Posts in category: General

You used to leak a little urine now and then, but since you entered menopause you suddenly leak urine all the time.

You are under a lot of stress in your daily life, and now you often have to go before you can reach the bathroom.

You have a urine leakage problem, you don’t know why, and you need more information about your condition. You just don’t know where to get it. 

Does this sound like you?

If so, then don’t worry. Not only are you not alone, but you are also one of the many faces of women’s urinary incontinence. You are one of the millions of women who leak urine. If you haven’t sought help, you are either part of the 50% of women who never seek help or you might be part of the 66% of women who wait more than 6 years before seeking help. If you need information about your condition, you have come to the right place.

Discreet Online Help for Women’s Urinary Incontinence
Leaking urine is no fun, but luckily getting the information you need about your condition is simple. Getting discreet online information that will help you be your own best health advocate is easy. Just check out these great online resources:

The Types of Women’s Urinary Incontinence
What’s Up Down There Ebook
Some Facts About Women’s Urinary Incontinence
Discreet Online Resources for Women’s Urinary Incontinence
Sit or Squat: Online Directory of Bathrooms

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Nope.

None of these are the reason that very few women have make a habit of doing Kegels. As a matter of fact, just the opposite is true. Done correctly, Kegels are a very effective form of conservative therapy for women’s urinary incontinence. Kegels are also helpful to maintain pelvic floor tone, which can definitely transform an intimate moment from “not to hot.”

If Kegels can be so effective for so many women, why don’t more women do Kegels?

Why More Women Don’t Have the Kegel Habit
When it comes to habits, it is sometimes useful to consider what forms a habit. To create a habit, according to effectiveness expert Stephen R. Covey, you need three things:

– knowledge
– skill
– desire

Knowledge of Kegels
Most women know about Kegels … at least they have heard of them. Many women have actually been handed instructions on how to do Kegels, usually by their doctors. Some women have even researched Kegels on the internet, and have tried them. So information about Kegels is readily available to any woman who seeks it.

Kegel Skills
When it comes to Kegel skills, though, women run into a bit of a problem. While many women have tried Kegels, half or more of these women are not doing them correctly. Studies have shown that half of all women who learn Kegels from written instructions alone are doing the exercise incorrectly. Rather than contracting the pelvic floor muscles, these women tighten other muscles, such as buttock or thigh muscles. Of course, tightening the wrong muscles won’t help resolve issues of urine leakage or decreased sexual sensation.

This is one reason that most women don’t have a Kegel habit.

Desire to do Kegels 
While many women say they will do Kegels regularly, most find they forget to do them. Either their urinary incontinence doesn’t bother them enough that they are forced to integrate Kegels into their lives, or they have simply given up and have fallen into the mode of “coping rather than curing.”

Here we discover the second reason that most women don’t have a Kegel habit. There isn’t enough desire to integrate Kegels into daily life.

Why More Women SHOULD Have a Kegel Habit
With one out of every four women above the age of 18 suffering from urine leakage, and with the Kegel’s proven effectiveness, more women really should get into a Kegel habit. Women’s urinary incontinence is not a chronic incurable condition. Eight out of ten women can see symptom improvement with the right kind of therapy … therapy that often involves Kegels.

Kegels are simple to do (once you learn how), and can be used discreetly anywhere you are, whether you are sitting in your car at a stoplight or standing in line at the grocery store. Kegels can prevent urine leakage when you pick up your child or step off a curb. A good habit of doing correct Kegels can improve or even totally resolve urinary incontinence issues.

Two Simple Steps to a Kegel Habit
If doing Kegels correctly as a conservative therapy for women’s urinary incontinence sounds good to you, here are two simple steps you need to take to create your own Kegel habit:

1. Realize the Effect of Urinary Incontinence on Your Life
If you have fallen into a coping mode, chances are that you are blind to how much you have arranged your life around your urinary incontinence. Perhaps you have to carry pads or diapers, maybe your social life has dwindled, or maybe you don’t go places unless you have mapped out bathrooms ahead of time. These are all coping mechanisms that impact your life in a big way. Once you realize how much of your life is centered around your urinary incontinence, you will have the desire to learn how to do Kegels correctly, and do them as a habit.

