Lifestyle and home remedies

Healthy lifestyle practices can ease symptoms of stress incontinence. These include:

• Shed extra weight. If you're overweight — your body mass index (BMI) is 25 or higher — losing excess pounds can help reduce the overall pressure on your bladder and pelvic floor muscles. Moderate weight loss may markedly improve stress incontinence. Talk to your doctor for guidance on weight loss.
• Add fiber to your diet. If chronic constipation contributes to your urinary incontinence, keeping bowel movements soft and regular reduces the strain placed on your pelvic floor muscles. Try eating high-fiber foods — whole grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables — to relieve and prevent constipation.
• Avoid foods and beverages that can irritate your bladder. If eating chocolate or drinking coffee, tea (regular or decaf) or carbonated beverages seems to make you urinate and leak more frequently, try eliminating that drink, especially on days you really don't want to be bothered by leakage.
• Don't smoke. Smoking can lead to a severe chronic cough, which can aggravate the symptoms of stress incontinence. Smoking is also a factor in many cases of bladder cancer.