FAQs

A common cause of leakage during exercise is pelvic floor muscle weakness and effective pelvic floor exercises should help. Some women need expert advice to be able to manage an individual programme and to be helped to identify the pelvic floor muscles. Find out more on our Pelvic Floor page.

This usually means the urethra(bladder tube) is not being emptied completely. "Milking" the urethra may help the problem. Wait a few seconds after emptying the bladder then with the fingertips of one hand behind the scrotum, apply gentle upward pressure. Keep the pressure on and move toward the penis. This milks the urine forward in the urethra where it can be emptied by gentle shaking in the usual way.

Have a chat with your family doctor. The prostate gland changes with age. In some men these changes may be associated with urinary symptoms such as a slow and/or interrupted stream, difficulty starting to pass urine, increased need to pass urine more frequently, a feeling of incomplete emptying and, in some cases, loss of urine control - that is incontinence.

Often after menopause, because of a decrease in the level of oestrogen, the urethra and the vagina can become atrophic (dry) and irritable. This can be helped by applying oestrogen cream in small amounts around the affected area.

No, it is caused by physical stress such as coughing, sneezing, lifting, running etc. It has nothing to do with mental stress. If the pressure rise inside your abdomen which occurs with these activities is greater than the pressure keeping your bladder outlet closed, leakage occurs.

It sounds as though your bladder is the boss of you when it should be the other way around! A bladder training programme may well help so that, with time, you can choose when and where to go to the toilet and be able to hold on longer and feel safe to do so. It will take time, but you need to stop going "just in case" and try to become the boss again.

This is known as stress Incontinence. Pelvic floor muscle strengthening is usually the first line of treatment. If done regularly and correctly over several months, it can help significantly. Some people need expert advice to do these exercises effectively. Both men and women can suffer from stress incontinence although it is more common in women.

It may be that your problem will not be fixed through pelvic floor exercises, but it is also possible that you are not doing them correctly. To be sure that you are exercising correctly contact a pelvic health physiotherapist or continence nurse who will design an exercise programme for you and guide you through it.

You may notice an improvement within the first two weeks as your coordination improves. To actually strengthen muscles can take several weeks to several months.

Yes, if you are very overweight this may be a contributing factor, but being moderately overweight has not been proven to be a contributing cause.

Yes, the caffeine in tea and coffee can be a bladder irritant and make urgency worse. You should drink plenty of water between. The recommendation is to drink between 1,500 and 2,000 ml per day. It is ok to drink decaffeinated coffee and herbal teas.

No, they can be practised in any position you like - standing, sitting, kneeling, lying, etc.

As adults with a good healthy bladder, we usually go to the toilet 4-6 times during the day and maybe once at night. Older people may get up more often. If you don't have a urinary tract infection and there is no medical cause for this increased frequency, you may have an unstable or overactive bladder and need to become the "boss" of it again. Don't be controlled by your bladder. If the urge sensation is not strong, then ignore the desire to get up and try to go back to sleep. If you are consistent over time you may well beat the habit.

It is not good practice to get up and go to the toilet if you don't have a sensation of needing to go. By getting up and going, you are training your bladder to hold smaller volumes. This could lead to problems of "learned" frequency. Try to turn over and go to sleep and not give in to unnecessary trips to the toilet.

Bladder training gradually increases the bladder's ability to hold more urine comfortably. It is an individual programme to achieve a normal bladder voiding pattern, and to learn to suppress the desire to pass urine when the bladder is giving strong messages to empty. Results are gradual and may take three months or more to achieve better bladder control. The aim of bladder training is to decrease the number of times you go to the toilet each day and to increase the amount your bladder can hold.

You should not restrict your fluid intake as this results in the kidneys producing concentrated urine. It can be an irritant to your bladder and you may need to go to the toilet more frequently. Restricting fluid may also result in constipation which can also contribute to bladder problems.

Yes, 6-8 cups of fluid is recommended as an adequate fluid intake. Water is best, but other drinks may be included. Some people find that drinks that contain caffeine (e.g. coffee, coke, cola and some other fizzy drinks, cocoa and tea) are kidney stimulants and a bladder irritant. Alcohol makes the kidneys produce more urine and tends to dehydrate the body. All of these are best in moderation.

Pelvic floor exercises can be very beneficial for elderly people. As long as you are well motivated and can perform the exercises correctly your coordination and strength can improve.

There are many treatment options that do not include surgery, for example, exercise, medication, and bladder retraining. Your doctor can explain to you the pros and cons of these choices. If surgery is an option for you, discuss all your concerns with your specialist. You can decide together if surgery is a treatment pathway you wish to take.

The drug most commonly prescribed for this is called oxybutinin (or Ditropan which is a trade name) which will cause dryness of the mouth and may also cause indigestion, constipation and dizziness in older people when standing up from a seated or lying down position. It is a medication that works well for some people but should be carefully monitored by your doctor.

Providing the exercises are being performed effectively, and there is no other cause of your leakage there is an excellent chance your stress incontinence will be significantly improved or cured. If you are unsure if you are doing the exercises correctly or make no improvement in eight to twelve weeks of regular exercise you are advised to seek professional help from a physiotherapist (with a special interest in incontinence) or continence advisor.

There is a large variation in the way children develop. Just as some children walk or talk earlier than others, there is an age range in becoming dry at night. Most children achieve day and night dryness by 5 years of age, usually being dry by day first.

There could be a variety of causes for this situation. She should be encouraged to see a doctor, continence advisor or specialist continence physiotherapist who can assess her problem and advise her on appropriate measures to help. She should be reassured that this is a very common problem, not a normal part of ageing and that her quality of life can be significantly improved by seeking help.