Managing Stress Incontinence with Confidence

(ARA) - Let's face it: If you're a woman, it's happened to you before. You sneeze or cough, and you feel a trickle of urine. You hear a funny joke and burst out laughing, and there it goes again. It can be annoying and embarrassing, but it's not debilitating -- mild stress incontinence is just a part of life.

According to the American Urogynecologic Society (AUGS), involuntary leaking has been experienced by more than 95 percent of women in their reproductive and post-menopausal years at one time or another.

While stress incontinence isn't completely preventable, there are easy ways for dealing with it comfortably and minimizing occurrences.

* Do Your Kegel Exercises
As women age, their pelvic floor muscles start to weaken. Being pregnant and giving birth are also often contributing factors.

Performing Kegel exercises on a regular basis is one of the best ways to minimize stress incontinence because it strengthens the muscles that control urine flow and helps support abdominal organs.

To find the specific muscles, target the ones you would use to stop the flow of urine. Pull in or squeeze these muscles, holding for 10 seconds. Take a 10 second rest, and repeat.

Since this exercise is so discreet, do your Kegels whenever you get the chance -- sitting at a traffic light or watching your favorite show -- you can do them anywhere without anyone knowing. Ask your doctor or nurse for more information on how to do them correctly.

* Wearable Options
While people with severe incontinence issues have both disposable and apparel options to choose from, until recently, only the disposable panty-liner addressed the much more common issue of mild stress incontinence.

myLACYS provides a comfortable, environmentally friendly alternative for the millions of women who deal with minor leaking issues on a regular basis. The innovative women's underwear has a thin and discreet pad built into the garment and features an outer layer made from a moisture barrier fabric which protect the wearer's clothing from minor leaks.

Carol Barge, inventor of myLACYS, explains that mild stress incontinence is a very common issue that women deal with.

"In the market studies and extensive research we completed during the R&D phase of product development, we found that even though most women don't like to talk about it, minor leaking issues do happen, they can happen somewhat often, and it's much more common than anyone would expect," she says. "But people should also realize that it's normal -- it doesn't have to discourage women from feeling healthy, active and confident in going about their daily lives."

Information on myLACYS and Carol Barge can be found at www.mylacys.com.

* Adjust Your Diet
While you shouldn't decrease your daily intake of water, drinking an excessive amount of caffeine each day can contribute to mild stress incontinence. Try to cut down on alcohol, coffee, soft drinks and other diuretic beverages. Adding more fiber to your diet can also help.

* Maintain Your Overall Health and Fitness
The same advice goes with almost everything you hear about keeping healthy as you age, and helping to minimize stress incontinence is no exception to the rule. Women who keep in shape and maintain a healthy weight may be less likely to experience the issue, since excess weight can put pressure on the bladder.

Furthermore, women who smoke are also more apt to experience leaking because of constant coughing. Kicking the habit will lead you toward a healthier life overall.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

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