Your primary care doctor or gynecologist can usually diagnose and treat bladder problems. In some cases, however, you may need to see a urologist, a doctor who specializes in the urinary tract, or a urogynecologist, a doctor who specializes in urinary and related problems in the pelvic area.
Urinary Incontinence Treatment
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After your bladder problem is diagnosed, your doctor can suggest several ways to manage the symptoms. Treatments include exercises to strengthen the bladder muscles, bladder retraining, and, if necessary, drugs for overactive bladder. Although bladder problems can be a bit embarrassing, discuss your symptoms frankly with your doctor--relief is usually possible.
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See All 2 AnswersKegel exercises are exercises that are done to help strengthen the pelvic floor muscles in women. Pelvic floor muscles help support the uterus, bladder, small intestine and rectum.
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MountainView Hospital answeredSee All 2 AnswersBotox injections can be used to treat urge urinary incontinence. Botox works to relax the muscles of the bladder, and how the procedure is performed.
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See All 3 AnswersPelvic exercises or Kegel exercises can help strengthen muscles that keep the urethra (a tube connected to the bladder that allows urine to pass from the body) tightly closed. Just a few weeks of doing Kegel exercises for five minutes three times a day will start to help urinary incontinence. -
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MountainView Hospital answeredSee All 2 Answers
Medication is prescribed for urinary incontinence to help retrain the bladder. Medications may only be needed temporarily or for specific circumstances.
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RealAge answeredSee All 4 AnswersKegel exercises help strengthen pelvic floor and sphincter muscles. And by improving the strength of these muscles, you may be able to reduce or stop leaking if you have urinary incontinence.
Kegels are easy to do and don't take much time, but it's important to do them correctly. They can be done while lying down, standing or sitting. You can do these exercises anywhere, but studies show that when people do Kegels at home, they're more likely to do them correctly.
To do Kegel exercises:- Figure out which muscles you should be exercising. Do this by imagining you're trying to stop the flow of urine or trying to stop yourself from passing gas. The muscles you tighten are your pelvic floor muscles.
- Slowly tighten your pelvic floor muscles, and maintain the contraction while you count to four. Then, let the muscles relax for a count of four. Repeat 10 times.
- Make sure you're not tightening the muscles in your legs, buttocks or abdomen. You want to focus on your pelvic floor muscles only. And remember to breathe.
- Aim to do 10 sets of 10 every day to start. Your doctor may suggest you increase this number, but you may need to work up to it gradually.
It may help to set aside a specific time each day to do your pelvic exercise, such as before you get out of bed or before you go to sleep at night. You may not notice improvements in pelvic function for 3 to 6 months, but keep doing the exercises to keep your muscles strong.
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See All 2 AnswersStress incontinence—the type of incontinence caused by coughing, sneezing or lifting something heavy—can be treated a variety of ways, beginning with pelvic floor muscle exercises. Just like your arms and legs, your pelvic floor is made of muscles that weaken if you don’t use them. Kegel exercises, where you squeeze the pelvic floor to gain strength, can improve incontinence; if you give that squeeze while coughing or sneezing, you can make that sphincter tighter and prevent an accident. Kegel exercises must be done correctly, however, like lifting weights, you need to squeeze and hold for five seconds to build muscle tone. Patients who have trouble with the exercises can work with pelvic floor therapy specialists.
Other treatments for stress incontinence involve putting bulking agents into the urethra to make the urethral lumen tighter so that you won’t leak as much. Doctors can also insert a sling, which wraps around the urethra like a hammock and supports it. Injectable therapy is another option, particularly for people who are older and may not be candidates for bigger surgery like a sling.
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Medication alone rarely cures urinary incontinence; all it does is relax the bladder, but does not get rid of what caused the incontinence in the first place. Medication can increase your bladder capacity storage and give you a little bit more control so you don’t have any episodes. Studies have shown that combination therapy is the most effective Lifestyle changes such as pelvic floor exercises combined with a single daily pill can really improve your symptoms.
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Dr. Mehmet Oz, MD , Cardiology (Cardiovascular Disease), answeredTransvaginal mesh is an out-patient procedure that only takes 15 minutes to complete. A sling is created around the neck of your bladder and urethra, which is the transport tube that carries urine to the bladder. This hammock alleviates tension on the urethra and prevents leakage. Sling procedures are usually covered by insurance. Talk to your doctor to see if this procedure is right for you.
This content originally appeared on doctoroz.com