Several Americans are suffering from stress or urge incontinence. A visit to the nearby hospital is necessary to diagnose the exact cause and recommend the best urinary incontinence treatment. The doctor will ask you about symptoms and how often you empty your bladder.
The physician will conduct a physical examination and ask about its history. You may be asked to cough or sneeze to check your incontinence. You will be asked to submit a urine sample to check for abnormalities, signs of infection, and traces of blood. You need to maintain a diary of your bladder for several days. It is necessary to record the quantity of water you drink, the frequency of urination, and how much you urinate every time. You should also indicate if you have any urge or stress incontinence in your diary.
Measurement of urine output
You need to take urine into a container and measure the volume. Doctor Vinay Shah will use an ultrasound test or catheter to check the amount of urine left in your bladder. If the volume of urine left in the bladder is very high, it indicates that there is an obstruction in the urinary bladder muscles, nerves, or urinary tract. The doctor may prescribe more tests, like pelvic ultrasound and urodynamic testing if you are planning to undergo surgery to cure incontinence.
Types of treatment for incontinence
Your physician will recommend the best urinary incontinence treatment after diagnosis, the underlying cause, and its severity. It may be necessary to undergo a combination of treatments to cure incontinence. The doctor may initially start with less invasive treatment and move on to other options if these techniques fail to offer results.
Training the bladder
Your physician will tell you to delay urination to train your bladder after you experience an urge to empty your bladder. You will be asked to hold the urine for at least 10 minutes every time you have an urge to empty the urine. The main idea is to increase the time between trips to the toilet. This exercise is necessary until you increase the time between trips to the toilet to around 3 hours.
You can also schedule trips to the toilet, say every three to four hours, rather than waiting to go immediately. It helps to lengthen the time between trips to the toilet. You can also try double voiding. To prevent overflow, you need to empty the bladder, wait a few minutes, and then try to empty it again. It prevents incontinence.
Making changes in diet and fluids
You need to cut back on caffeine, alcohol, and acidic foods like seafood, high-sodium processed foods, fish, cheese, granola, oat flakes, brown rice, spritzers, seltzer, soda, etc. to gain control over your bladder. In addition, you should reduce your consumption of liquids and start practicing exercises to lose weight and control the urge to urinate.
Kegel exercises
Your physician will suggest practicing kegel exercises to cure stress incontinence. You need to release the urine and stop for a few seconds. You need to repeat this process until you empty the bladder. If these techniques do not correct incontinence, the doctor will recommend surgery.
