Stop smoking
Being a smoker can weaken your pelvic floor muscles that control urination, because smokers cough more often than non-smokers. Coughing weakens the pelvic floor muscles, and increases the risk of embarrassing leaks of urine.
Avoid lifting
Lifting strains the pelvic floor muscles, so avoid lifting whenever you can. If you do have to lift something, perform the pelvic floor exercises (see later in this book) both before and after lifting.
Avoid high-impact exercises
Exercises like running or weight-lifting, that put a lot of pressure on muscles and joints, have been shown to weaken pelvic floor muscles.
So try lower impact exercises like swimming, pilates or yoga instead.
And do not perform sit-ups, as these directly strain the pelvic muscles.
Lose weight
Being overweight also strains pelvic floor muscles, so lose weight through proper diet and low-impact exercise.
Empty your bowels and treat constipation quickly
Having constipation often leads to straining when trying to empty your bowels. This can strain or even tear pelvic floor muscles.
So always go to the toilet as soon as you feel the need.
If you are constipated and bowel movement is difficult, then treat it gently.
To minimise the risks of constipation or bowel problems, eat a diet high in fibre.
Cut down on caffeine
Caffeine is a diuretic that increases the need to urinate. It irritates the bladder wall and can make incontinence a bigger problem.
So, avoid caffeinated drinks. Coffee is the biggest offender, but black and green tea, energy drinks, hot chocolate and many fizzy drinks also contain caffeine.
And some medical treatments (such as cold or flu capsules) can also contain caffeine.
So always check the labels, and drink decaffeinated versions of drinks.
Drink lots of water
Many of us do not drink enough water anyway, so drinking more is good for general health, but if you suffer from incontinence, then drinking 6 to 8 large glasses of water or liquid a day will help.
It sounds odd that if you are incontinent, you should drink more, but many incontinent people cut down what they drink. This can make incontinence worse, as the bladder shrinks and so can hold less fluid.
Drinking less fluid can also make bowel movements more difficult and constipation more common. And reducing the volume of liquid drunk can increase the risk of urinary tract infections that can make incontinence worse. UTIs can even be fatal in older people (I have had several female members of my family die from UTIs they caught because of incontinence).