Natural Treatments for Incontinence in Women

Urinary incontinence can be treated by natural means, not requiring drugs or surgery. In this article, we are going to discuss different natural treatments for incontinence in women that anyone can administer. Before we do that, though, let's first define urinary incontinence and its causes.

The Causes of Urinary Incontinence

Urinary incontinence is one's inability to control the release of urine. It usually affects women and old people. Younger people also experience this but it does not happen regularly. The usual causes of urinary incontinence include stress, bladder spasms, urinary tract infections, prostate cancer, constipation, pregnancy, childbirth, diabetes, menopause, nervous system disorders, specific medication, surgical procedures and of course, aging. Depending on the cause of the urinary incontinence, natural treatments can be equally effective as medications. Before using natural treatments, be sure to consult first with your doctor. The first step in treating urinary incontinence is getting the proper analysis of your condition and not self-medicating.

Oils and Herbs

Some oils have astringent qualities that help tone up tissues and promote efficient fluid excretion. A recommended oil that has these qualities is Cypress essential oil. To apply this treatment, put 2 drops of the oil in a bowl that has warm water. Dip a small towel into the bowl then place it over the your lower abdomen, massaging it a little. If you have a bath, you can also use to expose your muscles to the astringent qualities of the oil. Six drops of the oil will be enough to make your bath a natural anti-incontinence spa.

Different kinds of herbs can also tone up tissues and promote efficient fluid excretion with their astringent qualities. These herbs include St. John's Wort, Saw Palmetto and Horsetail, also known as Equisetum Arvense. St. John's Wort is a good treatment if your incontinence is being caused by emotional stress. It increases one's sensitivity to the sun, so it is advised that the use of St. John's Wort be regulated. Saw Palmetto is usually used to treat male urinal incontinence, but females who are suffering from incontinence can also benefit from this herb. Saw Palmetto strengthens urinary organs in women especially when they are already in their menopausal stage in life.

Hot and Cold Compress

Treating urinary incontinence revolves around the strengthening of urinary organs and promoting good muscles controls. One way to cover both these bases is to apply hot and cold compresses, which also help in maintaining a healthy pelvic circulation. The simplest way to apply this treatment is to finish a warm shower with colder water centered on the pelvic, waist and bladder areas. Do this cold compress on those areas for about a minute. Another way is to have a warm bath and end it with splashing cold water to the same areas mentioned previously. If you don't want to do this method while taking a bath, you can make use of hot and cold compress bags alternately. Apply hot compress for about 3 minutes on the pelvic, waist and bladder areas, and then apply cold compress to the same areas for about a minute. Do this alternation once or twice.

Meditation

Regular meditation relieves stress which is a common cause of urinal incontinence in younger women. Keeping yourself relaxed will minimize the risk of developing urinal incontinence. This will also help strengthen and tone up urinary organs when coupled with regular exercise.

Regular Exercise

One of the most effective natural treatments for incontinence in women is an exercise called Kegel. In this exercise, the pelvic floor muscles are tightened. Doing this exercise retrains and strengthens sphincter muscles, pelvic floor muscles and the area around them. Developing the strength of these areas minimize the chances of leakage especially when the individual is coughing or sneezing. Doing 24 contractions daily for 6 weeks at the least will be enough to make this exercise effective.

To do the Kegel exercise effectively, you must determine the right muscles that you will be working on. Know how to squeeze only your pelvic muscles. Try not to squeeze other nearby muscles like the legs, buttocks and stomach. If you squeeze these muscles, it will add to the pressure being applied on your bladder control muscles. Do this exercise lying down in a quiet area where you can concentrate on the right muscles. Consult your doctor if you are not sure if you are exercising the right muscles.

Changing Your Diet

Some women experience the type of incontinence caused by bladder spasms. Bladder spasms can be caused by carbonated drinks or caffeine. Decreasing the intake of these substances will effectively decrease the chance of experiencing bladder spasms, hence the decreased incidence of urine leakage.

Damage Control

Urinary incontincence does not have to be a huge inconvenience in your life if you know how to control the damage and minimize its negative effects on your daily life. The first thing you should do to control its effects in your daily life is to know the frequency of leakage incidents. Train yourself to go to the bathroom frequently and take note of how long you can go without going to the bathroom with experiencing leakage. This will give you an idea of how long you can go without experiencing leakage, in turn giving you the chance to prevent any uncomfortable incidents. If you experience leakage after 90 minutes, you can set that as your limit and you can schedule bathroom breaks every 75 minutes or less. This is a way to train yourself in preventing leakage by working within your limits. You can even keep a bladder diary and take down more details about your frequency of urine leakage, the amount of leaked urine, fluid intake, the number of trips to the bathroom and its frequency.

If you experience a leak, it can get pretty messy and uncomfortable especially if you are in a public place. You can save yourself the embarrassment by making use of pads. This should be your last resort for controlling incontinence. Any other preventive measures should be taken so that you would not have to use pads.