Caffeine is a bladder irritant, meaning that it causes more urgency to urinate. It is also a diuretic, meaning that for every cup of caffeinated beverage that you drink, you will void more than that amount. Many people find that cutting back or eliminating their caffeine reduces symptoms of urgency and frequency.

People with incontinence must balance their intake of fluid and foods that have high fluid content. Too much fluid challenges the bladder and can exacerbate urgency, frequency, and urge incontinence.

On the other hand, many people who have incontinence fail to drink enough fluids. They may do this when they know that they will be going out for the day or visiting friends or relatives and do not want the embarrassment caused by urine leakage. This in turn leads to concentrated, dark colored urine. This concentrated urine is especially irritating to the bladder, and actually worsens symptoms. Proper hydration usually results in pale yellow urine. Urine may be bright yellow while taking vitamins.

Another common myth is that drinking a glass of water will cause immediate urination. Water doesn't go directly to the bladder. It is absorbed through the stomach, through the tissue of your body, then filtered through the blood supply to the kidneys. The excess is then routed to the bladder.

Bladder Retraining
Bladder retraining can help people with urgency, frequency, and urge incontinence. Bladder retraining involves urinating on a set schedule during the day. For example, a person who normally goes to the bathroom every hour (or even more frequently) during the day should start by urinating every hour. A kitchen timer or a pill box timer (available at your local pharmacy) can be used. This should be done for a week or so. Once it becomes easier, the intervals can be increased by 15 to 20 minute each week or two, until an interval of 3 to 4 hours is reached.

The aim of bladder retraining is to urinate according to the set interval, even when there is no urge to urinate. Urge suppression techniques can be helpful.

Urge Suppression
The bladder signals the brain that the bladder is full by sending a message through the nerves in the spinal cord. This is just a message about the filling status of the bladder, not a direct order to urinate. While practicing urge suppression, it is necessary to postpone urination at this point, as this is the worst time to try to get to the bathroom. Many people will leak urine, especially the closer they get to the bathroom.

Instead, it is necessary to sit down and take a few slow deep breaths. People who can do Kegel exercises properly may use them to help postpone urination. The tightening of the pelvic floor muscles will help kick in a natural reflux that quiets down the bladder. It may also be necessary to distract thoughts away from urination and to focus on some other activity.

Stress Incontinence Self-Help
Stress incontinence is the urine leakage that occurs with coughing, sneezing, exercising, laughing, or lifting something heavy. Sometimes, with particularly severe cases of stress incontinence, people can leak urine just when they stand up. People with stress incontinence usually do not get up more than twice a night to urinate. However, they may urinate very frequently during the day, in an effort to keep the bladder empty.

There are several new products on the market for stress urinary incontinence. There is a small suction-cup-like device available to women that is used to keep the walls of the urethra together during stressful activities. A small amount of Vaseline-like material is placed on the suction cup, which is then placed in the area of the urethral opening, just above the vaginal opening. The placement does not have to be exact, and once the device is in place the labia folds over it so that it cannot be seen or felt. The suction cup can be removed for urination and reused after washing with soap and water and drying.

Another type of product is an interurethral insert. This product requires a woman to insert a small catheter/plug into the urethra (the tube that the urine travels through from your bladder). Many find these devices to be comfortable. When it is time to urinate, the woman pulls a string, much like a tampon, to remove the device. After urination, she inserts a new device.

Pelvic Floor Exercises (Kegels)
When done faithfully and correctly, Kegels can help decrease urgency and help with both urge and stress incontinence. The pelvic floor muscle is like a hammock that stretches from the pubic bone in front to the tail bone in the back. It supports the organs of the pelvic region, including the bladder, large intestines, and uterus. Because this muscle is often not exercised, it is generally weak and can contribute to incontinence. Childbirth stretches this muscle more during vaginal delivery, causing further temporary damage/weakness. Once the muscle is strengthened again with Kegels, it can keep the urethra closed during stressful activities.

While practicing Kegels, most people imagine that they are trying to stop the flow of urine. Kegels should not be done while urinating, however, as this can lead to difficulty in urination. Stopping and restarting the stream of urine may be helpful at first in order to recognize the pelvic floor muscle (PFM).

One other way to identify this muscle is to imagine being in a social situation where the need to pass gas arises and must be suppressed. While contracting the PFM and tightening the muscles around the rectum and vagina, a small lifting motion can be felt. It should not involve the muscles of the abdomen, legs, or buttocks. This contraction gets easier with an exercise program.

After contracting the PFM, it should be held for as long as possible. A good initial goal is 10 seconds. In the beginning, it may be difficult to hold for more than 5 or 6 seconds, which is fine. There should be 10 seconds of relaxation between each hold. This allows the muscle to rest adequately before the next contraction and it prevents fatigue. 15 contractions, three times a day, is a good beginning program. If the muscle is difficult to contract during the session, it should not be pushed. This will cause some discomfort the next day and could actually worsen symptoms. It is more productive to concentrate on quality contractions.

For the second part of the program, the PFM is contracted for 1 or 2 seconds and then relaxed for 1 or 2 seconds. This should be repeated about 15 times. A little extra rest between holds is to be expected.

When done consistently, PFM exercises can improve incontinence in 4 to 6 weeks. Even bigger improvement typically occurs after the two-month mark.

The easiest way to continue Kegel exercises is to incorporate them into a daily routine, i.e. after waking, before sleep, and once or twice during the day. In the beginning it is easier to contract the PFM while lying down. Sitting is the next easiest position in which to exercise; standing and walking is the most difficult.