Urge Incontinence

Description: Sudden urge to go to the loo for a pee, with the feeling that you can’t get there in time, sometimes accompanied by an accident.  Also called an overactive bladder.

Tips

Pelvic floor exercises

A weak pelvic floor is always a potential culprit in the search for what is causing your urge incontinence.  The best way to treat a weak pelvic floor is with pelvic floor exercises.  Improving the strength of your pelvic floor is always a good idea, so check out our tips here to help you to get into a routine and make sure you are doing them correctly.

Reverse psychology

I know it sounds crazy, but when I get a sudden overwhelming urge to go to the loo I try to imagine that I am already there. I imagine I am getting ready to go, then I imagine that I am actually peeing. At first it just bought me a few more minutes to get to the loo in time.  But after a while I got the problem less and less, until now it’s almost gone away.

Bladder training

Alongside psychology, try bladder training.  The idea is to lengthen the time between visits to the loo, without reducing the amount that you are drinking.

Often, if people are worried that they won’t be able to get to the loo in time, they try to increase the number of times they go to the loo, so that they won’t get caught short.  But this will only make the problem worse, as you will have shrunk the size of your bladder, so it won’t be able to hold as much pee.

Instead, you need to train your bladder to get back to normal.  Aim to get back to only going to the loo 6-8 times a day.  Keep a diary to see if you are going more often than this.  If you are, each time you feel the need to go to the loo, try to wait for 5 minutes.  You might find it helps if you sit down, or press on your perineum, or do a few pelvic floor contractions.  Every day, try to lengthen the time between loo visits a little bit more.

For more help with bladder training, see Jane Simpson’s The Pelvic Floor Bible.

Drinks to avoid

You may be able to see an improvement in your urge incontinence if you change what you are drinking.  Caffeine (in tea, coffee and cola) can make the problem worse, as it relaxes the muscles in your pelvis and urethra.  Try to cut down your caffeine, or switch to decaffeinated options.  Some herbal teas such as elderflower, rose, wild blackberry and nettle can have a diuretic effect (make you want to go to the loo more often), so are also best avoided.  All fizzy drinks can irritate the bladder, including sparkling water.  Sadly, alcohol is also on the list of drinks to avoid if you have urge incontinence.  

It’s important not to cut down on the amount that you are drinking to try to avoid accidents, though, as this can lead to bladder infections and constipation.  It can also shrink the size of your bladder, which will make any incontinence problem worse.  A healthy pee is a pale straw colour – if yours is any darker than that, then you need to increase the amount you are drinking.  Just try to avoid the drinks listed above.

Food to avoid

Some foods can irritate the bladder, and make any incontinence worse.  This can vary by person, but common culprits are: chocolate, oranges, lemons, tomatoes, artificial sweeteners and spicy foods.

Constipation

If you are constipated, that could also have an impact on your bladder, and make an overactive bladder worse.  Try our tips for reducing constipation here.