2. Learn to do Kegels Correctly
The majority of women who say Kegels are ineffective do not do Kegels correctly. As mentioned above, they tend to tighten the wrong muscles, or fail to tighten any muscles at all. If you are going to commit to a Kegel habit, learn to do a correct Kegel first. We suggest you start with our “What’s Up Down There” ebook to test the tone of your pelvic floor and learn step-by-step how to do a correct Kegel. If you need hands on help, we suggest you contact a urogynecologist of physical therapist who can help you locate the correct pelvic muscles to engage.

Once you see how much urinary incontinence is affecting your life, and how effective Kegels can be at resolving your urine leakage problems, you’ll be gung-ho to have a Kegel habit. You’ll be a Kegel poster child, taking your Kegels to the grocery story, to the office, and everywhere on-the-go.

Commit to sticking with your Kegel habit for at least 40 days, and journal your results. A journal will help you see small progressive steps throughout the process, which will motivate you to stick to your Kegel habit.

Give it a try … you WILL amaze yourself.

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One in four women over the age of 18 has suffered from urinary incontinence. The good news is that the New Year is just around the corner, which makes it the perfect time to set your New Year’s Resolution.

Resolve to solve your urinary incontinence this coming year! Instead of waiting the epic seven years it takes the average woman to seek help, do it now. Pronounce this New Year your year for getting help.

Seven Steps Towards a New Year of Dry Panties
To fulfill your New Year’s resolution, you are going to need some help. Can’t figure out what to do? Here are seven steps to get you from wet panties to dry ones. You may have already taken a few of these steps, but faltered before you fully solved your urinary incontinence issues. Read through these steps and see which ones you need to get help for your urinary incontinence.

#1: Know Thyself
No one knows your symptoms of urinary incontinence better than you. If you are going to get help this coming year, you need to be able to “tell your story” to your doctor. One of the best ways to do this is to keep what is called a “voiding journal.” For a few days, jot down the following:

– when, how much, and what kinds of fluids you drink
– when and how many times you urinate during the day
– how many times a day you experience leakage, how much you leak, and under what conditions (such as coughing or sneezing, or during the night)

Also keep track of any other health issues and symptoms, even if you don’t think they are related to your urinary incontinence.

#2: Find a Doctor and Schedule an Appointment
A staggering number of women get stuck here … staring at the phone, unable to make the call. Just thinking about discussing their urinary incontinence with a doctor embarrasses many women. Don’t let embarrassment (or anything else) stop you. First, find a doctor (click here for the best way to do that), and then schedule an appointment. Most importantly, be sure to specify that your appointment is for urinary incontinence. That will ensure that you will actually discuss urinary incontinence when you go to your appointment.

#3: Get a Diagnosis and Get Your Questions Answered
Once you have committed yourself to getting help by scheduling an appointment, make the most of it. To ensure that you get the help you need drag a gal pal with you to your appointment if you have to. Answer the doctor as honestly and fully as you can, and get a true diagnosis of your condition (read about the different kinds of urinary incontinence here). Plus be sure to get every one of your own questions answered.

#4: Try Conservative Therapy
This resolution is for those of you who think conservative therapy is like trying to plug a leaking dam with your thumb: ineffective. You might be surprised at how far medicine has come, and how many conservative therapy options are available. Ask your doctor about the latest and greatest in conservative therapy, and try one. If it doesn’t improve your symptoms, ask for more help. For instance, you may be doing your Kegels faithfully but incorrectly. Hands-on help from a physical therapist can help you learn to engage the correct muscles, making this therapy much more effective.

#5: Combine Conservative Therapies
Sometimes one type of therapy alone isn’t enough to improve your symptoms. If you have tried single therapies, like doing Kegels or using medication, with little result, your doctor may recommend combining therapies. Not every therapy works for every woman or every type of urinary incontinence, but often combining therapies can vastly improve your symptoms. For instance, watching what you eat and drink, taking medication, and doing Kegels consistently may help where a single therapy will not.

#6: Consider Surgery
Going under the knife can be a scary thought, but these days many kinds of surgery for urinary incontinence are minimally-invasive outpatient procedures with short recovery periods. More importantly, the results are effective.

#7: Do Something, Darn It!
Last but not least, whichever of these steps applies to you and your urinary incontinence, the most important step is to take action. Don’t suffer through another year of wet panties. Take action. Do something. Get help. Be a strong advocate for your own healthcare. If nothing else, start by learning about urinary incontinence in the privacy of your own home:

Is This You?

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