Treatment for urinary incontinence depends on the type you have, starting with self-management as the first step. If that doesn’t help, there are other treatments to try, based on the kind of incontinence you have.

Self-management

Diet
Pay attention to what you eat. Some foods, like spicy dishes, citrus fruits, and strong cheeses, can irritate your bladder and make urinary incontinence worse.
If you eat these foods often, try cutting them out for a while to see if your symptoms improve. If it does, you can decide if you want to keep avoiding them. If you miss these foods, try adding them back one at a time. This can help you figure out if a specific food makes your symptoms worse or if eating too many of them causes problems.
It can help to keep track of when, what, and how much you eat to see if any of these things make your symptoms worse.
Caffeine, alcohol and soft drinks
Caffeine, alcohol, and soft drinks don’t cause incontinence, but they can irritate the bladder and make some people need to pee more often or more urgently.
Cutting back on these drinks might help with your symptoms. Just keep in mind that even decaffeinated drinks can still have a little caffeine in them.
Fluids
Constipation (when you have difficulty passing stools) can make urinary incontinence worse. When you don’t go to the bathroom regularly, pressure builds up in your colon and pushes on your bladder. To help prevent this, it’s important to drink enough fluids and eat a balanced diet with plenty of vegetables, fibre, and fruits.
A healthy weight
Staying at a healthy weight can help with urinary incontinence, as being overweight is linked to it. If you lose weight, some of your symptoms might get better or even go away. This is because extra weight puts more pressure on your bladder. It can also make the muscles that control your bladder weaker.
Most people with urinary incontinence find that their symptoms get better or even go away with simple changes to their habits, so it's definitely worth trying.
Bladder training
Your doctor may suggest bladder training to help with your urinary incontinence. The first step is usually keeping a bladder diary.
A bladder diary can help you and your doctor understand patterns in your bathroom visits, which can help decide the best treatment for you. Here’s how to keep a bladder diary:
- Write down the times you use the bathroom during the day and night.
- Try to measure or guess how much urine you pass each time.
- Write down how much and what you drink, including water, tea, coffee, etc.
- Write down if you feel any discomfort or pain when you pee, or if you feel the need to go often.
- Write down how many times you wake up at night to go to the bathroom and how long you are awake each time.
Your doctor will use your diary to set up a bathroom schedule for you. By sticking to this schedule, you’ll slowly train your bladder to go longer between bathroom visits. If the training works, you'll have better control and be able to hold more urine or wait longer between trips to the bathroom.
Strengthening your pelvic floor muscles
Your pelvic floor muscles help control your bladder and bowel. If these muscles get weak, you might have urine leaks. This can happen as you get older, after an illness, or because of hormone changes.
For women, pregnancy and childbirth can weaken these muscles. For men, prostate surgery, especially for prostate cancer, can also make them weaker.
The good news is that pelvic floor exercises can help make these muscles stronger. If you do them the right way and stick with them, they can improve or even stop urinary incontinence. If your doctor thinks these exercises are right for you, they may send you to a physiotherapist who can show you the best exercises for your needs.

What aspect are you curious about?