A change of diet and a new exercise regime can help reduce the effects of incontinence, according to an expert. Dr Tomas Griebling, vice chair of the urology department at the University of Kansas in Kansas City, claimed that an unhealthy lifestyle is often linked with an overactive bladder.

He said: "Diet modification and pelvic floor exercise or timed voiding work very well and there's no cost. For some patients, that's all they need."
Dr Griebling added that urinary conditions are often a sign of other ailments such as an infection, tumour or an enlarged prostate for men, and this is often considered before a diagnosis is made. "The biggest thing is the [medical] history and the patient describing what they're experiencing. That helps us to determine what type of problem they're having," he stated.

It follows the release of a report by health-care information company IMS Health which shows that total sales of urinary incontinence drugs in the US reached $2.05 billion (£1.24 billion) in 2010, compared to $1.56 billion in 2006.