Menopause incontinence is experienced by many women going through the problem of menopause. Incontinence refers to a situation where involuntary loss of urine takes place. Incontinence may also include a continuous urge that a woman may have to go to the bathroom and it is accompanied with a feeling of fullness in the urinary bladder. Menopause incontinence is extremely common with as many as 40% women experiencing it.

With some simple corrective measure menopause incontinence can be easily resolved. The urine produced by the kidneys is held in a sac called blader. When the bladder is full the urine needs to be expelled through the urethra and this happens with urination. The pelvic muscles and the sphincter is trained to keep the body from expelling the urine. During menopause women experience the need to go to the bathroom at inconvenient times.

During menopause the estrogen levels drop and this estrogen is responsible for keeping the lining within the bladder in healthy shape. Likewise estrogen is also responsible for keeping the urethra healthy. Estrogen also stimulates the blood flow in the pelvic region and this increases the strength of the pelvic muscles. With reduced estrogen the pelvic muscles become weaker and these muscles may not be strong enough to hold the bladder closed. This results in unwanted leakage of urine from time to time.

Menopause incontinence includes stress incontinence where leakage of urine occurs because of some sudden pressure on the abdomen that pushes down on the bladder. Sneezing, laughing, coughing and jumping can cause leakage. Urge incontinence is often experienced by menopausal women and in this women often feel the urge to go to the bathroom. Overflow incontinence occurs when the bladder does not empty completely and is filled quickly resulting in frequent trips to the bathroom. Leakage is quite common in this case.

Menopause incontinence can be handled by making some changes in the diet. Women should limit the consumption of caffeine to stop excess urination. Eating a balanced diet rich in vegetables and fruits along with whole grains can also help in reducing this problem. Drinking around 6 to 8 water glasses can help in flushing out bacteria that accumulate in the bladder. Kegel exercises can also help in reducing the problem of menopause incontinence. Kegel exercises help in strengthening the pelvic muscles. In these exercises the muscles around the urethra, vagina and anus are gently contracted. After holding on to this contraction for a few seconds the muscles should be relaxed.

Bladder retraining can also help in reducing menopause incontinence. This can be done by drinking water and delaying urination for around five minutes and slowly increasing this time to around 15 minutes. This will allow the bladder to hold greater amount of urine and the need to urinate will be felt less frequently. Some other options that can help in reducing incontinence include cones and balls. Cones and balls can be used and inserted so as to train the pelvic muscles to contract properly. Pessaries can also be used and these are little umbrellas that are used to hold the pelvis up and off the bladder. When the pessaries are inserted they decrease the pressure on the bladder. In case of continued incontinence bladder swings are used and surgically implanted in the pelvic region. This helps in supporting the bladder. Electrical stimulation can also be used. In this method electrical pulses are sent to the pelvic region and these trains the muscles to contract and thereby new nerves grow.