How to talk to your doctor about a leaky bladder

Having urinary incontinence can be uncomfortable and embarrassing. Here’s how a telehealth appointment can help — plus, possible treatments.

You were watching a comedy special with your family when it happened. You were laughing hard and suddenly felt some wetness, and your face immediately went red with embarrassment.

What happened to you isn’t some rare condition. It’s rather common, and it’s called urinary incontinence (UI), or a loss of bladder control. In fact, at least 25% of American adults experience UI.

UI tends to affect women twice as often as men, and the result can be anything from a small dribble to the type of accident where you might miss the bathroom. UI becomes more common as you age. It may also result from being overweight, childbirth, chronic conditions (such as diabetes or multiple sclerosis), menopause or prostate problems.

While UI can be a source of embarrassment and shame, it’s not something you’ll want to put off talking to your doctor about. Learn what UI is, the available treatments, and how to confidently talk to your doctor about it.

Did you know that you can set up an appointment with your doctor virtually? Call a licensed insurance agent at (800) 827-9990 to talk about your telehealth options, or online today.

What is urinary incontinence, and what are the most common types?

Urinary incontinence, or UI, happens when your body has a loss of bladder control. But not all UI is created equal; there are different types of incontinence. Three of the most common types are:

• Stress incontinence is what happened when you laughed during that comedy special. Bodily movements that activate the pelvic floor muscles, which may cause it, include laughing, coughing, exercise and sneezing. The pelvic floor muscles surround the uterus, bladder, large intestine and rectum. If they’re strong enough, they can help stabilize those muscles and can help both men and women who have issues with UI. If they’re weak though, that’s when you may experience a urine leak.
• Urgency incontinence is a sudden, strong urge to urinate. You might have trouble holding it before reaching the bathroom, and you may experience leaks. It could also be a sign of other diseases or conditions, so it’s especially important to talk to your doctor about it.
• Mixed incontinence occurs when you experience a mix of both stress incontinence and urgency incontinence.

Set up a virtual appointment with your doctor to talk about your symptoms. Call a licensed insurance agent at (800) 827-9990 to talk about telehealth options today.

How can your doctor treat urinary incontinence?

Thankfully, doctors have multiple ways to treat UI — and some of them just involve learning new things or eating better (i.e., things you can do at home). But it all depends on which type you have. Here are several options:

1. Training your bladder. You’ll teach yourself how to go to the bathroom at specific times and gradually add time between bathroom visits. As time goes by, your bladder will learn to hold more urine before you get the urge to urinate again.
2. Doing pelvic floor exercises (aka Kegel exercises). These exercises are meant to mimic having to urinate and holding it. You’ll relax and tighten the muscles that control your urine flow. It’s important to locate the right muscles to tighten, whether they be in your vagina, bladder or anus. You’ll want to perform them while seated, and it’s important not to do them while you’re urinating or when you have a full bladder.
3. Tweaking your diet. Sometimes, UI can be triggered by certain things in your diet, such as caffeine, alcohol and citrus fruits, all of which can irritate your bladder. Cutting them out of your diet may help ease UI symptoms.
4. Using a pessary. This is a removable device that you can put in and take out of your vagina to support the pelvic organs and the muscles surrounding them. This would be most likely used for stress incontinence and be a way to avoid surgery.
5. Having surgery. In some cases, surgery might help offset the symptoms of UI. One option would be having a surgical mesh sling placed under the urethra, like a hammock, to support it and provide pressure to keep the urethra opening closed.

Can you do a virtual visit with your doctor for urinary incontinence questions?

Some people may be embarrassed to talk with their doctor, one on one, about their bladder-related issues. That’s where a telehealth, or virtual, visit can come in handy. That way, you can talk about urine leakage issues with your doctor from the comfort of your own home.

Of course, if your doctor thinks your symptoms may sound serious — or could be the symptom of another health condition — they may have you schedule an in-office visit. Your doctor may refer you to a specialist such as a urogynecologist or urologist (doctors who specialize in diseases of the urinary tract). Specialists will be able to further treat you and help get you on a path to feeling better.

Telehealth can also be used for follow-up visits and may even keep you healthier in the process. A 2022 study by Harvard researchers found that women who did follow-up visits to treat their UI issues showed significant improvement in their urinary symptoms and had less urine leakage between their first and last telehealth visits.

Bottom line: Having a leaky bladder isn’t always the most comfortable thing to talk about with your doctor. But knowledge about the types of UI you might be experiencing, trying the available treatments, and having access to telehealth will all make the process of feeling better easier.

Have more questions about telehealth? Call a licensed insurance agent at (800) 827-9990 to talk about your options.