What to do with urinary incontinence in women over 60

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

Urine with such a disease passes through the urethra with such a frequency and in such an amount that it becomes a serious medical or social problem. Urinary incontinence in women after 60 years usually lasts for many months, sometimes even years, which significantly impairs everyday life, as a professional. Treatment with folk remedies can significantly improve the condition.

Risk factors for urinary incontinence

Most people with urinary incontinence are women (almost 60-70 percent). This does not change the fact that men can also suffer from this disease.

There is a myth in society that urinary incontinence is an indicator of aging. Aging should not be the cause of this dysfunction, but age-related anatomical or functional changes in the urinary tract are derived from systemic diseases in the elderly. Urinary incontinence isn't just about older people.

Treatment depends on the type of urinary incontinence and the severity of the discomfort. Herbal medicines are not effective for urinary incontinence, and some of them (such as diuretics) can worsen the problem of urinary incontinence in women over the age of 60. Treatment with folk remedies gives a good result.

Regardless of the type of urinary incontinence, lifestyle changes are also beneficial:

• reducing alcohol and caffeine consumption;
• weight loss in case of obesity;
• limiting fluid intake in situations where we want to avoid or reduce problems with urine flow (for example, before a social event, at night, etc.).

General advice for elderly patients

With stress urinary incontinence in women over 60, it is very important to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles, which may even lead to a solution to the problem. In addition to treatment with folk remedies, the so-called Kegel exercises (that is, acting on the muscles of the pelvic floor) help in this.

There are many ways to do these exercises, and they do not require any special conditions. It is important to exercise regularly, at least 3 times a day and at least 3 months in total. Only after this period can you expect improvements.

Over-the-counter medications are not available, but dietary supplements and herbal diuretic medications are available from pharmacies. Thus, urine is removed from the bladder more often and, therefore, less frequently. Over-the-counter urinary incontinence pills are not a permanent and, in many cases, effective solution.

Herbal medicines usually contain cranberries and are mainly intended for women, including the elderly. For urinary incontinence in women after 60 years, folk remedies are treated with herbs such as dandelion, nettle, linden and green tea. They are all sold over the counter.

Dietary supplements recommended for people with urinary incontinence also contain vitamins, as well as micro and macro elements.

Kegel exercises - how to do them at home

They use the same muscles that are used to hold urine. This makes exercise a key way to deal with this awkward state. They are useful, especially in the early stages of urinary incontinence and after surgery, to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles.

Your physical therapist will explain to you how and how often to do Kegel exercises. You will notice an improvement after 6-12 weeks of regular exercise. To maintain the desired effect, workouts should not be interrupted.

Train your bladder

It may sound difficult, but training your bladder requires a lot of patience. It is imperative to learn how to postpone the need to go to the bathroom. At first, try to delay urination for 10 minutes and gradually increase this time to 20 minutes. After a while, you will increase the intervals between subsequent visits to the toilet up to 4 hours! Keep a record of toilet visits. This will help you and your doctor monitor your bladder training.

In case of urinary incontinence, treatment consists of adequate "training" of the bladder, which leads to less frequent occurrence of pressure and allows you to control it, that is, control the need to urinate.

Drugs (such as oxybutynin) are used when bladder training has not been effective enough. These medicines can have serious side effects and should be used under medical supervision.

Quit smoking

Looking for a good reason to quit smoking? Perhaps the information that this may be an “antidote” for urinary incontinence problems will convince you. Nicotine irritates the bladder, which has been scientifically proven.

Moreover, smokers cough more often than non-smokers, and this chronic cough is one of the factors that causes pressure on the bladder, which is the cause of urinary incontinence.

Bonus

The conclusions of this article are as follows:

1. For urinary incontinence after 60 years of age, Kegel exercises are beneficial at home.
2. Medicinal herbs and their infusions should be used strictly in the dosage recommended by a specialist.
3. To normalize the frequency of urination, it is good to adhere to a diet rich in magnesium, vitamin D.