answer there is not very much.
..... Some medications are said to help (although in my experience, the results of using these are often less than stunning and side effects can be troubling), and biofeedback and electrical stimulation can be tried, as well.
For specific types of incontinence, various types of surgical procedures (including collagen injections into the urethra) can be tried, but again, with surgery, you always have to balance the potential benefits against the potential risks, which can be severe.
..... Before you turn your thoughts to drugs and/or surgery, though, you should always try to minimize the problem on your own.
..... The main stand-by is the usual recommendation to avoid drinking too much, especially when you know you won’t be near a washroom for a while (walking around New York City is a perfect example, as I can attest after walking around Manhattan recently and failing for several hours to find a bathroom that would have me, as it were), and particularly before going to bed; coffee, by the way, can exert its effect for 12 hours after you drink it).
..... An interesting bit I came across on one web site warned (I swear this is true) that you should also urinate as much as you can each time you visit the washroom so as to completely empty your bladder.
..... The mind boggles at this advice; I may be missing something but I thought that that was the reason you visited the washroom in the first place.
..... In the end, though, the most common “therapy” for a “weak bladder”, continues to be lessons in how to strengthen the pelvic muscles, the very famous Kegel exercises.
..... The good news is that Kegels have been shown to be somewhat effective in lessening symptoms.
The bad news, though, is that you have to do Kegels regularly and you have to keep doing them religiously to get and maintain the benefits, which is why one women’s health expert I know advises all women to do some Kegels every time they’re out driving and happen to be stopped at a red light, so, hey guys, the next time you’re stopped at a traffic light, and you look over at the driver beside you, and it’s a woman obliviously grunting away, hey, it’s just another woman strengthening her pelvic floor.
..... Or maybe not – I told you I don’t understand women.
Dr. Art Hister can be heard on CKNW and other Corus Radio Network stations on House Calls on Saturdays at 10 AM, as well as seen on Global TV news on Saturday mornings at 9:20. |
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