Your skin is your body’s largest organ. It allows you to touch, feel and respond to everyone and everything in your environment. But some skin is more sensitive than others.

The skin in intimate areas is especially sensitive. This is partly because that skin itself is delicate, and partly because we typically protect it under layers of clothing. And if you’re wearing anything to help shield against bladder leaks, moisture and friction can create problems. 

Down-there skin care

That’s why using protective products made with kinder, 100% breathable materials that keep you feeling clean, dry and odor free is so important. You also should look for liners, pads, underwear and personal cleansing wipes that take skin protection a step further. Using products made with materials that have been infused with natural baking soda, for example, helps regulate pH by neutralizing the acid in urine. In addition, enriching products with ingredients like vitamin E gives your skin some extra love to help keep it healthy looking. 

And keeping up good habits

When it comes to living with bladder incontinence, we can get used to wearing protective pads, scheduling our bathroom breaks and modifying what we drink—especially when we see how these changes help us more easily live with leaking. What we might worry about, however, is whether or not we are smelling clean and fresh. 

Taking precautions

• Don’t limit your fluids to prevent an accident. In addition to dehydrating you, it can make your urine more concentrated. That can lead to an irritated bladder and more leaks, plus it smells worse than if you stay hydrated.
   
• Put your trust in incontinence products that make odor control a priority. Look for underwear, liners, pads, wipes and under pads made with breathable materials and enhanced with an infusion of natural odor fighters like baking soda. It’s kinder to your skin and helps absorb moisture. Staying dry is great. Staying dry and knowing you feel and smell good is even better!
   
• Choosing and using the right fit and style of products for your body and your lifestyle is also critical to stopping leaks and potential odor. Different styles, shapes, sizes, absorbency levels and product features can make some products perform better for your individual needs than others. Disposable underwear, for example, needs to fit snugly with no gaps around the legs. A good way to find your fit is using our FitRight Fresh Start try-on experience.

If prevention isn’t enough

Accidents do happen, even with the best precautions. The faster you address any leaks, the less likely there will be an odor issue. 

Wondering what combination of urinary incontinence strategies and solutions are going to work best for you? Only you (probably with a little help from your doctor) can answer that question, but we are certainly happy to help you get started.

Decide what’s most important to you

Is it finding products that are comfortable? Is it skin protection or ensuring you feel consistently clean and fresh over extended periods of time? Maybe it’s finding products that are discreet under your favorite clothing or protection that’s easy to bring along throughout a busy day. Of course, your answer might be all of the above, and that’s okay! 

Protection is just the beginning

Recognize that you have options

What’s important in your bladder leak strategy comes down to what matters most to you. Just remember that you have flexibility. You’re not the same person every day. You enjoy different activities. You accept invitations. You spend time with friends. Whatever you do, you deserve total comfort and true peace of mind. Give yourself all the protection options you need to get the most out of any situation, whether you’re staying at home or going out to socialize. A little leaking is no reason to put life on pause! 

And never forget—you’re not alone! Odds are you know plenty of others facing the same challenges, even if they’ve kept it quiet. So share your story, share your strategies, stay brave and celebrate yourself for living your best life! 

Did you gasp a little bit when you saw that headline? Not to worry. It’s normal if you feel squeamish just thinking about what leaking might mean for your sex life. Peeing during sex is a very common concern for women.

The good news is incontinence itself doesn’t directly affect a woman’s ability to have sex nor does it automatically mean the end of intimacy. But worry about leakage, odors and embarrassment can sabotage sexual desire and satisfaction.

Don’t let anxiety stop you from doing what you need to do to protect your relationship, sexual health and pleasure. It’s possible to reduce or even eliminate urination during sex—and alleviate some of that anxiety—by pursuing treatment options with your doctor and by being proactive about reclaiming your sexual activity!

Be prepared

Believe it or not, what you do before an intimate encounter can limit your chances of leaking during sex.

