Importance of staying hydrated during incontinence

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Importance of staying hydrated during incontinence
Urinary Incontinence is often looked at as an
embarrassing situation. Due to the nature of the
condition, one can never tell when you might
face an involuntary leakage and hence wish to
always be near a bathroom. Keeping this in mind
you often tend to cut down on your water intake
to avoid such accidents or cut the number of
visits to the bathroom or you could use diaper
pants for adults to ensure that you don't harm
your bladder in exchange of fewer bathroom
visits. But if you do cut down your water intake
you do more harm than good. It is understood that
dehydration can trigger incontinence. Staying
hydrated is one of the key requirements for the
entire body to function which includes the
bladder, kidneys and urethra. As per a study,
dehydration causes the urine inside your bladder
to become concentrated which thereby irritates
the bladder. Thus, leading to increased
urination. It is important that one continues
drinking water and doesn't allow their bodies to
feel dehydrated especially during summer. Often,
dehydration can lead to headaches, dizziness and
a lack of concentration on top of bladder
irritation. Inadequate hydration also leads to
constipation, which can indirectly cause urinary
incontinence when a strained bowel places
pressure on the bladder. Plus, the more
concentrated the urine, the stronger and more
noticeable the smell, which in turn causes more
embarrassment in case you do end up voiding
involuntarily. Establish good water habits -
Don't hold back when it comes to consuming water.
To avoid accidents, you can simply use diaper
pants for adults and follow a few simple things
to ensure the same Not too much, not too
little, just strike the right balance - Listen to
your body and drink as much water as it needs.
While some say that we need eight glasses of
water a day but your body type and level of
physical activity will surely give the right
indication of how much you may need. Another
titbit is the colour of your urine which tells
you how well hydrated you are. A dark yellow
colour signifies that you need more water,
whereas crystal clear urine means that you are
overhydrated. The colour of healthy urine is a
pale straw colour which tells you that you are
hydrated just the right amount. If you are unable
to gauge the colour you could even give your
diaper pants for adults a peek after use to
understand better. Keep a bladder diary -
Maintaining a proper bladder diary is one of the
best ways of tracking the relationship between
your fluid intake and the frequency of urination.
It also helps you track the occurrence of
accidents or leakages that happen in tandem with
what fluid and how much of it you were having at
the time. This, thereby, helps you understand
just the right amount of fluid intake. If the
visits do increase you can opt to use elderly
diapers to better manage your situation.
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Drink when thirsty - Are you one of those who cut
down on water before a meeting or any event, even
though you are parched? Don't do that, as
dehydration at any given time is not good news
and hence not good for your body and bladder.
You could rather opt to take small, frequent sips
to ensure that you aren't thirsty. And, you can
even choose to use elderly diapers that will
help you manage incontinence in situations like
these. Stick to water - Sugary and alcoholic
beverages tend to cause bladder irritation and
don't even hydrate you optimally. It is best to
stick with water or probably herbal tea during
the day. If you struggle to drink plain water,
you could maybe flavour them with a few slices of
lemon, strawberry or mint to make it a refreshing
drink. On top of that, you could manage urine
leakage by giving underpads a try when going to
bed. Limit your fluid intake before bedtime - If
you feel you are more prone to accidents during
the night, then try having your last drink a
while before you go to bed. Do try avoiding
caffeinated drinks or alcohol before bedtime as
it tends to cause more irritation in the bladder
and thereby cause accidents. To be extra sure and
certainly more comfortable you could opt for
underpads during bed to have a sound
sleep. Hydration is key to managing incontinence
- Keeping this motto in mind and making elderly
diapers your best friend, you can manage
involuntary leakage like a pro.