Stress urinary continence is a condition in which a person loses bladder control due to pressure on the bladder. One might then have either dribbling of urine, or complete loss of bladder control, due to which the entire bladder is emptied.
SUI may result from activities that increase stress to the bladder, like coughing, laughing, exercising, sneezing, etc.
However, in severe cases, innocuous activities like standing, bending can also then lead to leakage of urine.
If you are experiencing stress urinary continence, you must then get help from your urologist in Lahore.
Impact of SUI
The impact of SUI is rather profound one. Many people feel embarrassed about their condition. It becomes hard for them to carry on with their daily activities, especially the social ones. The challenge is even bigger for people with severe incontinence.
Furthermore, the fear of accidents also prevents people from going out, exercising, and carrying out other activities. For those in a relationship, their intimate life may also be gravely affected due to SUI.
Lifestyle changes that can help
At times, making changes can also help in improving the prognosis of the disease. These include:
Absorbent paraphernalia
A big issue with SUI is the leakage, which then makes the clothes dirty then. It is much worse with people who lose entire control of their bladder, as it means soaked clothes. When it happens in the presence of another person, it can be a great source of distress.
One way to then manage the problems posed by SUI is by using absorbent underwear or pads. These can then help in soaking the dribble or leakage. They also come in different sizes and styles, and you then experiment to choose which fits your needs best.
However, in some cases it may not be effective to cater to the leakage, in which case, you can even look for adult diapers.
Bowel function
Due to the proximity of the bladder to the bowels, they do affect each other then. Problems like constipation can increase the instances of urinary incontinence. Therefore, be sure to take plenty of fiber on the way.
Pelvic floor exercises
Doing pelvic floor exercises like Kegels can also improve your bladder control. These help in strengthening the muscles of the pelvic floor, which then improve bowel and bladder control.
Kegels are easy to do as well. Locate the respective muscles; one way is by stopping midstream during urination, the muscle that performs this action are those of interest. Kegels involve squeezing and releasing these muscles. Do these multiple times during the day.
Smoking
Since smoking increases cough, which exerts pressure on the pelvic floor muscles and increases the instances of leakage, therefore, it is important that you also quit smoking.
Watch your weight
Being overweight or obese increases the risk for stress incontinence. Hence, if you are overweight, you should take steps to lose the extra pounds. Exercise and healthy eating are the best and safest ways to get rid of surplus weight.
Bladder training
A good way to prevent SUI is understanding first your body for which bladder training is helpful. This entails getting acquainted with how much is your fluid intake, when you urinate and the instances of leakage. These are to be recorded in a journal, over a period of time.
Then, you can work with your healthcare provider in determining when you should make scheduled visits to the bathroom. Over a period of time, the lapse between each visit is increased so that your body is conditioned to urinate with adequate time lapse. This also makes sure that your bladder is regularly emptied to prevent any accidents.
However, make sure to work with the Best urologist in Islamabad only, as sometimes, the episodes of accidents increase with an increased gap between visits to the loo, as not everyone’s bladder is able to take the load.
