Eric was 43 when he first woke up wet. He had no idea what had happened to him, but after a couple of minutes he realized: he had wet the bed. He was shocked – this had never happened to him before and he had no idea why it was happening now.
The bedwetting continued a couple of times a month for a few months until he finally knew something had to be done. He noticed that he seemed to only wet the bed after he had had a few drinks with his buddies during their regular poker night. “I don’t usually drink much, but I like to have a few beers with the guys during our regular hang out. I decided to try switching to water for the next couple of poker nights just to see what would happen.” Sure enough, once he omitted the alcohol, things improved dramatically.
Eric’s situation is not uncommon. Over 35 million American adults suffer from incontinence, and nearly 5 million have a bedwetting problem. And, while alcohol cannot be attributed to all of these cases, it is definitely something to try omitting for a while if you do suffer from incontinence. Sometimes, simple lifestyle changes can make a huge difference.
Alcohol on it’s own doesn’t cause incontinence, but for those who are prone to bladder leaks, it can be a trigger. Alcohol is a diuretic, which means that in increases the production of urine and can also cause a person to need to use the restroom more often. Not only that, alcohol irritates the bladder, which can make overactive bladder symptoms worse. It’s worth it to try eliminating alcohol if you have incontinence. (Especially if you tend to drink to excess.)
Alcohol isn’t the only thing you should watch out for if you struggle with bladder leakage.
The following foods and drinks can also irritate the bladder
- Caffeinated beverages like coffee and tea
- Chocolate (it contains caffeine too!)
- Carbonated drinks
- Spicy foods
- Citrus foods
- Acidic foods, such as tomatoes
- Cranberry juice
- Sugar – including artificial sweeteners
- Certain medications
If you are experiencing incontinence, try eliminating some of these foods from your diet to see if it makes a difference. It may help you to keep a bladder diary during this experiment to record how what you eat affects your bladder leaks. And if you experience bedwetting, definitely try skipping that nightly glass of wine. As Eric discovered, sometimes making simple lifestyle changes can make a huge difference. “I’m dry again! I miss having a drink with the guys, but it’s something I can live without if it means I don’t wet the bed.”
Want a handy cheat sheet of foods to avoid if you have incontinence? Print out our free download of foods that may trigger incontinence and hang it on your fridge for easy reference!
