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prolapse. Such prolapse affects the urethra, the outlet for your urine. Changes in normal positions of the bladder and urethra can cause urinary incontinence.

Effects of Kegel exercises

Kegel exercises during pregnancy can ease the process of childbirth. These exercises strengthen the pelvic muscles and the nerves. Hence, you exert less pressure on your muscles and nerves. This in turn lowers the incidence of incontinence in later years, even if you had a difficult childbirth or long labor hours.

Cesarean deliveries and Incontinence

Cesarean birth deliveries have a lower risk of urinary incontinence, as it does not involve any muscular pressures on the vaginal region. However, such deliveries carry other risks, such as infection, blood transfusion, surgical injuries to the bladder and intestines, and long periods of discomfort. Hence, it is better to opt for such deliveries if there are serious problems with vaginal childbirth.

How to prevent Incontinence due to childbirth

You can reduce the incidence of injury to the pelvic region by allowing normal functioning of the uterine muscles with extra patience. Your push is necessary only to push your baby’s head out of the birth canal.

Massaging the perineum region, which lies between the vagina and the rectum, eases stretching of the underlying muscles. This prevents natural or unnatural tearing of the vaginal muscles. You can discuss the pros and cons of the issue with your doctor initially to have a smooth and happy childbirth.

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8. Common Myths and Misconceptions

There are many myths and misconceptions associated with urinary

incontinence. Of course, such incontinence is embarrassing. However, it does not mean that you choose to ignore its health implications. Some of the myths are:

Healthy people feel that they can never have any urinary incontinence. This is not true. Incontinence can affect anyone and everyone and at any age. Women of thirty to thirty five years also encounter such problems while elderly men are also equally at risk.

Some of you may feel that it is an old age disease and you have to bear it.

Though incontinence is not a disease in the real sense of the term, yet could be the after effects of some other inherent disease in you. Hence, it makes good sense to have a total checkup with your doctor.

Many of you feel that slight leakages of urine are nothing to worry and you may continue with your normal routine. However, it is not so, and mild or major leakages need medical attention. Such incontinence could be harboring other related diseases like infections of the urinary tract leading to depression.

Since such leakages occur at unpredictable times and are inconvenient and embarrassing, it poses difficulties in continuing with your normal life.

Some do Kegel exercises regularly to get relief from such incontinence problems. However, such exercises are not effective for everyone and you still need proper medical attention to counter such problems.

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Elderly people feel that they are beyond treatment and therapies. This is not true and you can start and follow these easy therapies at any age. Just little changes in your lifestyle and habits will help you go a long way. You could quit smoking and reduce or stop intake of caffeine.

It is false to say there are not many effective cures for urinary incontinence.

Many medicines bring immense relief to urinary incontinence patients.

Estrogen replacement therapy is effective for menopausal women. Sometimes surgery does the trick.

There are many special incontinence garments available on the market. Many of you feel that passersby will be able to know of your embarrassing ailment by looking at your thick clothing or by the rubbing sound of such

undergarments. However, you can easily overcome this by wearing slightly loose clothing over your special incontinence garments. As for the slight sound, it is not possible for others to hear it.

Incontinence is not fatal. However, those of you suffering from this problem feel that though it does not end your life, it does take away the joy of life.

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Part-III: Prevention Measures and Coping Strategies

9. Hygiene and Personal Care

Urinary incontinence poses many risks to your skin and body. It is essential to safeguard your skin from infections. You need to maintain a high degree of hygiene to protect your skin. Besides, you also need to take good care of your undergarments and wear suitable ones to keep your skin dry. Though catheters and sheaths provide relief, usage of these over a long period can cause infections.

Common Infections of Incontinence

Incontinence Dermatitis

This is the same as perineal dermatitis or diaper rash. You suffer from irritation of skin and need to put up with skin rashes. Such rashes are due to being in contact with moisture and chemicals in urine and feces. This is a common problem with patients of all age groups.

Bacterial Infection

Your incontinence brings your skin in close contact with various bacteria present in waste products. Those of you with dry skin are more prone to such infection as bacteria thrive well in dry skin. These microorganisms enter your body through cracks in your skin and could cause further ailments.

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Exposure to Caustic Agents

Urine contains ammonia, a caustic agent. This not only increases skin irritation but also provides nutrition for bacteria and other microorganisms. This calls for immediate medical attention to eradicate bacteria from your body.

