Making frequent trips to the lavatory to avoid and episode of incontinence can be quite frustrating, and it can get to be pretty tiring as well, especially if the trips are during the night. One of the problems with frequent urination is that it may discourage a person from drinking enough fluid, which can lead to dehydration. Of course staying properly hydrated is important, but so is staying dry, and especially in an elderly person whose mobility is limited, the need for frequent urination can end up resulting in light incontinence.
To help frequent urination from ending devolving into incontinence, there are some things that you can do to reduce the frequency of symptoms. Caffeine and alcohol are among the many foods that irritate the bladder, leading to incontinence. Both of these drinks are also diuretics, which cause the body to slough off liquids. If you are taking any medications for high blood pressure, they are normally diuretics also, which can exacerbate the frequent urination symptoms, again leading to incontinence.
There are also a number of diseases that can manifest themselves as frequent urination leading to incontinence, so this is another reason that it is important to discuss any incontinence problem with your doctor. Diabetes and kidney disease are two common causes, and even more common is a urinary tract infection. In men frequent urination is frequently the harbinger of an enlarged prostate gland, which generally leads way to light adult incontinence.
If there is any pain or discomfort connected with your frequent trips to the bathroom, then you should seek medical advice immediately. However, for the elderly, especially as mobility becomes an issue, frequent urination can be just the start a pattern of incontinence. If you are not suffering from an infection or disease, then there are several things that you can do to address the problem of incontinence. First of all you can limit your liquid intake, while ensuring that you are still consuming enough fluids to stay healthy. Next, you can try increasing the holding capacity of your bladder by gradually extending the time in between trips to the bathroom. Try stretching the time by about fifteen minutes and increase the duration every week.
If you do have to take a medication that works as a diuretic, discuss with your doctor the option of taking it during the early portion of the day. That way you will not be awakened every hour throughout the night needing to go to the bathroom, or risk an incontinence episode like bedwetting. By taking your medication early in the day, you may be able to sleep peacefully throughout the night without any worries of incontinence.
Further Incontinence Articles
- Purchasing Faecal Incontinence Pants
- What is Faeces Incontinence, and Why Does It Happen?
- Infection as a Cause of Bladder Incontinence
- Save Money with Washable Incontinence Pads
- Definitions of Incontinence
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Tags: Frequent Urination, Incontinence, light adult incontinence, Medications, prostate gland
