HealthInfo Canterbury
Treating urinary incontinence
Treatment for urinary incontinence includes non-surgical and surgical methods.
Non-surgical treatment
Non-surgical treatment includes lifestyle changes, pelvic floor muscle training, bladder retraining and medication.
Lifestyle changes
- Avoid too much caffeine as it can increase the amount of urine your body makes. Limit caffeinated drinks to two to three cups per day. Caffeine is in coffee, tea, energy drinks and cola drinks.
- Space drinks throughout the day.
- Avoid drinking too much before bedtime.
- Stay a healthy weight.
Pelvic floor muscle training
Pelvic floor exercises can help you retrain and strengthen weak or damaged pelvic floor muscles.
Bladder retraining
Bladder retraining aims to:
- overcome urinary urgency
- increase the amount of time between emptying your bladder
- increase the amount of fluid your bladder can hold.
Medication
If your symptoms continue, medications may help treat your bladder control problems. The medications aim to reduce your urge to pass urine as well as how often you pass urine.
Medications for bladder control problems include oxybutynin and solifenacin. If you're a post-menopausal woman, you may be prescribed vaginal estrogen.
Review all your medications with your GP or pharmacist. Some medications can make incontinence worse and there may be alternatives.
Surgical treatment
If non-surgical treatments don't help, your GP may refer you to the hospital to see a specialist.
The specialist may consider Botox treatment. There are also several types of surgery that might help treat bladder control problems. For information on Botox treatment and surgery for bladder control problems, see Urinary incontinence surgery and procedures from the United Kingdom's NHS.
The Ministry of Health document Considering surgical mesh to treat stress urinary incontinence gives you information about treating stress urinary incontinence with surgery including mesh and other options.
HealthInfo recommends the following pages
- NHS – Urinary incontinence
Information about incontinence, symptoms and treatments.
Written by HealthInfo clinical advisers. Page created November 2019.
SourcesReview key: HIURS-53047