Fungal Infection

Pathogenic fungi find a favorable location in your warm and damp skin. Such rashes turn bright red causing itching and burning sensations. Antifungal treatments can heal such rashes.

Maceration

Constant exposure to moisture makes your skin soggy and weak. Further

pressure and friction damages your skin. It is then difficult even to wear ordinary clothes as slight rubbing causes extensive injury.

Skin Protection for Incontinent Patients

Incontinent patients require extra care with their skin. Such prompt and adequate skin care helps to maintain the texture of your skin, prevents odor, and makes you feel comfortable. You need to follow certain basic steps to protect your skin.

Cleansing- You need to clean the perineal area regularly with special cleansers, which do not dry or cause irritation of skin. Even otherwise, you need to clean during soiling and at other times. These cleansers remove dried fecal matter gently and contain inherent moisturizing elements to prevent your skin from drying and causing rashes. While using water, you need to avoid hot water for cleaning. Gentle cleansing does not cause any irritation or friction.

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Conditioning and Protection- Incontinency exposes your skin to excessive moisture, friction from garments, bacteria, dryness, and irritation. Certain barrier pastes and ointments are for such specific usage. These form a barrier on your skin and prevent or minimize direct contact with feces, urine, and perspiration. They also reduce friction from diapers and other garments. The conditioning agents in these creams and ointments nourish and moisturize your skin.

Maintain dryness: It is essential to maintain dryness. This minimizes many skin damages due to wetness in incontinence patients. You also need to maintain natural pH range of your skin between four and seven.

Choosing the right garments

You can talk with your doctor personally and confidentially to decide the garments that are most suitable for your condition. Many of you feel

uncomfortable with diaper-type undergarments and feel probably it is visible through your normal clothing. You could use-

Ö Belted garments fixed with elastic belts and provide protection against mild and moderate incontinence.

Ö Pull up undergarments are similar to regular underpants. They can protect you against mild and moderate incontinence.

Ö Adhesive pads attached by special adhesive pads. There are separate ones for males and females.

However, if you have heavy incontinence, you need to use adult size diapers.

The size and heaviness causes much discomfort.

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These garments could be of the disposable kind or cloth variety. Although the disposable type absorbs heavy incontinence, the cloth type prevents skin rashes. It can only handle mild or moderate incontinence.

Such special undergarments, when worn loose cannot sustain leakages.

Similarly, too tight fitting and hugging garments cause skin irritation. Hence, your garments should fit well and properly for you to feel comfortable.

Small quantities of adhesives on adhesive pads are sufficient for it to stick on to your undergarment. However, deodorants and hand lotions do reduce odor but could also harm the adhesive capacity of adhesive pads.

Incontinence patients need to take extra care for their personal hygiene and choice of garments. This ensures smooth sailing and chances of accidents of incontinence are minimal. It thereby helps you to live a comfortable life.

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10. Behavior Modification

Certain changes in your behavioral patterns offer much relief to your

incontinence problems. You need to follow these changes in your behavior diligently to experience good results.

Bladder Drill

Bladder drill is the most ancient form of treatment for the problem of incontinency. This creates and increases intervals between urinations. Long-term training of this kind establishes normal functioning of your bladder.

Hence, you maintain a particular frequency of urination and the problem of incontinence is low. This is an effective method of treatment among elderly and outpatients. Besides, you should be neurologically and physically fit to use this therapy. Only then, can this special therapy bring positive results for your incontinence problem.

Reeducation of nervous and muscular systems

Biofeedback educates your nervous and muscular systems to function

normally. Therapists conduct special sessions to educate patients about correct usage of muscles and bladder functioning to avoid incontinence. A special instrument with sensors and a computer screen depicts actual functioning of your urinary system and associated organs.

You place special sensors in the vagina, rectum, and abdomen, all of which are painless. The electrical activity of your muscles appear as colored lines on the computer screen. These lines guide you to compress pelvic floor muscles, Copyright 2005 All rights reserved

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without affecting abdominal muscles in any way. Incontinence is mainly due to compression of abdominal muscles.

You need to spend some time on preliminary assessment of your problem. The resultant therapy also takes time to show results. You can enhance your results by doing regular specific exercises at home and visit your therapist regularly.

You can then appraise your progress and relief from incontinence problems.

Multi-component behavioral training

This treatment focuses mainly on training and exercises of pelvic muscles. It concentrates and tries to change physiological functioning of your urinary bladder and pelvic muscles. Certain teaching and biofeedback methods impart specific strategies for contraction and suppression of your pelvic muscles.

