How To Prevent Bladder Leaks Fast With Urinary Incontinence Tricks Experts Swear By
Learn why drinking more water—not less—can actually help quiet the urge to go
Key Takeaways
- Pelvic floor exercises like Kegels can reduce bladder leaks by up to 70 percent.
- Fiber and hydration help prevent constipation that worsens a leaking bladder.
- Bladder training and “double voiding” improve control and reduce accidents.
Whether you’re catching up with friends or soaking up the sun in your own back yard, the last thing you want to worry about is your bladder interrupting the fun. Good news if you’re among the 50 percent of women that Mayo Clinic experts say deal with urinary incontinence: There are simple steps you can take to reduce your risk of an “oops!” moment. Read on for the best ways to prevent bladder leaks naturally.
How to prevent bladder leaks after 50
Everything from menopausal hormone changes to weak pelvic floor muscles can cause urinary incontinence in women. “Long-term prevention of bladder leaks always includes regular pelvic floor muscle training,” says Samantha Pulliam, MD, FACOG, urogynecologist and chief medical officer at Axena Health. She says you can do this on your own with easy-to-follow exercises (more on that below).
More effective ways to prevent bladder leaks:
Woman's World Answers
Focus on fiber
Fiber prevents constipation and straining that can weaken the pelvic floor muscles that control urine release. “A lot of women focus only on the bladder and miss the constipation piece,” says urogynecologist Nabila Noor, MD. “If you’re even mildly constipated, your bladder may be paying the price.” She recommends at least 30 to 35 grams of fiber every day, which you can get through fiber-rich foods and supplements such as Benefiber Prebiotic Fiber + Supergreens. In fact, upping your fiber intake can lower your risk of bladder-squeezing constipation by 77 percent, according to British researchers.
Also smart: Avoid foods and drinks that may be bladder irritants, such as spicy foods, caffeinated drinks, alcohol and citrus fruits.
Try yoga
Gentle exercise such as yoga and stretching can make a big impact on preventing bladder leaks when done regularly, found a study in Annals of Internal Medicine. Women who did low-impact yoga a few times a week for 12 weeks had 65 percent fewer urinary incontinence episodes. And women who did simple stretches and strengthening exercises instead of yoga had similar results. This type of movement trains the pelvic floor muscles to help manage bladder control problems.
Practice Kegels
Kegel exercises are often considered the first line of defense against bladder leaks, as they strengthen the pelvic muscles. Dr. Pulliam says to think of the pelvis as a basket that holds up the abdominal contents and bladder muscles: “Pelvic floor muscle training is the strengthening of that basket of muscles, which are responsible for holding in the urine.”
Simply tighten the muscles in your pelvic floor you’d use to stop urination for five seconds, then relax for five seconds and repeat. But don’t let the simplicity of these muscle contractions fool you. When done regularly, pelvic floor exercises like Kegels can reduce incontinence by as much as 70 percent, according to research in JAMA Internal Medicine. Learn more about how to do Kegels correctly.
Take a seat
It may be tempting to hover over the toilet in a public restroom, but Dr. Noor says this position can prevent you from fully emptying your bladder while weakening the muscles that help stop leaks. “When we have to urinate, the first thing we have to do is relax our pelvic floor muscles, and it’s hard to do that when you’re hovering,” she says. She recommends covering the toilet seat with toilet paper, sitting comfortably and taking a deep breath to relax the pelvic floor before urinating.
Schedule bathroom breaks
Sticking to a bathroom schedule helps retrain the way your brain and bladder work together, giving you more control over leaking urine. “It’s not a problem of the bladder being full and that’s why you can’t hold it,” explains Dr. Noor. “It’s more of a brain-versus-bladder communication problem.” Instead of going to the bathroom “just in case”, she suggests going every two hours to start and gradually increasing the time. “The goal is to gently teach the bladder not to panic and send false alarms [for an urge to urinate] all day long.”
Exhale on effort
Dr. Noor says many of us hold our breath when doing things like lifting laundry or standing up. This increases pressure in your abdomen and pushes your pelvic floor down, causing it to weaken over time. “Exhale during the hardest part of the movement and also engage your pelvic floor by doing a quick Kegel squeeze,” she suggests. The trick can go a long way in keeping leak-preventing bladder muscles strong.
Try ‘double voiding’
A bladder training technique called “double voiding” can help you learn to empty your bladder more completely to avoid overflow incontinence. Simply sit down on the toilet and urinate as you normally would. Then lean forward for 20 seconds after you urinate (as if bowing). Sit up tall for 10 seconds, then repeat. This double voiding method compresses your bladder to help eliminate any lingering amount of urine and block bladder leaks.
Why this works: Your kidneys are always producing more urine, so you never empty your bladder down to the very last drop, explains Dr. Pulliam. “Your bladder may be empty even if you can ‘eke out’ a little more by pushing or straining. Rather than bearing down, double voiding is a better way to ensure that you’re emptying completely.”
Stay hydrated
Dehydration concentrates urine, which can irritate the bladder and trigger leaks. Aim for steady hydration throughout the day to help prevent bladder leaks, Dr. Noor says. “Keeping urine a light yellow color is a simple way to know you’re giving your bladder what it needs to stay calm.”
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