If you suffer from women’s urinary incontinence, you may be feeling quite frustrated about your wet panties, especially if you haven’t been able to solve your symptoms quickly.
But hold on … the human anatomy is a complicated system, and everything has to work just right for you to avoid urinary incontinence. Did you know that your urinary system has to meet 5 requirements for you to urinate properly?
Really.
The 5 Requirements for Bladder Health
Having a healthy bladder, and resolving your urinary incontinence, means you urinate every three to six hours, which is typical for a healthy person. Unfortunately, if you have women’s urinary incontinence, you probably run for the bathroom far more frequently.
Why is that? One or more of these five functions may not be working well in your body, preventing you from going when you want to … rather than when your body forces you to go.
Requirement #1 for Bladder Health: A Big Enough Bladder
A healthy bladder can hold up to 2 cups of urine before it needs to be emptied. If, for some reason, the walls of your bladder don’t stretch enough to accommodate this amount of urine, you’ll either have urine leakage or need to visit the bathroom often.
Requirement #2 for Bladder Health: Feel the Urge
When your bladder is full, it sends a signal through your nervous system to your brain, which gives you the urge to go. That means that your nervous system has to be functioning properly, and your brain has to interpret the signal correctly. Due to injury, illness, or neurological conditions, some women do not get the sensation of a full bladder and end up instead with wet panties.
Requirement #3 for Bladder Health: Get a Move On
Once your brain sends you the message that you need to urinate, the next impediment is finding a bathroom quickly enough. Hence the “bathroom radar” many women with urinary incontinence develop. For some seniors, speed of movement is a difficulty. For other women, getting their clothes off quickly enough can be a problem. For this reason, many women end up wearing pants with elastic waistbands or other “easy off” clothing. This can definitely ruin a gal’s fashion sense!
Requirement #4 for Bladder Health: Control Those Bladder Muscles
To control your urination and prevent urine leakage, you need strong pelvic floor muscles, especially the muscle called the bladder sphincter. To improve the tone of your pelvic floor muscles, consider doing Kegels and other toning exercises specifically for your muscles “down there.” Many women do Kegels, but incorrectly, so they see very few results. To discover how to do a correct pelvic floor contraction and more, download our free ebook, which gives you step-by-step instructions.
Requirement #5 for Bladder Health: Empty the Bladder Completely
If you are able to get to a bathroom in time to avoid a leakage accident, but then can’t empty your bladder completely, then you’ll feel the urge to urinate soon. The inability to empty your bladder completely not only increases the frequency of your urge to urinate, but can also increase your risk of urinary tract infections. If you feel that your bladder is not emptying completely each time you urinate, check with an urologist. A quick test will confirm whether this is one of the causes of your urinary incontinence.
Steps You Can Take for Bladder Health
Hopefully this snapshot of the different requirements necessary for bladder health gives you an idea of where your body’s urinary system may be breaking down. Armed with this knowledge, you can better communicate with your healthcare providers about your situation.
In addition, check out these resources for women’s urinary incontinence:
Free Ebook: What’s Up Down There?
Online Resources for Women’s Urinary Incontinence
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