HELP FOR A LEAKY BLADDER

HELP FOR A LEAKY BLADDER

Incontinence is a subject that is pushed under the carpet.

Women hate to air the problem, even to a practitioner.  Men clam up on any topic involving their manly parts and children are petrified that their friends will find out and make their lives a misery by teasing, especially at school.   Yet the problem is rife.

If you believe that incontinence is only associated with senility and old people vegetating in a nursing home, think again.   A leaky bladder is no respecter of persons. Whether you are old, young, pregnant or still in school uniform, you could find yourself the next victim.

Frequent, excessive or uncontrollable urination is usually a symptom of some underlying health problem.

Whether the cause is diabetes, stress, gout or kidney stones, anyone suffering incontinence should be checked by a practitioner in the first instance. 

Dr Arikian has had a lot of success in treating Adults and Children with this problem with Cranio Sacral treatment, and often Reiki can help, however,  the following list covers some basic, common sense rules to make life easier :

Constipation

An overloaded, impacted bowel will only add more pressure if your pelvic muscles are lax. (see our other posts for help)

Smoking

Coughing can exacerbate your bladder weakness.

Diuretics

Whether you are taking fluid tablets for premenstrual tension, weight problems or blood pressure, check with your practitioner in case they are contributing to your incontinence.  Remember that commonly used alcohol, coffee and tea all have a diuretic action.

Don’t overwork your kidneys

With concentrated liquids like coffee, tea, colas, soft drinks, pure juices and alcohol.

The human race evolved on natural water. That is what your urinary system thrives on, so do not pander to your taste buds at the expense of your precious kidneys.

Chlorine

This is an annoying irritant to mucous membranes. Whether drinking chlorinated water or swimming in a chlorinated pool, either way the chemical penetrates your external orifices and interferes with the linings of the body.   Weak bladders can well do without this added hazard.

One of the most prevalent causes of incontinence revolves around the pH, or acid/alkaline balance of urine produced by our bodies.

Normal urine always contains some uric acid as a result of our everyday metabolic processes.  The trouble starts when the urine becomes too heavily acid.  The nerve endings in the bladder are very close to the surface and these nerves act as an early warning system to alert you when the bladder needs emptying.

An unusual degree of urinary acidity reacts on the nerve endings in the same way as a full bladder does and that is why you keep running to the loo, only to find that what comes out hardly warrants the degree of urgency felt, which is what happens when you experience a cystitis attack.  It burns, scalds or niggles when you have a wee.

One of the most neglected therapies for urinary incontinence involves the food that we eat.

Exercises are helpful and will contribute to muscular tonicity, but muscles – and the nerves that stimulate them rely on the basic construction materials such as protein, vitamins and minerals to maintain their integrity.

Muscles fall into a category of connective tissue.  Just as our eyes need vitamin A to make ‘visual purple’ and our bodies need vitamin D to prevent rickets, so our connective tissue depends on essential nutrients for maintenance and repair.

Even when muscles are not being used, a certain degree of tension generally remains.  This residual amount of contraction is termed ‘muscle tone’.

Distension of the bladder activates ‘stretch’ receptors in the bladder wall and stimulates the expression of urine by contracting the abdomen and relaxing the pelvic muscles.  Contractile potential of muscles is initiated by the mineral calcium.  Therefore a deficiency of dietary calcium will reflect on the resilience or tone of muscle tissue.

The two main constituents of connective tissue are elastin and collagen.

Elastic fibers impart stretchability and bounce to tissues. This is especially important in structures that have to expand and contract regularly in order to function normally e.g. the bladder. 

Elastic fibres are composed principally of a protein called elastin.   Copper, vitamin K and glycine (found abundantly in gelatine) are all necessary to consolidate elastic fibrils into a strong fabric.

Collagenous fibres are tough and inelastic with enormous tensile strength.  They are rich in the proteins lysine and proline, on which their structure depends. The incorporation of these two amino acids into collagen structure requires vitamin C.   Therefore consistently low dietary intake of this nutrient will disrupt the normal assembly of collagen.

Degeneration of collagenous material is prevented by an adequate supply of a broad spectrum of vitamins and minerals.  These include sulphur, calcium, magnesium, silica, phosphorus, fluorine, iron, sodium, copper, manganese and zinc, as well as vitamins A, B, C and E. Many of these factors are conjugated in our bodies to form essential compounds such as :

Calcium fluoride

This cell salt maintains the quality of elasticity in muscular and connective tissue. A deficiency of calcium fluoride results in diminished stretchiness and to consequent relaxation of fibers. Its main function is to preserve the contractile power, or ‘tonicity’, of elastic tissue. Without the support of calcium fluoride your muscles will start to take on the shape of a well-slept-in hammock.

