Senior News February, 2002 Vol. 21. No.  2

 

Published by the Humboldt Senior Resource Center in Eureka, California. HSRC is a non-profit community-based organization offering services for senior citizens, multi-generational families and caregivers.

Eureka's gift to New York: Coast to Coast Quilters reach out to families in need

Remembering spirit: The Olympic Flame

Support the Senior Legislature: Remember Line 53 on your tax form

School superintendent

Sheriff candidates

Del Norte County: Humboldt man commutes to teach computers to visually impaired

Bladder Fitness #4 Change your foods, change your life

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Bladder Fitness #4
Change your foods, change your life
by Jennifer Stephens

We have talked about overactive bladders and some behavioral changes that naturally eliminate incontinence.

We have discussed techniques for calming down urge and how your water intake and other fluids impact calming down urge.

We find that many people with overactive bladders can completely correct it by avoiding foods and beverages that irritate the lining of the bladder.

I haven't heard the conclusive explanation for why bladders become more sensitive as we age, but for many of us they do. Perhaps that thick mucousal lining of the bladder thins as does our skin, and therefore the bladder's lining isn't as well protected as when we were younger.

In any event, some categories of foods and fluids are particularly bothersome for many people. If you have any symptoms of urgency or frequency - do you go to the bathroom more often than every three to four hours? - it may be well worth your effort to do a little test for a week.

Here is the test

The following foods often irritate bladders causing increased urgency, increased frequency, irritation and increased leakage. I suggest you keep bladder activity records for one week, keeping track of how often you have to go to the bathroom and how often you have leakage. If you're really ambitious you can measure how much you urinate which will give you and your physician useful information.

For the first three days eat and drink like you normally do while you keep your records. Then, for three to four days, eliminate all of the foods and beverages listed below. Keep your fluid intake up with plenty of water for a daily intake of two quarts of fluid or more.

* Beverages: coffee, tea, decaf coffee, decaf tea, carbonated drinks (even carbonated water); citrus, cranberry or apple juices;
* Fruits: citrus fruits, pineapple, cranberries, strawberries, apples, guava, peaches, plums, cantaloupes, watermelon, grapes,
* Vegetables: tomatoes, tomato products, onions, rhubarb,
* Odds and ends: chocolate, alcohol, ketchup, mustard, barbecue sauce, pepper, chilies, pickles, vinegar, rosehips, hibiscus, spiced meats, NutraSweet and Saccharine

If you eliminate the foods and fluids listed above and you notice a significant decrease in how often you have to go to the bathroom, how often you have leakage or how easy it is to calm down the urge, then you know one thing or some things are irritating your bladder. It doesn't mean everything on the list is irritating your bladder, maybe oranges, maybe tomatoes, very possibly tea or coffee. Start adding things back into your diet one at a time to determine what if any symptoms return with each item.

Most people agree that giving up or restricting the intake of irritating foods and fluids is worth the joy of reclaimed bladder control.

Jennifer Stephens, MA, CBT, can be contacted at 707-268-8217 or by e-mail at stephens_ jennifer@juno.com. The first two parts of this series ran in September and October 2001; the third part ran in January 2002. If you'd like copies of the previous articles, you can come by our offices at 1809 Albee Street (upstairs) and pick them up.