If bladder leaks are getting in the way, we’re here to help you regain your confidence
Urinary incontinence – words that may make you squirm, blush or even avoid conversation altogether. Yet it’s a common problem that affects millions of people regardless of their age or gender. Despite it being common, many people who have urinary incontinence feel isolated and ashamed. It’s time to break the silence and shed some light on this.
Having urinary incontinence means you wee unintentionally. When this happens and how this happens depends on the type you have.
Mary Garthwaite, a former consultant urologist and chair of the charity The Urology Foundation, says, “At least six million people in the UK live with it, but this could be the tip of the iceberg, as there is such a taboo about urinary incontinence. People can experience much embarrassment.”
Types of incontinence
There are two 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 from 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 and this can cause 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 things 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 which 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 – though it depends on the cause. Even if you don’t yet have a problem with leaks, it’s never too early to adopt good bladder habits to help prevent potential instances in future.
Lifestyle changes
Do those kegels
Pelvic floor exercises, also known as kegels, are exercises to strengthen the muscles around your bladder, bottom, vagina or penis. Doing pelvic floor exercises can help with urinary incontinence.
Tracey Matthews, a women’s health physiotherapist specialising in incontinence, says: “Pads, liners and specialist underwear are useful to help women have the confidence to be more active while retraining their muscles. Most women can seriously reduce their incontinence just by doing pelvic floor exercises.”
If you have trouble identifying the right muscles, try to stop weeing for a moment, while on the loo. These are the muscles you need to use. Contract them eight times, holding for a second or so each time, and repeat two to three times a day. It's not recommended that you regularly stop the flow of pee midstream as it can be harmful to your bladder.
The Elvie Smart Pelvic Floor Trainer is a great option for pelvic floor exercises. It offers personalised workouts and feedback that can help to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles. Most women can reduce their incontinence just by doing pelvic floor exercises.
The Sensatone Pelvic Floor Stimulator can also help to strengthen pelvic floor muscles. It even has modes for different types of incontinence.
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 five minutes. Mary says, “You may feel desperate, and even leak a bit, but keep going.” Try building up until you can add an extra hour between toilet trips.
Hit the gym
Tracey says: ‘Strong muscles, particularly quadriceps and glutes, all feed into pelvic floor strength. Resistance training with weights is particularly effective.’
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) like…
The 'just-in-case' wee
“A healthy bladder can comfortably hold around 300-500ml of fluid. But in severe cases of urge incontinence, the bladder can go into spasm, causing leaking while containing just 50ml of fluid. Some women end up having to go as often as every hour” – Mary Garthwaite
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.
Drinking too much, or too little
"If you’re regularly dehydrated, the bladder can get used to not holding much fluid." – Mary Garthwaite
Overhydration, on the other hand, puts pressure on the bladder. On average, women should drink around two 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.
Weeing in the shower
"If our brain links the sound of running water with urination, we might be triggered to go whenever we hear a tap running." – Tracy
Hovering over the seat
This means our pelvic floor muscles can’t fully relax and the bladder doesn’t empty fully, meaning we eventually need to go more often.
Finding supportive products
Living with incontinence can be challenging, but with the right products like incontinence pads, it can be more manageable. Whether you’re experiencing light leaks or heavier incidents, during the day or at night, there are solutions tailored to your needs. We’ve got products to help you navigate incontinence, keeping your comfort, dignity and peace of mind.
Best for men
Best for women
Best for night-time
Best for staying fresh on the go
You can take control of your life, stay dry and regain your confidence. Living with incontinence doesn’t have to limit your lifestyle.
INCONTINENCE FAQS
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’s 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 will first 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, leading to more urine being produced, also 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.
One type of urinary incontinence is stress incontinence, which is when you have urine leaks because of pressure on the bladder. Coughing can put stress on your 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 leave nerve or muscle damage, potentially leading to urinary incontinence.
