Best Home Remedies for an Overactive Bladder

Urinary incontinence is a very common condition that impacts hundreds of people worldwide. It can, however, take a toll on the physical as well as mental health of a person. It can also make it hard for a person to socialize and participate in daily activities.

Now, some types of urinary incontinence or overactive bladder can get better just by the use of medication, but others don’t even need medicines and can be managed well at home.

Here are some of the home remedies that even the top urologist in Lahore also says can be used.

But let’s see what incontinence actually is.

What is Incontinence?

Urinary incontinence occurs when you accidentally leak urine because you are unable to control your bladder. Urinary incontinence is very commonly seen in women and adults.

Some of the types include mixed incontinence, overflow incontinence, urge incontinence functions, urinary incontinence, and stress urinary incontinence.

Top Home Remedies to Try

While surgery and medication are necessary for some people, there are some home remedies or lifestyle changes that can help you get rid of incontinence.

Adjust What You Drink and Eat

Certain beverages like caffeinated tea, colas, and coffee can worsen your incontinence. Other drinks like carbonated beverages can irritate the bladder and must be avoided as well.

Some foods can be problematic for people that suffer from urinary incontinence too. These can be chocolate, caffeine-containing foods, and acidic or spicy foods. These foods can impact in a way, that they stimulate the bladder and make the leak worsen.

Some studies suggest that a low-fat diet of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains can help in reducing urinary incontinence symptoms in women. More research is needed to understand how dietary changes impact this condition. Another one of the remedies that can help in increasing the uptake of fiber.

Get to a Healthy Weight

If you are someone who is overweight or obese, extra body fat present in the abdomen puts pressure on the bladder. This can worsen the incontinence or can cause it in the first place.

If you are someone that is already obese, or overweight and is experiencing urinary incontinence, then losing excess body fat can help in reducing the symptoms and can improve health in other ways as well.

Changing our diet, increasing daily physical activity, managing your stressors, or getting enough sleep is very important for weight loss.  If you need help in developing a healthy sustainable weight loss plan, consider making an appointment with a healthcare provider that is preferably a registered dietitian.

Train Your Bladder

Instead of just going when you feel the urge to pee, moving towards or making your body more regular in your urination schedule can be very helpful for people with urge incontinence.

In order to make your bladder trend so you can urinate less frequently, it is recommended by experts to keep a bladder diary. This is done in order to keep a track of your urinary schedule.

If you are urinating very frequently, try to add 15 minutes between bathroom visits to start, urinating each time even if you dont feel a strong urge to go.

Slowly and gradually, you can increase the time between bathroom visits. This can help your bladder learn to hold more urine so that you can go to the toilet at set times throughout the day.

Work Out the Pelvic Muscles

Strengthening the pelvic muscles can help if you have urges or stress incontinence. Pelvic floor muscle training involves performing exercises that can help in strengthening muscles around the bladder.

It is most of the time used on its own or it can be used as a combination with other treatments like electrical stimulation treatment for urinary incontinence.

Strengthening the pelvic muscles can help you hold in your urine longer and can reduce the number of leaks that you experience.

Only a physical therapist trained in pelvic floor therapy can help you develop an appropriate and safe PFMT routine. Keep in mind that you should not perform pelvic floor exercises while you urinate.

Dietary Supplements

Although dietary supplements should never take the place of necessary prescription medications. Some of the supplements like vitamin D, Pumpkin seed extract, and Gosha-jinki-gan.

Vitamin D

Women with low levels of vitamin D are more likely to experience urinary incontinence. But taking vitamin D supplements can make it up for the lost vitamin D levels and can decrease urinary leakage.

Pumpkin Seed Extract

Pumpkin seed extract suggests that pumpkin seed extract supplements may be helpful for reducing urinary symptoms like urge incontinence in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia or enlarged prostate.

Conclusion

Urinary Incontinence can be very disturbing but can be controlled with the help of a number of home remedies. So, make sure that you try home remedies in order to make yourself feel safe and healthy. If your issues are serious, then make sure to visit the best doctor near you.