Certain foods and beverages have been shown to contribute to urgency, frequency or urge incontinence. Caffeine and alcohol are big offenders! Many people are unaware of how much caffeine they ingest in a single day. They often just remember the one or two cups of coffee that they Dr.ink in the morning, forgetting the cola Dr.ink with lunch and the cup of tea in the afternoon. Foods, beverages and products which should be avoided:
Tea
Coffee
Alcohol
Chocolate
Nicotine
Women with mild or intermittent symptoms may require only reassurance and simple measures such as decreased fluid intake and avoidance of the above irritants. The majority of patients will require further treatment.
Medication
Many patients with urge incontinence often can be treated effectively using medication and bladder re-training. There are a number of medications available to treat urge incontinence. Some of the more common anti-cholinergic or anti-spasm medications are:
Ditropan
Ditropan XL (slow releasing - one tablet per day)
Detrol
Tofranil
Levsin
Propantheline
Contraindications or reasons why the above medications should not be taken include:
Acute (narrow) angle glaucoma --- untreated
Gastric retention
Severe constipation
Allergies to this type of medicine
Estrogen is also considered a helpful medication in the treatment of urinary incontinence. It works by increasing the blood supply to the vagina and urethra making the urethra more substantial and watertight.
Timed Voiding
This involves urinating on a set schedule during the day regardless of the need or urge to void. For example, a patient would urinate every two hours during the waking hours. This is an attempt to pre-empt the urge incontinence episodes before they occur. However, there is no goal at increasing the interval between voids. This form of behavioral therapy is useful in older adults or other individuals for whom bladder retraining is not an option. This is one way of treating urge incontinence.
