Wearing Pads Will Fast Track You into a Care Home

As soon as we begin to walk, the involuntary loss of urine is socially stigmatising. Whether this is in school, at work, or in the nursing home – incontinence is a taboo that we must hide.

We can go to great lengths to hide the fact that we suffer from urinary incontinence. We wear black – wet patches will be less noticeable. We use sanitary protection products – we’d rather pad the problem than talk about it! Sound like you? It’s time to face the music and end your suffering once and for all. Read on to learn all about how incontinence affects us when we age.

How Common is Incontinence for Older Adults?

Incontinence affects more than 1 in 5 older adults – with up to 65% of nursing home residents suffering from urinary incontinence (and majority also suffer from faecal incontinence too!).

Around 20% of older adults are also limited in their ability to enjoy activities as a result of incontinence. Nearly 90% of incontinence nursing home residents have significant mobility problems – limiting their lifestyle choices.

There has also been a link discovered between incontinence and dementia.

What is Urge Incontinence?

Urge incontinence is the most common type of incontinence in late middle to older age adults. This is where the urge to urinate is felt suddenly, rather than gradually – this can sometimes be just moments before urine is involuntarily released.

This sudden urge often leaves you racing to the bathroom, and this is where even more harm can be caused. The race to the bathroom can lead to falls that may have not otherwise occurred.

Urinary incontinence increases the risk of hospitalisation and significantly increases the risk of admission to a nursing home, no matter your age, gender, or the presence of other disease conditions. The risk of admission to a nursing home is 2 times higher for incontinent women, and 3.2 times greater for incontinent men.

What is Stress Incontinence?

Stress incontinence is more common in older women than men due to natural lifestyle factors, such as childbirth and the menopause. In fact, urinary incontinence is twice as common in women as in men – affecting 1 in 3 older women.

Stress incontinence is the involuntary leakage of urine during physical movement, e.g. laughing, coughing, sneezing, running, or heavy lifting.

How Can You Prevent Incontinence?

We all laugh and joke about wetting ourselves when we’re old, but it is important to remember than incontinence is common, but not normal! That’s why Kegel8 have produced a list of top tips to prevent incontinence from occurring.

• Kegel! – The first recommend line of conservative treatment for pelvic floor weakness and incontinence is pelvic floor exercises. Toning and strengthening your pelvic floor will help to prevent the muscles from becoming weak, allowing them to fully support your bladder and bowel. Sometimes we need a little helping hand – the Kegel8 Ultra 20 Electronic Pelvic Toner will do all of the work for you! Sit back and relax whilst the Ultra 20 strengthens your pelvic floor for leak-proof protection.
• Nurture your Pelvic Floor – Collagen is the vital glue that keeps our pelvic floor in place, but unfortunately, we lose it as we age. As our body loses collagen, our muscles lose elasticity, meaning that a weak pelvic floor and prolapse of the pelvic organs is much more likely. Try nourishing your pelvic floor with Hydrolysed Collagen in boost muscle, energy and vitality!
• Get the Knack – Whenever you are about to cough or sneeze, try ‘The Knack’ manoeuvre. This is where you consciously contract your pelvic floor muscles before and whilst your bladder is under pressure. When performed correctly, it can have a 98% success rate!
• Try the Quick Flick – When that sudden urge takes over, try contracting your pelvic floor muscles quickly, 3-5 times, to reduce the need to urinate. This can help you go longer between each toilet trip.
• Stop the Strain – Prevent constipation and straining by using a . Constipation can result in weakened pelvic floor muscles, back pain, piles and even prolapse! Using a stool can help get you in the perfect position for bowel elimination.