What you can do

When you have the urge to empty your bladder and it is not a convenient time, try curling and scrunching your toes. yes, it works.

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This type of incontinence is generally connected to a weakening of the pelvic floor muscles and usually occurs with sudden physical exertion such as coughing, sneezing, laughing, exercising or heavy lifting.

When dealing with Stress Incontinence, the first step is to see if a few simple, lifestyle changes can make a positive difference.

Keep Drinking

You may be tempted to reduce the amount of fluid you drink but this can make your urine more concentrated, aggravating the bladder and making it more active. We recommend that you drink as normal, responding to your natural thirst. This should be enough to keep the urine a healthy, pale straw colour. As you might expect, drinking too much will just increase the urge 'to go' so just try and keep a healthy balance.

Party Drinks

Life’s for living and bladder weakness should never force you to curb your pleasures! However, you need to be aware that caffeine, alcohol and fizzy drinks are diuretics, which will make you visit the toilet more often.

Weight Management

There is a link between being overweight and incontinence. So, if you have ambitions to loose weight this might be an incentive to start.

If you’re a smoker

Actually, it’s not the smoking itself that causes bladder weakness but the associated coughing that can put pressure on the bladder. So perhaps that’s another reason to think about quitting?

Exercising (without the sweat)

Bladder control can often be improved by pelvic floor exercises, so this kind of physiotherapy is generally regarded as the first treatment for Stress Incontinence. In fact, up to 70% of mild to moderate cases can be improved or even cured by regular and correct pelvic floor exercises over 3 to 6 months but remember, you have to keep up the exercises to make the effects last. These exercises work by re-establishing control over the muscles that keep the urethra shut. It’s never too late to start – even in your 70s and 80s you could improve your symptoms. For a step-by-step guide to pelvic floor exercises, visit the exercise area.

Incontinence Protection

The most commonly used bladder weakness aids are absorbent incontinence products, such as liners, pads and pants. They protect against urine leakage and odours, and come in a range of sizes and absorbency levels. Click here to learn more about the benefits of incontinence protection.

Sometimes referred to as an overactive bladder, as the name suggests this is when you get a sudden and unstoppable need ‘to go’.
With this type of incontinence, one way to try to improve it is bladder retraining, which can work in up to 50% of cases. This is where you encourage your bladder to hold larger amounts of urine for longer and reduce the number of times you actually urinate. You do this by holding off ‘going’ for as long as possible to stop your bladder ‘exaggerating’ the need to go even when it is only half full. It tends to get easier over time.

Drugs and surgery

In some instances there may be prescription drugs used for the treatment of Urge Incontinence and in some cases your urologist or urogynaecologist may consider surgical procedures. For details on these it is best to consult a continence specialist or urologist. 

Medical Devices

Where bladder retraining is inappropriate, there are some other treatments. The insertion of a catheter with a portable drainage bag may be a temporary measure, particularly if your incontinence is the result of other surgery from which you are recuperating.

If a physical or mental disability prevents you from getting to a toilet in time, it is not your fault and it is important not to let this cause stress and anxiety.

Incontinence Protection

There is little that can be done medically in these circumstances but you can minimise the impact of any accidents by using incontinence protection.  This will ensure you’ll always be confident that any escaped urine will be completely contained and you’ll stay fresh, dry and comfortable.

Make life easy on yourself

When you have the sudden urge 'to go', the last thing you want is an obstacle race to the toilet or a struggle with your clothes. So ensure that you make accessing your toilet easy and avoid fiddly clothing with awkward fastenings.

The best advice for Mixed Incontinence is to concentrate on the most dominant symptoms and try and manage these first. You could start by doing pelvic floor exercises for Stress Incontinence or bladder retraining for Urge Incontinence. Then once your main symptoms improve, begin dealing with the other symptoms.

Unfortunately this is hard to treat but incontinence protection will ensure it doesn’t have an unnecessary impact on your everyday living.
Why not find the right product for you and order a free sample with the help of our product finder?

The best thing to do is to get correct professional advice.  May women who experience leakage often do not seek out professional advice for up to 7 years.  When they do go they wish they had gone earlier.

In general, healthcare professionals will try to follow the least invasive methods to improve bladder weakness such as lifestyle changes, physiotherapy exercises and medical devices. If these fail to work a specialist may consider whether a more invasive treatment is required, such as medication or surgery.

There are several professionals or organisations that you can seek help from

• Qualified Continence Nurse Advisors (CNA) - Specialise in improving incontinence in all types of people contact the Contiennce Foundation of Australia for a CNA nearest to you call them on 1800 33 00 66.
• Physiotherapists with an interest in continence - Can assess your pelvic floor function and tailor an exercise program to meet your specific needs. They can also prescribe other treatment options and discuss relevant lifestyle factors with you.
• Your GP - may not bring the topic up with you but you should bring it up with them and they can refer you to a Continence Nurse or Physiotherapist.
• Continence Foundation of Australia - Have a helpline so that you can talk confidentially about what you are experiencing and will help with advice and referrals to other health professionals.

Pelvic Floor Exercises are a great way to get your pelvic floor back into shape.  Get to know the muscles involved and how to improve their strength.

Go to our exercise area for more information and most certainly visit a Continence Physiotherapist to ensure that you are doing them correctly and have engaged the right muscles.

Don’t let bladder weakness hold you back

You can’t function properly if you’re constantly worried about leaks and odours. So make sure you’ve got the right protection for your needs so you can remain confident and free from worries. Then you’ll see there’s absolutely no need to cut back on pleasurable activities like watching a movie with friends, having picnics with the family or shopping for the whole day. If you are worried about experiencing leaks or wetness, you may be using the wrong type of bladder weakness protection, wearing the incorrect size, or using the wrong level of absorbency for your needs.

Make life easy on yourself – use the right tool for the job

Urine has a thin, fast flowing consistency like water and tends to come out in more of a rush than a flow. To prevent leaks you need bladder weakness protection that is designed with a very fast inlet speed that rapidly draws the urine into the core of the product and can lock it away so that it doesn’t seep back under the pressure of sitting down or activities such as riding a bike leaving you feeling damp and uncomfortable. TENA incontinence products are designed to manage the specific properties of urine; so they are generally two sizes smaller than the equivalent absorbency level of sanitary pad making them the more discreet and effective choice every time.

To find out more about how TENA products can help protect you from bladder weakness, visit TENA Products or to assess and choose the right product for your needs visit the Product Finder.

Helpful Hints

• Drink 6-8 glasses of water each day
• Try to reduce the intake of drinks that irritate your bladder; coffee, tea, fizzy drinks and alcohol
• Eat plenty of fibre to avioid constipation, constipation can put pressure on you bladder
• Shed excess weight, as extra kilos can put pressure on your pelvic floor
• Stop smoking or at least cut back to avoid putting pressure on your pelvic floor from coughing.
• Always take the time to empty your bladder properly
• Try not to go to the toilet 'just in case' as you then train your bladder to want to go more often.
• Learn to do pelvic floor exercises.