Hallos 😀 I hope you’ve had a great day so far?

I came across this article from a Harvard Medical School newsletter. It gives five tips to prevent urinary incontinence. Urinary incontinence, by the way, refers to inability to control the bladder which may range from occasional leaks when one coughs to sudden urge to urinate followed by voiding of urine if the person doesn’t get to the toilet on time.

Exercise or some form of physical activity was found to be protective of incontinence. Remember that the standard recommendation is a minimum of 150 minutes of exercise per week. You can get this done in so many different ways:

• Use the stairs instead of the elevators
• Dance when getting ready for work
• Park your car farther than you would normally do and walk the distance
• Get off your bus a bus stop away from your usual stop and walk
• Get your driver (chauffeur) to stop you by the gate of your house or office and walk
• Send your documents in the office to a printer farther away from you and go pick it up
• Encourage your HR department to put the water dispenser farther away from the offices to encourage people to walk. Putting them in the stairwell and having some hidden speakers provide some music is a great idea
• Arm wrestle with anyone who cares to take you on.
• Try and participate in the house chores instead of getting your house keeper to do them all
• Take a 30 minute walk every evening
• Install a reminder in your laptop to remind you to take ‘activity breaks’ every hour. Example, stretch clock

Honestly, if you put your mind to it, there are a gazillion ways of ensuring you get your 30 minutes of exercise daily. Remember that you need to get as much activity as possible into each day as opposed to trying to do all the 150 minutes at once over the weekend. This may over-stretch your heart.

Excess weight  is believed to weaken pelvic floor muscles causing leaks when one coughs or sneezes. So, if overweight, try losing some weight. It may be helpful

Ensuring that your diet has adequate sources of fiber and water may also prevent incontinence, because straining at stool may also weaken pelvic floor muscles. Fiber adds bulk to your stool and together with water, prevent constipation.

Alcohol and caffeine and alcohol have been linked to incontinence and in this instance (urge incontinence) one feels the urge to urinate even when there is very little fluid in the bladder. Other food substances that are implicated in this include the sweetener, aspartame, spicy foods, carbonated drinks etc

Smoking has been implicated in several health conditions and also makes an appearance here. Nicotine (found in cigarettes) has been associated with incontinence. So, if you smoke, don’t reduce the amount you smoke…just stop 😀 If you don’t smoke, don’t start.

Have a productive week y’all 😀