• First step: make sure your bedding is protected with an under pad. You don’t want to be distracted by thoughts about a big pile of laundry or having to buy a new mattress. That will definitely dampen the mood!
• Avoid drinking too much right before sexual activity. Especially limit intake of caffeine or alcohol, which can act as diuretics or irritate the bladder. 
• Empty your bladder before sex. Wait a few minutes and then try again to make sure it’s really empty.
• Make Kegels a habit. Regular pelvic floor workouts can have a number of benefits, including enhanced sexual pleasure.

Try a new position

Talk about it

Yes, this is an uncomfortable discussion to have, especially with your partner. But it’s so worth it! Simply talking honestly about your condition and concerns may relieve some of the stress and even bring the two of you closer. 

The next best thing you can do is be open and honest with your friends about living and loving with bladder leaks. Creating a safe space where women feel free to discuss sensitive topics and share support is really important. Talking about your experience not only helps you—it can really help someone else.

Having a leaky bladder may seem like a physical issue, but it also impacts our mental health. On top of the usual stressors—work, family, finances, keeping up with social media, etc.—experiencing incontinence can add an extra edge of uncertainty and angst to our day-to-day lives. It can affect decisions we make about where we go, what we wear, how we relate to the people around us and how we feel.

While feelings are trickier to measure than physical symptoms, they are just as important to acknowledge and treat. Taking care of our minds as well as our bodies can go a long way toward building our confidence about dealing with bladder leaks.

So what should you do if you’re feeling sad (or lonely, anxious, frustrated, angry, uninterested, overwhelmed—all the emoticons) about having a leaky bladder? The first line of action, of course, is talking honestly to a physician or mental health professional and following their recommendations for treatment. There’s no substitute for help from a trained expert.  But there are some things you can try on your own to help improve your outlook and overall quality of life, too.

Find a friendly community

You might not feel ready or comfortable enough to disclose or discuss your incontinence with close friends or family members. Perfectly understandable. You don’t have to talk about it, but there are lots of places you can go if you need to talk about your experiences and feelings. Thanks to the internet, you can easily seek out support and advice from websites (like ours!), social media groups and online chat rooms. You might find it more helpful to join a group that meets in person, so talk to your doctor or mental health specialist for recommendations.

Talking is powerful. Start (or just listen to) conversations with like-minded women who share your situation. If you’re a new mom, for example, look for a group that’s chatting about post-partum incontinence. There’s nothing more comforting—or informative—than hearing the stories of women who can empathize with what you’re going through, whether it’s peeing when you pick up the baby or leaking every time you laugh. 

Keep living your amazing life

When it comes to minding your mental health, know what else is powerful? A strong social life. People are social by nature, so being engaged and active is good for your mental health—and for your friendships, romantic relationships and family ties. 

There’s no single “right” way to feel or deal with bladder leaks. It’s okay to have all the emotions. Just don’t let them stop you from getting help or finding a way to improve and enjoy your life.

As discussed throughout The Source, urinary incontinence for many of us is associated with stage-of-life events, such as motherhood and aging. But bladder leaks also can be caused or exacerbated by serious medical conditions—especially those that are neurological in nature. 

Multiple sclerosis (MS)

Parkinson’s disease

In what seems like the opposite of bladder leakage, Parkinson’s can make it difficult for muscles in the urethra to relax. It can become difficult to begin urinating, or there may be a strong urge to go even when the bladder is empty. This gets compounded when the bladder is full and the brain signals the bladder to empty involuntarily. 

Cancer

Cancers affecting the brain and spinal cord can cause serious damage to nerves controlling the bladder as well as the muscles of the pelvic floor, resulting in sudden incontinence. Any unexplained, unexpected incontinence can be an indication of a more critical medical condition. Always talk to your doctor as soon as possible if you have a sudden episode of incontinence.

Dementia or Alzheimer’s disease

When someone is unable to process the urge to go in time to make it to the bathroom, accidents can happen. In some cases, people forget the bathroom location or even how to perform the task of relieving themselves. 

What to do

If an episode of bladder leakage comes as a complete surprise—and you’re not in any of the typical life stages such as pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause or menopause—having a conversation about it with your doctor should be an immediate priority. 

And if you are seeing a pelvic physical therapist to help fight bladder leaks, make sure they know if you have any medical conditions that might contribute to your incontinence.