Iron phosphate

Many bodily faults and weaknesses are enhanced, or directly caused, by poor circulation. If nutrients and wastes are not properly distributed and disposed of, tissues not only starve but clog up with toxins. Iron phosphate ensures a freely circulating, oxygen-rich bloodstream to all parts of the body.

If you compare your bloodstream to a living river, then lack of this cell salt will promote stagnation.

Sodium phosphate

If your inability to retain urine is due to nervous debility, then this tissue salt may cure your problems.  Check for other nervous aches, sleeplessness, depression, weariness or grumpiness. A general feeling summarized as ‘lack of pep’ would definitely indicate that potassium phosphate is worth a try.

Sodium chloride

This cell salt plays a vital role in the body’s fluid control mechanism.  If you feel an involuntary release of urine while walking around, and you experience a craving for salt and salty foods, then sodium chloride tablets should be given a trial. (N.B. Don’t confuse this tissue salt with ordinary table salt.)

 (These tissue salts can be bought in most health food shops at a low price.)

In the days of our grandparents, there were always herbalists present, crammed with dried flowers and plants of many varieties, with mixed scents of chamomile blossoms, peppermint leaves, lavender ears and thyme. Here are some of the tried and true botanical aids :-

Three herbs that are specifically recommended for urinary incontinence in the British Herbal Pharmacopoeia are Agrimony, Equisetum and Sweet Sumach.

An excellent tea can be made by using two parts of Horsetail to one part Agrimony and Sweet Sumach.  A cup should be drunk regularly, three times a day.

Another useful decoction is made from equal parts of White Pond Lily, Sweet Sumach, White Poplar Bark, Bistort and Valerian. Mix all the plants together and steep a heaped teaspoon in a cup of boiling water. Take one cup an hour before each meal and on going to bed.   Drink at least four cups a day.

Plantain by itself is also very good. The dose is identical to that of the previous mixture but can be increased if necessary.

The Arbutus, also known as Ground Laurel, Winter Pink and Mayflower (botanical name : Epigae repens) is an astringent herb.  Thus it has the effect of contracting and firming tissues, and inhibiting mucous membrane secretions.

It has been found particularly valuable in cases of a week bladder function.  One ounce of the leaves in a pint of boiling water makes a tea that should be drunk freely, several times a day, for best results.

St John’s Wort herb, according to some experts, is almost a specific for urinary incontinence.  St. John’s Wort, or Hypericum perforatum, is a plant with great affinity for nerve endings. Its sphere of action may therefore involve the ‘alarm’ nerves near the surface of the bladder.

Cornsilk tea (Zea mays) is another excellent aid. This can either be purchased from your health food shop or made at home from the soft,  silky tassels that hang from the end of the corn cobs.  These threads are actually the stigmas from the female maize flowers. Their action is soothing and demulcent and can safely be used for renal problems in children. 

Cornsilk is indicated when there have been problems with urethritis and prostatitis in men and, for women prone to bladder disorders, the tea combines well with Couchgrass, Bearberry and Yarrow. Pour a cup of boiling water on to two teaspoons of the fresh or dried tassels and leave to steep for about a quarter of an hour. Drink a cup three times a day.

Cherry juice concentrate – one tablespoon in a glass of water each morning may also help. It is a reliable cure for gout, however one lady did have a remarkable improvement in her bladder control. It is possible that a gouty disposition was the original source of her bladder dysfunction.

Lindera Plant  (Lindera aggregata) is China’s revolutionary secret to bladder health… The roots of the Lindera plant are rich in very special compounds; The root is thought to have incredible anti-inflammatory and antibacterial activities.

Equisetum arvense, (more commonly known as horsetail) It is thought to pack a bold antioxidant and anti-inflammatory response which could support your bladder to help keep you in control and out of lines for the bathroom.

Exercise

Exercises are always a useful adjunct in any condition where weak muscles are a major factor. Fortunately there are some very easy exercises that can be practiced which will help to strengthen the muscles of the pelvic ‘floor’ and restore tone and elasticity to a weakened bladder.

FOR WOMEN

Try to squeeze as hard as you can with the wall of the vagina. Hold the squeezing action for as long as you can, then relax and repeat a number of times.

FOR EVERYONE

Whenever you need to have a wee, practice stopping and starting the urinary flow. In other words, void briefly then contract your muscles to cut off the flow. Hold for a couple of seconds then repeat the procedure. This exercise can be quite difficult to start with, but you soon strengthen those muscles with repetition.

Don’t wait and hope that the problem will go away by itself. It won’t.   What’s more, you can be sure that it will almost certainly become worse.  Start helping yourself at the very first sign of muscular weakness and persevere.

Occasionally surgical intervention may be necessary, especially with damage caused through pregnancies. The vast majority of women however, can effect a complete cure by learning the right dietary changes and exercises