Urinary incontinence (or nocturnal enuresis) is a phenomenon characterized by a lack of flow control urinary and, therefore, urine leakage during the night, what we commonly call "bed wetting". This problem usually affects the child population but with the passage of time and thanks to education and training to control the bladder, its incidence is reduced until, since it is almost non-existent in the adolescence. Despite this, there is around 0.5%1 of adults who suffer from this disorder either at specific times (occasional nocturnal enuresis) or on a regular basis. It is usually a topic that causes discomfort or shame when talking about it but, luckily, it is solvable through a series of treatments and tools. In this Psychology-Online article, we will explain in detail the causes of urinary incontinence and how to cure nocturnal enuresis in adults.
It may be that urinary incontinence comes with a basic physical cause, in this case it is important to know that it may be a symptom of another medical condition
- Congestive heart failure
- Prostate cancer
- Urinary infection
- Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)
- Stones in the urinary tract
- Dementia
For this reason, it is very important that we go to the doctor first so that he or she performs a series of physical examinations and medical tests to examine and rule out these possible causes.
Urinary incontinence in adults too may be related to an underlying psychological cause or with emotional and mental disorders. Depression, stress, or anxiety can lead to episodes of this condition. For this, it would be interesting to identify the underlying problem and treat it with therapies focused on relaxation for anxiety, the mindfulness2 for depression and psychopharmacological treatments (i.e. the use of pills to prevent night urination) if necessary.
It is important to note that nocturnal enuresis is a disease that in turn causes stress among adults (out of shame or modesty), therefore, psychological treatment should also try to understand this variable.
Once all those mental and physical diseases have been ruled out, you may suffer from nocturnal enuresis simply due to the spontaneous contraction of the muscle that regulates the expulsion of urine. In this case, the key is to re-educate our body so that it regulates the action of going to the bathroom. There are several behavioral therapies for this, among which the following stand out:
Bladder training
It is a technique in which we must follow a very strict schedule to go to the bathroom while it is daytime or we are awake, approximately every two or three hours. In addition, it is combined with relaxation techniques to suppress stress and the urge to urinate at other times.
Control of fluid intake
In this case, we must restrict when we drink, for example, not drink before going to bed or wait two or three hours to do so if we have ingested fluids. It is also advised not to drink fluids that irritate the bladder during the day, such as alcohol or caffeine. However, this therapy recommends that we drink two liters of water a day, since concentrated urine also irritates the bladder.
Kegel exercises
These are based on the training of the pelvic muscles, it consists of squeezing the muscles that surround the bladder firmly for a couple of seconds, then, they relax in a space of approximately ten seconds and the operation is repeated ten more times for three times a day. Despite being a very effective exercise, it is sometimes difficult to learn to control the correct muscles, so it is necessary to consult a doctor or someone specialized in this type of exercise to receive instructions correct.
Progress begins to be seen in the first few months and complete healing can take one or two years, so we must begin to follow these guidelines with patience and desire to solve this problem to achieve our goal final.
There is also the possibility of curing involuntary urination through home remedies that we can do ourselves, such as those indicated below:
- Cranberry juice
- Herbal infusions such as lemon balm and fennel
- Aromatherapy with cypress oil
These remedies can serve as an aid to treat urinary incontinence, however it should be emphasized that you should go to a doctor first and that these natural solutions work differently in each person.
If you want to discover more natural treatments like these, you can consult the article Home remedies for nocturnal enuresis in adults.
This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
