Women's Health: Dealing with Incontinence

Are you a woman who is suddenly having issues with control of your bladder? If so, you 
might be dealing with female incontinence. This is nothing to be embarrassed about – in 
fact it is very common. While it happens more often with women over 65, there are still 
many cases with women of younger ages also getting incontinence. Here are some tips 
and more information on how you can deal with this problem.


About Female Incontinence

While it might not be the easiest thing to talk about, incontinence does happen, and it is 
actually more common for women to experience it than men. So, what is female 
incontinence? This is when you lose control of your bladder, often leading to urine 
leaking or having accidents. There are different levels of incontinence, from slight 
incontinence when you laugh or are exercising vigorously, to more serious accidents. 
While it is more common when you get older, younger women might also deal with it.


What Can Cause it?

Urinary incontinence for women happens for a few different reasons, but is much more 
common in older age, typically after you turn 65. The causes of incontinence often 
depend on the type you have. However, it is common in women going through 
menopause, who are pregnant, or who are under high amounts of stress. 

Stress – If you have stress incontinence, it means there is some type of pressure or 
stress being put on the bladder. This can often happen if you are pregnant or have other 
physical reasons for the pressure to be put on your bladder. This is when things like 
exercise, sneezing, laughing, or coughing can cause urine leakage in small amounts. 

Urge – The other type of incontinence for women is called urge incontinence. If you 
notice that as soon as you feel the urge to urinate, you have a very short period of time 
to get to a bathroom before urine leakage occurs, you have this form of incontinence. 
You no longer have the control of your pelvic muscles to hold it in and typically need to 
be extra cautious.


Ways You Can Treat it

While it can be frustrating having to deal with urinary continence, hope is not lost! There 
are a few different ways you might be able to treat it, or at least lessen its severity. 

See a doctor about possible infections. If you have urinary incontinence, it is 
possible that a medical condition is causing it. Vaginal infections, bacterial infections, 
and urinary tract infections can all show symptoms of incontinence.

Work on your kegel exercises. Strengthening your pelvic floor muscles is essential to 
preventing incontinence. Start working on your kegel exercises on a regular basis.

Know when it occurs most often. There might be times when your incontinence is 
more common, like when you have been holding your urine for too long, or during 
exercise. It may be necessary to wear protection during these times just in case.
