Urinary Incontinence - dispelling the myths
Urinary Incontinence- dispelling the myths
If you're dealing with urinary incontinence, you might feel ashamed, embarrassed or confused. Not having proper control of your bladder can make you feel as though there's some sort of defect with you. While you might have a bit of a malfunction with your body, it doesn't have to ruin your life. By understanding the myths of urinary incontinence, you can also understand how inaccurate they are.
1. It's not a big deal
When dealing with incontinence, a positive attitude helps, but you shouldn't be in denial. If you're ignoring your incontinence, you are doing a tremendous disservice to yourself. It's a thin line between accidents and non-accidents, after all. Talk to your doctor and follow their instructions. Make sure that you are doing all you can to keep your incontinence under control. No problem is ever improved by willfully ignoring it.
2. It will pass on its own
If you wet yourself by accident, it might be alarming, but it could just be an isolated incident. Should it keep happening, you need to take action. Don't think that you can just will it away. There are things you can do to better control incontinence, such as Kegels or surgery. It's important to be honest with yourself about your incontinence.
3. I should dehydrate myself
Don't fall into the trap of thinking that less liquid means that you won't have accidents. You need to keep yourself hydrated. It might actually help with your incontinence. Drink water in reasonable amounts throughout the day. You need to prioritize your health over being self-conscious about your incontinence.
4. Everyone will know
Part of the shame of incontinence comes from others finding out. You might believe that if anyone found out you were incontinent, they would immediately ostracize you. What goes on with your body is nobody's business but your own. You might want to share what's going on with your family and close friends. However, you're also welcome to keep this information private. Go for a walk and think of how many people you pass have incontinence. Odds are there's at least a couple.
It might be hard to fathom living with urinary incontinence. However, it's entirely possible. The first step is learning to accept your incontinence, even if you can never fully embrace or appreciate it. There are also all kinds of accessories you can find through Wiesner Health to make your incontinence more manageable. Don't think of it as you against your incontinence. Think of it as you and your incontinence against the world.
