There are many exciting prospects that come with age when you’re younger. There is a veritable turnstile of excitement in the range from sixteen to twenty-five. Many of these include driving, voting, drinking, and maybe graduating from college. After that, the ages of interest seem to take a turn. All of a sudden people are asking when you turn the big “four-o.” Then after that they’re looking for you to turn fifty and undergo a mid-life crisis. And both of these are still all on the way to the average retirement age of sixty-five. After that though, what is there? People make jokes about memory loss, and about hearing, but the worst is probably when those feeble jokers begin to talk of issues like nighttime incontinence.
Just in case you never had to put up with such a thing and are unclear about what it is, we’ll expound on it now. That way no one has to feel uncomfortable the next time it reaches casual conversation. Essentially, nighttime incontinence is going to the bathroom involuntarily while you’re sleeping. Not the prettiest picture, we know.
Are you beginning to feel that grade-school-aged panic of trying to conceal the phrase, ”wetting the bed”?
Let’s be honest, though, there’s no way around it. It’s an embarrassing factor of life that nearly everyone has experience with, and if, for some reason you haven’t, you will. The real question is how will you determine it’s time to anticipate such a thing? The short answer? You can’t. It’s not as if you just one day our thinking to yourself, “Uh oh, I think tonight it’s going to happen.”
The good news is that there are options. It’s not as if the world ever closes all the doors in on you when it comes to ailment’s, and especially not when they’re centered around the aging process.
There are basically two ways you can help.
The first, and let’s be brief about this, because it’s not a reliable fix: medicine. There are certain drugs to help monitor and ease the problem, but they come with risks, side effects, and a whole heap of stuff you may not need to deal with.
The second option is a lot more manageable. For example: talking about it. By being open about the situation with a loved one, it becomes immediately easier to deal with. Next, try to keep track of beverage intake. See if not drinking anything after seven helps. If it doesn’t then try nothing after six. Get to the time that seems to be working. And then exercise. Studies show that regular exercise, say kegels, can help regulate your system, and keep your bladder better-adjusted.
However, whatever happens, it’s important not to freak out or grow angry. Nighttime incontinence isn’t a life-threatening illness and should be taken with a grain of salt, not a running for your life sort of feeling. After all, things could be a lot more severe than this. We promise.
Kyle is beauty consultant who specializes in skin rejuvenation.