These restrict contraction of bladder thereby reducing or eliminating problems of incontinence.

Kegel exercises

Kegel exercises strengthen weak pelvic muscles. These muscles support your urinary bladder and control its functioning. These also help you to control movements of sphincter and bladder muscles.

Other Simple Measures

Ö Timed and prompted voiding helps people with cognitive deformities and difficulties.

Ö A bedside commode could reduce your night trips to bathroom.

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Ö Avoiding certain dietary intake like caffeine, soda, and alcohol at night reduces bladder irritation and fluid content in your body. Resultantly, your incontinence problem is lessened.

Ö Imaginary compressing of certain muscles reduces bladder contractions and eases the problem of incontinence.

Ö Restricted usage of specific medicines, which cause dizziness and

intoxication, reduces usage of the restroom.

Ö You can use the many incontinence protection products available on the market to absorb leakages. Some of them are absorbent sheets of paper, urethral plug, other urethral devices, pessary, and others. Special

deodorants also reduce odor.

Behavioral modifications and drug therapies work well for people with

incontinence problems. They are especially effective in patients with urge incontinence. The two of them together and separately, could offer relief to other categories of patients with problems of incontinence. You can further enhance the effectiveness of these therapies alone by experimenting with other techniques. Obviously, results will be better and effective for all categories of incontinence patients.

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11. Biofeedback for Incontinence

Biofeedback is a technical way of analyzing effects of different muscular activities for combating physical problems. You use different sensors at strategic points on your body. These inform you of muscular activity in those regions. The results help you to gauge whether you are able to achieve desired levels or not. Pulse monitors help you to lower pulse rates mechanically and analyze results.

Different biofeedback techniques can analyze the effectiveness of various incontinence treatments. Kegel exercises strengthen the pelvic floor muscles.

You can check upon your success rate of these exercises by biofeedback techniques. This is possible by stimulating the exact muscle necessary for strengthening the pelvic floor and at the same time instructing a particular group of muscles to work towards achievement of your goal. Bladder pressure sensors instruct you to relax your bladder according to bladder spasms to combat problems of urgency incontinence.

Anal incontinence finds an easy remedy in biofeedback techniques. You

voluntarily regulate specific muscles responsible for your bowel movements.

Special exercises, done daily strengthen these specific muscles. You can combine your efforts with special sessions at clinics. Such sessions are usually held twice in a month.

While doing such exercises, you need to imagine yourself sitting on something hot. Then try to lift only your anus off the hot seat without disturbing your buttocks. You should not squeeze other muscles of your body and effort should Copyright 2005 All rights reserved

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only be on anus. Arms, stomach, and legs should relax. You need to do this around fifty to hundred times daily.

You can get requisite feedback of your efforts at the clinic when you attend your bi-monthly session. They use an intra-anal plug and connect it to a machine. This plug shows the activities of your sphincter muscles on a computer. This is the feedback of your exercise and resultant progress on your muscular activities. You can then accordingly assess the effectiveness of these specific exercises for solving problems of incontinence.

Before proceeding ahead with the clinical session, you need to take two enemas to clean your rectum. Thereafter the anal probe inside your rectum displays working of your sphincter muscles repeatedly. The entire process lasts for around half an hour. This is a safe and effective treatment for urinary and other disorders.

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12. Kegel Exercises

Kegel exercises are an effective tool against urinary incontinence in women.

They strengthen pelvic floor muscles and improve functioning of the urethra and rectal sphincter muscles. You need to do such exercises with specific techniques regularly to yield the best results. These exercises were initially for solving incontinence problems after childbirth in women.

Pelvic muscles support pregnancy and childbirth. Besides, they form the backbone of your urinary system. Obesity, pelvic surgery, or childbirth could weaken these muscles in women. However, prostate surgery could have the same weakening effect on pelvic muscles in men. Nevertheless, exercises strengthen all types of muscles. Hence, adhering to regular Kegel exercises can solve many incontinence problems. Though this is effective in women, men can take advice from doctors before proceeding ahead with such exercises.

There are many layers of muscles between your legs in the pelvic region.

These attach to your pelvic bones from all sides. Of these, two main muscles control your urinary system and typical functioning of your urinary bladder.

You need to strengthen these two muscles specifically.

When and How to do

Although you can do these exercises at anytime of the day, while reading, watching television, while driving your car, and so on; best results are when you concentrate and do them early morning or before retiring to bed at night.

