certain drinks can make bladder control worse, including:
- Caffeinated drinks: tea, coffee, energy drinks, and some fizzy drinks can irritate the bladder. Try decaf options or fruit teas
- Fruit juices: citrus juices like orange and grapefruit are acidic and may irritate the bladder
- Alcohol: increases urination, so cutting back could help reduce leaks
- Carbonated drinks: soda, sparkling water, and champagne can also aggravate bladder control
Aim for 6 to 8 glasses of fluid a day, unless your GP advises otherwise. Don’t limit your intake, as that can worsen incontinence by reducing bladder capacity. If you struggle to drink enough water, check out our tips to stay hydrated.
Maintain a healthy weight
Being overweight can put extra pressure on your bladder and weaken pelvic floor muscles, leading to incontinence. Losing a bit of weight and maintaining it may help improve bladder control. Start with a balanced diet and regular exercise. For more guidance speak to your GP. There is also advice and information on our Weight management page
If you haven’t exercised in a while or have a medical condition, consult your GP before starting any new exercise.
Quit smoking
Smoking increases the risk of incontinence due to the chronic cough, which strains pelvic floor muscles and irritates the bladder.
If you're ready to quit, the NHS Stop Smoking Service1 offers support to manage cravings. You can also explore our Stop Smoking advice for more help.
Up your fibre intake
Constipation can worsen incontinence by putting pressure on the bladder and bowel. To prevent this, drink plenty of fluids and aim for 30g of fibre a day, found in whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and pulses. For tips on adding more fibre to your diet, check out our guide to fibre.
Practise pelvic floor exercises
A key tip for managing incontinence is doing daily pelvic floor exercises. You can feel these muscles by imagining stopping the flow of urine.
To do the exercises:
- Squeeze your pelvic floor muscles (without tightening your tummy)
- Hold for 2 seconds
- Relax and repeat 10 times
It may take a few months to notice benefits, but these exercises help strengthen the muscles around your bladder, bottom, vagina, or penis.
Be aware of certain medications
Some medicines can affect how the bladder stores and passes urine, relax the bladder, or increase urine production. These include:
- Muscle relaxants and sedatives
- Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE)
- Hormone replacement therapy (HRT)
- Certain heart and blood pressure medications
If you think your medication may be causing incontinence, continue taking it as prescribed and speak to your GP.
Help beat the leak
Starter guide to pelvic exercises
Pelvic floor exercises strengthen the muscles around your bladder, bottom, vagina, or penis. Join Boots x Stay Dry to explore the benefits and techniques. These exercises improve bladder control and help manage pelvic organ prolapse. Anyone can easily incorporate them into their routine, whether sitting or standing. Watch experts demonstrate how simple movements can enhance your pelvic health and boost your confidence.
Your incontinence guide from A to pee
Frequently asked questions
Your pelvic floor muscles help control all bladder functions; you use them to ‘hold on’ if you need the toilet and relax them when you wee. So, if these muscles are weak, you might experience urinary incontinence. There are lots of reasons why you might have a weak pelvic floor, such as childbirth, menopause, and getting older. Weak pelvic floor muscles can be treated with exercise and lifestyle changes.
Not all urinary incontinence can be ‘cured,’ but it can be treated or managed. Usually, your GP may recommend lifestyle changes like adjusting fluid intake, pelvic floor muscle training (also known as kegel exercises) or bladder training. If these don’t work, your doctor might discuss medicine or surgery with you.
Urinary incontinence isn’t an automatic part of ageing, but it is common in people over 60. This is because when you get older, your bladder’s muscles can become weaker and struggle to hold as much urine as before. So your bladder might not fully empty when you go to the loo, and you’ll feel the urge to go to the toilet more frequently. Your kidneys might also struggle to absorb as much liquid, producing more urine and resulting in more toilet trips. Urinary incontinence can be treated in a variety of ways, and you can help protect against leaks with incontinence pants and pads.
Kegel exercises help to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles, which you use to hold in and pass urine. You can do these by contracting and relaxing your pelvic floor muscles. Learn more about kegel exercises and how to do them.
One type of urinary incontinence is stress incontinence, which is when urine leaks because of pressure on the bladder. Coughing can put stress on the pelvic floor muscles, which causes these accidental leaks. Lifestyle changes and kegel exercises can often help with this.
During prostate surgery, one of the valves that controls urine flow gets removed alongside the prostate, which can cause urinary incontinence. Prostate surgery can also sometimes affect nerves or muscles, potentially leading to urinary incontinence.
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