Maintaining a healthy bladder is an essential part of maintaining overall health and wellness. Keeping your bladder healthy can help you avoid urinary conditions such as incontinence, frequent urination, and bladder infections. This article will provide you with some tips and tricks on how to do just that! Read on to learn more about how to achieve urinary wellness.
1. Optimize Bladder Health with These Simple Habits
Maintaining good bladder health isn’t something most of us think about – until something goes wrong. But there are a few simple changes you can make that will help you keep things running smoothly and take good care of your bladder.
Here are some habits that you can incorporate into your daily life to help optimise your bladder health.
- Make sure you’re drinking enough water in a day – and avoiding too much caffeine or alcohol.
- Empty your bladder completely whenever you go to the bathroom.
- Do not wait for the urge to use the bathroom – it’s best to go when you plan to, even if you don’t have the urge.
- If it’s getting hard to control urges, set a timer to remind yourself to go to the bathroom every couple of hours.
- Contract and release your pelvic floor muscles (kegels) a few times each day.
Lastly, if you find you’re having consistent issues, it’s important to talk to your doctor. Together you can figure out the best approach to ensuring good bladder health and preventing any further problems.
2. Tips to Reduce Stress on the Bladder
Having an overactive bladder can be more than just a pelvic floor problem. It may result in severe stress and anxiety. If you’re dealing with overactive bladder, it is important to maintain mental balance and relaxation. To help you manage stress, here are a few tips:
- Stay Hydrated: Drinking plenty of fluids is essential for a healthy bladder. But make sure to avoid beverages like tea, coffee, alcohol, and soda. It’s best to stick to drinking at least 8 glasses of water throughout the day.
- Take Breaks: When you’ve been on your feet for a while, take regular breaks. Make sure to take time out for yourself to relax and rest before you reach a point of exhaustion.
- Manage Medication: Talk to your doctor about medication side-effects which may cause bladder irritation or stress. It may help to find other medications which can help reduce bladder irritation while managing your symptoms.
- Exercise: Regular exercise is a great way to reduce stress and keep your bladder healthy. Aim for brisk walks, yoga, or any other activity you enjoy. This will help keep your body and mind healthy, further helping reduce stress.
- Stay Positive: It can be easy to get overwhelmed with stress, but staying positive is essential. Focusing on the positive aspects of your life and staying motivated may help reduce stress levels.
These tips will help you reduce stress on your bladder and make sure you stay healthy. Try not to go overboard and make sure to speak to your doctor for advice.
3. Common Causes of Urinary Discomfort
Although urinary discomfort is a symptom that can have many causes, here are the three of the most prone to creating issues:
- Bladder Stones – These small hardened structures can form in the bladder, and may grow over time. Bladder stones can cause infections, pain, and sometimes block urinary flow.
- Infections – Urinary tract infections are a common cause of urinary discomfort. They cause a burning sensation when urinating, difficulty in urinating, and a need to go to the bathroom often.
- Urological Cancer – Cancer of the urinary tract can create discomfort when urinating, as well as a change in the color of the urine or blood in the urine. Prompt medical attention is essential if any of these symptoms are experienced.
Dehydration can also be a factor contributing to urinary discomfort. Proper hydration is important, and with the help of some dietary adjustments can help alleviate some discomfort. Additionally, regular exercise can help reduce the risk of infection and increase bladder muscle strength.
In most cases, urinary discomfort can be easily treated, or prevented by taking the measures mentioned above. However, if symptoms persist or worsen, consulting with a medical professional is essential.
4. Tools to Help Manage Urinary Health
Track your bladder symptoms. To determine if there is a problem with your urinary health, you need to be able to track your bladder symptoms. Using a bladder diary or app can allow you to easily keep a record of your urinary urgencies, frequency, and episodes of incontinence, as well as help you monitor other factors like fluid intake.
Pelvic muscle exercises. To help manage urinary health, it is important to exercise your pelvic floor muscles as this can help improve bladder control. Pelvic muscle exercises, also known as Kegels, can be done easily at home and are considered an effective treatment for urinary control.
Relaxation techniques. Stress and anxiety have a negative effect on our bodies, and urinary health is no exception. Relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, yoga, and massage can help reduce stress and provide relief from bladder irritability.
Bladder training/timed voiding. Bladder training or timed voiding can help you achieve better bladder control as it helps to retrain your bladder to wait longer before needing to empty. This includes setting regular times throughout the day to use the bathroom, even when you don’t feel the urge to go.
5. The Benefits of Good Bladder Health
- Reduced Risk of Infection – Maintaining good bladder health may reduce the risk of developing an infection. Urinary tract infections (UTIs) can be painful and cause discomfort, and having good control over your bladder can help limit the chance of such an infection.
- Boosted Cognitive Performance – The bladder plays an active role in many of the cognitive functions we rely on in everyday life. By taking preventive measures to maintain bladder health, you can help to keep your mind alert and functioning optimally.
- Increased Mobility – If bladder issues become so severe that you require incontinence pads, pads can hinder mobility and make it hard to travel. Sticking to a bladder health maintenance plan can help prevent this.
- Enhanced Quality of Life – Poor bladder control can severely impact your quality of life. Sufferers may need to frequently change pads, and this can be inconvenient and embarrassing. Maintaining bladder health helps to preserve your dignity and enjoy life to the fullest.
Good bladder health is important for physical and mental wellbeing. Knowing when and where to empty your bladder regularly is key to this, as is maintaining a healthy diet and engaging in exercise.
Bladder health issues can be incredibly hard to deal with. For example, they can affect your functioning and lifestyle choices, like how far you are able to travel away from a restroom. Interestingly, modern studies are now looking into the use of acupuncture for bladder control, as an alternative or supplemental form of treatment.
Making an effort to keep your bladder healthy for years to come may require lifestyle changes. For instance, reducing your caffeine and alcohol consumption, or managing your diabetes better. However, taking such precautions could pay off in the long run, as you can enjoy the numerous benefits that come with good bladder health.
If you’re familiar with the toll of a poor urinary health on your daily life, don’t risk it any longer—take action today to ensure you don’t experience more than the occasional discomfort. So take the plunge and take control of your bladder health today. You’ll be glad you did!