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practicing for some months. You notice definite changes after around twelve weeks, although slight improvements are seen after a few weeks.

It is essential for you to do these exercises perfectly to achieve the best results.

Hence, initially you could do it with the help of doctors or nurses. You need to pull in or squeeze the pelvic muscles for ten seconds. Then you rest for ten seconds. You repeat this for around five minutes continuously. To check whether you are exercising properly, you place your finger in your vagina. If you feel pressure around your finger, you are on the right track.

Alternatively, you can identify these muscles by stopping your urination midway purposefully and then allowing it to flow out normally. These pelvic floor muscles contract and squeeze your anus and urethra. Hence, when you practice these exercises you can visualize urinating and then contract those muscles controlling urination. If your buttocks or stomach muscles tighten, then you are exercising the wrong muscles. You can do these five-minute sessions twice daily. It gets easier with time and regular practice.

Initially you can do these exercises with your knees together, either in lying or sitting positions. You should not exert any pressure on your back, or

abdominal and thigh muscles. All muscles need to relax except those around the vagina.

When you become familiar with these exercises, you can increase the count to eight, then to ten and so on. You could now keep your knees apart while exercising. However, once you are able to control your incontinence problem through this exercise, it is better not to stop doing them totally. Instead, you could continue doing them 2-3 times a week.

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Effects of Kegel Exercises

You can do your Kegel exercises while listening to music. Regular exercising could cure your urinary problems and eliminate the need to undergo any surgery at all. It is essential for you to tighten these muscles before sneezing or coughing to prevent damage to them.

You can combine your Kegel exercises with biofeedback techniques to

understand the right technique and analyze the results. Many different techniques measure and record your abdominal pressure. This, with movement of bladder muscles gives a clear picture of improvement in your urinary system.

Kegel exercises do not pose any health risks and are a safe remedy to stress and urge incontinence in women.

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13. Natural Healing

Incontinence in simple terms is defined as the inability to control one’s bladder. The reason for incontinence may vary from obesity, urinary tract infection, nerve disorders, prostrate problems, spinal cord injuries, or aging.

Do you know that being overweight can cause incontinence? An obese body develops chunks of fat around the abdomen. This fat exerts pressure on the bladder that may result in incontinence. The natural way to treat incontinence is to lose weight that would result in reduction of fat accumulation around the abdomen.

There are many diets on the market now. In fact, one amazing so called miracle after another. I've personally had some great success and many failures in the dieting department. I learned a few really good "secrets."

Exercise is a MUST

Secret: Exercise before breakfast. You burn carbs at night. Your morning exercise will burn fat.

Secret: You don't have to kill yourself. Three ten-minute walks are great. If you can't walk ten minutes, do what you can until you break out into a sweat.

Experts say you need approximately a half-hour of walking per day, but you can do your walks broken up.

Choosing your diet: You know what? It's plain confusing. High carb, low carb, low fat, high fat, food combinations and liquid diets, and starvation are all being scrutinized. What's good and what's bad?

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Well, consider this: Your body burns calories. Your body burns more calories when you exercise. When you give your body less calories than what it needs, it loses weight. However, if you continue to deprive it you will end up with a yo-yo syndrome.

Answer: Eat six smaller meals per day. This helps your body not worry about not being fed. You see if the body thinks it is not getting fed, it goes into protection mode. Hence, it sees you are not eating so it slows the metabolism.

Then it sees you are eating and it will want to slow the metabolism to save what you eat into fat.

Conclusion: When you look at a diet, look at it as can you eat like that for the rest of your life? If you can, then you have the diet that will work for you. No one can live on 15 carb diets per day, every day of their life, and no one can live on starvation the rest of their life, unless they want a short life. Eat vegies, eat fruit, drink water, eat fish, walnuts and other good for you foods, and do not stuff yourself.

Last secret: Never eat 3 hours before bed. That's a sure start to losing weight. If weight is your problem, get busy. You

can download this report right now, and read up on how to

lose 52 pounds in a year… easily. It's free. A gift for you:

http://www.tipsfortop.com/weightsecrets.pdf

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Homeopathic Treatment

If you wish to go for homeopathic treatment for incontinence, you can try Causticum. Causticum is effective in treating incontinence. Usually, a 6C dose after a spilling accident helps to control it. Sometimes, it may not produce the desired result. Incontinence may also result in bladder irritation that further makes the conditio