Urinary incontinence
Prevention
Incontinence is not always preventable. However, you may be able to decrease your risk of urinary incontinence with these steps:
* Maintain a healthy weight. By taking good care of yourself and keeping or getting your weight under control, you may be able to decrease your risk of urinary incontinence.
* Don't smoke. Get help in quitting if you do smoke.
* Practice Kegel exercises. Because pregnancy and childbirth can weaken the urinary sphincter and pelvic floor muscles, doctors may advise pregnant women to do Kegel exercises during pregnancy as a preventive measure.
* Avoid bladder irritants. Avoiding or limiting certain foods and drinks may help prevent or limit urinary incontinence. For example, if you know that drinking more than two cups of coffee makes you have to urinate uncontrollably, cutting back to one cup of coffee or forgoing caffeine may be all that you need to do.
* Eat more fiber. Including more fiber in your diet or taking fiber supplements can help prevent constipation, a risk factor for urinary incontinence. Your doctor may recommend that you drink more or less water as a preventive measure, depending on your bladder problem.
* Be active. Physical activity reduces your risk of developing incontinence. Results from the Nurses' Health Study show that women in that study who participated in moderate amounts of low-impact physical activity were less likely to experience urinary incontinence.
June 27, 2007
By Mayo Clinic Staff
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