Chapter List

• Care for Your Health
• Get Your Exercise
• Balance Your Diet
• Aches and Pains
• Age Spots
• Anemia
• Angina
• Arm Flab
• Arthritis
• Asthma
• Back Pain
• Bad Breath
• Bedsores
• Body Odor
• Bone Spurs
• Brittle Nails
• Bruises
• Bunions
• Burns
• Bursitis and Tendinitis
• Caffeine Dependency
• Canker Sores
• Clumsiness
• Cold Hands and Feet
• Colds
• Cold Sores
• Constipation
• Corns and Calluses
• Coughing
• Crows-Feet
• Cuts and Scrapes
• Cysts and Sties
• Dehydration
• Denture Pain
• Depression
• Diabetes
• Diarrhea
• Diverticulosis
• Dizziness
• Dry Eyes
• Dry Hair
• Dry Hands
• Dry Mouth
• Dry Skin
• Earaches
• Ear Hair
• Earwax
• Eczema
• Emphysema
• Eyestrain
• Fatigue
• Fears and Anxiety
• Fever
• Flatulence
• Food Poisoning
• Foot Odor
• Foot Pain
• Fragile Skin
• Gallstones
• Glaucoma
• Gout
• Grief
• Gum Problems and Tooth Loss
• Hair Loss
• Hammertoes
• Headache
• Hearing Loss
• Heartburn
• Heart Palpitations
• Heat Exhaustion
• Hemorrhoids
• High Blood Pressure
• High Cholesterol
• Hip Pain
• Hives
• Impotence
• Incontinence
• Ingrown Toenails
• Insomnia
• Intermittent Claudication
• Irritability
• Jaw Pain and Tmd
• Laryngitis
• Lowered Sexual Desire
• Lyme Disease
• Macular Degeneration
• Memory Loss
• Mobility Problems
• Morning Aches and Pains
• Mouth Sores
• Muscle Soreness
• Nausea
• Neck Pain
• Neuroma
• Night Vision Problems
• Nosebleeds
• Numbness and Tingling
• Osteoporosis
• Overweight
• Phlebitis
• Pneumonia
• Poor Appetite
• Poor Concentration
• Poor Smell and Taste
• Prostate Problems
• Rashes
• Reading Problems
• Restless Legs Syndrome
• Rosacea
• Scars
• Sciatica
• Shingles
• Sleep Interruptions
• Slowed Reaction Time
• Slow Healing
• Smoking Addiction
• Snoring and Sleep Apnea
• Stomachache
• Stress
• Sunburn
• Television Addiction
• Tinnitus
• Toenail Fungus
• Toothache
• Tooth Stains
• Ulcers
• Underweight
• Urinary Tract Infections
• Varicose Veins
• Prevent Accidents
• Stay Mentally Sharp

Special Limited Time Offer! Order today and Save an Extra 15%! Use coupon code: LSAVE15

Incontinence

Incontinence

If you have a problem with incontinence, it might be a little reassuring to hear that it’s a common concern among older people. But is that the kind of reassurance you really want to hear? More likely, you’d like to know that there are things you can do about it.

Well, there are.

“Incontinence is never normal at any age,” says Neil Resnick, M.D., chief of gerontology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. “It’s not a function of age nor of gender. Incontinence is almost always treatable and very often curable,” he says.

At least 13 million Americans experience urinary incontinence, the involuntary release of urine. And it’s not at all fair to both sexes. About 11 million of those 13 million are women. In fact, one out of every three women experiences some degree of urinary incontinence during her lifetime.

In most cases, there are not only solutions your doctor can suggest, there are some methods you can try yourself.

Try This First

Learn Kegels. Pelvic muscle exercises, also known as Kegel exercises, help many women with the most common kinds of incontinence, says Dr. Resnick.

Kegels strengthen the pelvic floor muscle that supports the bladder. When those muscles are stronger, you can tighten up in the area that controls the release of urine.

To do Kegels, you quickly contract your pelvic floor muscles as if you are stopping a stream of urine. Hold the contraction for about three seconds, then relax the muscles for an equal length of time. This pair of movements should be counted as one exercise. Doing these exercises 45 times each day, divided into three sessions of 15 exercises each for at least six weeks, can help control incontinence, says Dr. Resnick. Just like strengthening biceps or any other muscle-building exercise, it takes time.

The great thing about Kegels is that you can do them anywhere—in the car as you’re driving, at a bridge game, while you’re washing the dishes—and no one has to know. And they really do work if they’re done right, notes Dr. Resnick.

Remember, as with any exercise program, the beneficial effects last only as long as the exercise continues, says Dr. Resnick. One study found that women who practiced Kegels three times a week had the most success, even after five years.

Other Wise Ways

Keep a diary. Before you see your physician, it’s a good idea to keep a diary of your urinary habits for two days, advises Dr. Resnick. Write down when you urinate, when you experience leaking, and note activities that may have triggered leaks, such as sneezing, coughing, or exercising. It may also be helpful if you estimate the amount of leakage you experience. Note whether you leaked a few drops of urine, a few teaspoons or tablespoons, or enough to soak a pad or your clothes. Your notes may be able to help your doctor determine what type of incontinence you have and the proper course of treatment.

Time your trips. For people with urge incontinence, bladder drills can help them reassert control, says Phillip Barksdale, M.D., urogynecologist with Woman’s Hospital in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

To do them, urinate at set intervals, every hour or two, to keep the bladder from getting too full. After you achieve dryness for a few days, increase the intervals, says Dr. Barksdale. If you pace yourself, you should be able to control urination so you can wait several hours.

Watch what you drink and when. Alcohol and caffeinated beverages like coffee and tea stimulate urine production. Limit your consumption to no more than one or two servings a day or, better yet, eliminate these drinks, suggests Dr. Barksdale. These measures will help you with your bladder drills, reducing the urge to go more often, says Dr. Barksdale. Also, reduce the fluids you have in the evening. Less stress on your bladder will help you remain more comfortable between nighttime bladder drills.

Don’t dry yourself out. You may be tempted to drink less throughout the day so you won’t have to go as often. But it’s important to continue drinking normal amounts of fluids for health reasons, suggests Dr. Barksdale. If you consciously resist drinking when you’re thirsty, the deprivation can quickly lead to dehydration, especially when you’re a senior.

Timing is everything. Many people with incontinence can be taught by a therapist to contract their pelvic muscles at the moment of physical strain, says Dr. Resnick.

“Usually, you have advance warning that a cough or a sneeze is coming,” he says. If you practice doing a Kegel exercise at that exact moment, you can prevent incontinence.

Managing Your Meds Some muscle relaxants such as the product dantrolene (Dantrium) can cause incontinence by relaxing the muscles that support the bladder, says W. Steven Pray, Ph.D., R.Ph., a professor of nonprescription drug products at Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford. Caffeine can be a culprit as well, says Dr. Pray. This includes caffeine in aspirin-based analgesics such as Excedrin.

Treat the triggers. Sometimes, treatment of an allergy or cough can “cure” incontinence, says Dr. Barksdale. Once the physical trigger is removed, incontinence often goes away.

Use absorbents wisely. Traditionally, people with incontinence have turned to various absorbent products, like maxipads or disposable adult undergarments.

While absorbent products are still the most widely used means of dealing with incontinence, don’t rely on them exclusively. Dr. Resnick and Dr. Barksdale stress that they should be used only in addition to a doctor’s treatments and your own restraining measures.