Making regular trips to the toilet to try to avoid incontinence episodes can be extremely tiring, not to mention frustrating.

One of the problems with incontinence and/or frequent urination is that it sometimes has the effect of discouraging people from drinking sufficient fluids, which can then lead on to dehydration.

Of course maintaining proper hydration is important, but so is staying dry, and on occasion, the need for frequent urination can end up resulting in light incontinence, especially in the elderly.

To help prevent frequent urination evolving into incontinence, there are some simple things that can be done to reduce the frequency of urination or the feeling of the need to urinate. Caffeine and alcohol are among the many foods that irritate the bladder, leading to incontinence. Both of these drinks are also diuretics, which encourage the body to lose liquids. Medications for high blood pressure are normally diuretics also, which can exacerbate the frequent urination symptoms, again leading to incontinence.

There are also a number of diseases that can manifest themselves as frequent urination (in turn leading to incontinence), so this is another reason that it is important to discuss any incontinence problem with your health professional. Two common causes are Diabetes and kidney disease, even more common is a urinary tract infection. In men frequent urination is frequently the result of an enlarged prostate gland, which again often leads way to light adult incontinence.
If there is any discomfort connected with frequent trips to the toilet, then you should seek medical advice immediately.

However, for the elderly, especially as mobility becomes an issue, frequent urination can be just the start a pattern of incontinence. If there is no infection or disease, then there are several things that can be done to address the problem of incontinence. Limiting liquid intake, but still ensuring that enough fluids are being consumed to remain healthy in line with guidelines, can be a start. Next, increasing the holding capacity of the bladder by gradually extending the time in between trips to the bathroom. This can be done by stretching the time by about fifteen minutes and increase the duration every week.
If medication that works as a diuretic is being taken then discuss with the doctor the option of taking this earlier in the day. This will help prevent waking throughout the night needing to go to the bathroom, or risk an incontinence episode like bedwetting.