Why do I pee when I laugh?

  Try not to be embarrassed, we all urinate or micturate (medical term). It happens to a lot of people, both men and women but more-so in women. Urinary incontinence is treatable. Please do not sit and suffer (in urine) alone. 

  There are different types of incontinence, most common types are: stress incontinence-means you might urinate while coughing/sneezing/laughing/exercising or even bending over or picking something heavy up. 

  Urge incontinence can happen when you feel like you need to urinate and cannot get to the bathroom in time. Then there is a mixture of the two types. There are treatment options, unfortunately some are not covered by insurance. Some options to help prevent the leakage are totally controllable… like smoking cigarettes and alcohol consumption. Have you ever heard of pelvic floor physical therapy? It is exercise for your pelvic floor muscles. Doing Kegels can be helpful and if you become my patient, I will teach you how to do kegels and make sure you are using the appropriate muscles. 

  There are also things that you can do to train your bladder and gain more control over your pelvic floor muscles and also make it easier on your bladder. Taking frequent bathroom breaks can be helpful. Avoiding food/drinks that irritate your bladder can also be helpful. Weight loss is a big helper for many diseases and medical issues. For patients that feel like they need to urinate all the time, diet is a large part of what irritates the bladder… Overactive bladder is a different subject but still relevant. There are lasers that can be used but they are not approved by the FDA, and are not covered by insurance, but they can improve stress incontinence by 90+%! There are surgical options, devices, and medication that can be used as well depending on the type of incontinence.

  My menopausal women, estrogen can be helpful! Please do not be fearful. Again, all causes are treatable and there is no need to think you just need to live with it. Please get help! 

Be well!

The information provided in this blog is for educational purposes only and is not to be used as medical advice.