30 Easy Ways to Get Your Bladder Under Control

Alcohol is a diuretic. Because of this, we’d recommend limiting your intake. Drinking too much alcohol will increase the amount of urine you produce, stimulate the muscles in your bladder, and send you to the bathroom far more often than you’d like. 

We all love starting our days with a cup of coffee, but if you’re struggling with incontinence, you might want to rethink your morning routine. Caffeine has a diuretic effect on your body. This means you’re going to spend even more time in the bathroom.

Your large and small intestines work together; having a stopped up large intestine will strain your small intestine. Make sure you eat plenty of fiber so that you put as little stress as possible on your pelvic floor.

Artificial sweeteners found in “diet” and “sugar-free” products can irritate your bladder and act as a diuretic. Try using natural sweeteners like honey instead of artificial ones.

Bladder incontinence is often caused by a weakened urinary sphincter. Because of this, it helps to strengthen those weakened muscles. The best way to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles is to do Kegel exercises.

Studies are still being conducted about the relationship between vitamin D and incontinence, but we do know that people with normal vitamin D levels are less likely to have bladder-control problems than those with low levels. You can get vitamin D from things like salmon, milk, and even a walk in the sun.

If you’re struggling with incontinence, you’re probably finding yourself in the bathroom way too often. Luckily, there are ways to get back to normal. One of the first steps you need to take to get back to normal is to identify how often you urinate. You can do this by recording how often you go. Keep track of your bathroom visits for a week or so and find an average of how often you go.

After you’ve found out how often you go to the bathroom, you can set realistic goals for how often you would like to go. Choose a reasonable and realistic length of time like every hour or hour-and-a-half. Then, you can take realistic steps toward your goal.

If you’re always rushing off to the bathroom, try not to go right away. See if you can hold it for about 10 minutes after you feel the urge to go. This will help you towards the goal you’ve set.

After you’ve begun to train yourself to hold your urges, it helps to set up a bathroom schedule you can stick to. You’ve already found out how long you can hold it, so base your schedule around that. Once you’ve set up your schedule, try to go when the schedule says to, even if you’re not feeling it right then. If you can’t hold it and accidentally get off schedule, don’t worry; get back on as soon as you can!

Drinking a lot before bed is only going to make nights harder for you. Unless you want to wake up throughout the night, try drinking less water right before bed. Instead, make sure you’re well hydrated throughout the day.

Coughing strains your pelvic floor. Chronic coughing will only make your incontinence worse. If you can work on easing your cough, it will definitely improve your incontinence.

The effects of magnesium are still being studied, but early results show that it helps ease incontinence. Either way, eating more corn, potatoes, and bananas never hurt.

Smoking can cause a whole slew of problems — including bladder problems. In addition to increasing your chances of having a chronic cough, it can also irritate your bladder. If you have incontinence issues, work on kicking your smoking habit.

If you’re spending too much time in the bathroom, the solution isn’t to drink less. Your body needs to be hydrated to be healthy. Drinking water will ensure your body will be able to function. Being hydrated will also keep you from consuming other bladder irritants like Diet Coke.

Spicy foods have a tendency to irritate the bladder, which can lead to going to the restroom more often. The best way to handle this is to avoid spicy foods altogether or decrease the number of times spicy foods that are consumed per day.

Being overweight can contribute to bladder control problems, particularly stress incontinence. Excessive body weight puts pressure on your bladder, and this results in leakage. Losing weight may help reduce issues. 

If you don’t have to go, then don’t. Going to the restroom “just in case” can throw your body off schedule. Once or twice won’t hurt, but if this happens on a regular basis, you’ll need to go any time your bladder is slightly filled.

Do whatever you need to get your mind off the fact that you gotta go. Play a game, problem solve, color, or cook something. Just make sure you’re close to a restroom if you can’t hold it any longer.

Yoga teaches you how to control your muscles. Studies have shown that individuals that took part in a yoga program had a 70% reduction in urine leakage as well as controlled pelvic health.

You may not want to sit down on the toilet seat but sitting helps relax your pelvic muscles and allows your urethral sphincter to open all the way. This means you’ll have a better flow and an entirely empty bladder by the end of the bathroom trip.

Salty foods make you thirstier. The more salt you eat, the more water you drink. The more bloated you’ll become, the more you’ll need to use the restroom. Avoid potato chips, salted nuts, and other salty foods that may make you thirsty due to salt intake.

Don’t rush yourself in the restroom. Take the time to completely empty your bladder without being stressed to get up and move on with your life. Fully emptying your bladder should be the first thing on your mind.

It may surprise some that anxiety and depression can lead to bladder incontinence and leakage. The best way to take care of this issue is to reduce stress. That means different things for different people. For some, a stress ball will work while others may need to seek professional assistance.

When you’re on the toilet, don’t lean over and place your elbows on your knees. Leaning forward puts unwanted stress on the urethra and bladder. Not only will this make it harder to go, but it’ll also keep your body from emptying completely.

Citrus-based foods and juices like orange, lemon, and lime have a tendency to increase urination. They’re a known bladder irritant and will cause you to use the restroom more. Don’t cut it out completely, because you need vitamin C, but consider cutting back. 

Do you sneeze a lot because of allergies? Stress incontinence can be caused by coughing and sneezing. If allergies cause your sneezing, you can take medication that assists your body in handling common allergens like ragweed and pollen. 

Some medications are known for relaxing muscles and increasing the urge to urinate. It’s best to speak to your doctor before changing your medications. Meet with your general practitioner about any medications you may be taking to see if they’re the cause.

Sometimes, it can be a little more than just urinary incontinence. See your doctor if you have any of these symptoms:

• Blood in your urine
• Red or dark brown urine
• Painful urination
• Pain in your side, lower abdomen or groin
• Difficulty urinating or emptying your bladder
• A strong urge to urinate
• Loss of bladder control
• Fever