How you can help yourself
Squeeze! Hold! Strengthen! There’s plenty of things that you can do to gain better control over your bladder. The thing that really makes a difference is exercising that pelvic floor.
Pelvic floor exercises
You’ve probably heard your obstetrician or gynaecologist praise the effect of kegel exercises. In fact, squeezing and holding is the best way to strengthen the crucial pelvic floor muscles and prevent “Oooops moments” from happening. But how do you know that you’re doing these bladder training exercises correctly and how do you remember to do them daily? We’ve gathered information on everything you need to know about pelvic floor exercises. We’ve even developed an app for pelvic floor exercises so that you won’t forget about it.
Train your bladder
We can all train our bladders to hold more urine. Try to delay peeing instead of rushing to the toilet when you feel the urge to go. Then try to extend the delay a little bit each day. It will be a little uncomfortable, but in return your bladder will learn to hold more urine and you won’t need to go to the toilet so frequently.
Cutting back on drinks doesn’t reduce the risk of little leaks. In fact, cutting back on water will only put you at risk of dehydration and make your urine more concentrated. This actually irritates the bladder, making the urge to pee stronger. So don’t avoid getting a drink with popcorn at the cinema. And keep hydrating yourself when working out. It’s good for you – and your bladder.
A healthy bladder
What goes in must come out. There are certain types of drinks that can irritate a sensitive bladder and increase the risk of little leaks, for example, coffee, alcohol and acidic drinks.
Making a few changes to your diet can help to reduce leaks and curb that urge to go to the toilet. Limiting the amount of caffeine and alcohol, can help stop excess urination. This does not mean that you should miss out on the discussions at the coffee machine and meeting your friends in a bar altogether. Just be conscious about how much coffee and alcohol you drink as these make it harder to control the urge to go. Make sure to drink at least six glasses of water a day as not hydrating enough can cause your bladder to stop working properly.
