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  Urine leakage when coughing is a surprisingly common problem that affects many women across the UK. In fact, according to a survey of two thousand women, one in five women are said to experience urinary incontinence. In this blog post, we take a detailed look at the main underlying causes of urine leakage when coughing and highlight some of the most effective things you can do to stop it.What causes urine leakage when coughing?If you leak urine when you cough, this will most likely be caused by stress incontinence – a form of incontinence where you leak urine during physical exertion. When you cough, this puts pressure on your abdomen which pushes down on your bladder. If your pelvic floor muscles aren’t strong enough, urine can then leak out. Another reason why urine leakages can happen while coughing is due to your pelvic floor muscles momentarily relaxing when you cough, allowing urine to leak out. However, it’s not just coughing that can bring this on. Urine leakage can also occur when you laugh, sneeze, jump, lift a heavy object or exercise.Some of these main risk factors include: ● Pregnancy ● Childbirth (especially vaginal births) ● Menopause ● Pelvic surgery (like a hysterectomy) ● Uterine prolapse ● Diabetes (associated problems like nerve damage, obesity and bladder infections can cause urinary incontinence) ● Obesity ● Chronic coughing All of these risk factors can weaken your pelvic floor muscles, reduce your ability to hold in your urine when exerting yourself and, ultimately, increase your likelihood of experiencing urine leakages when you cough.What can you do to prevent urine leakage when coughing?Although dealing with urine leakages when coughing can be challenging, there are several things you can do to improve symptoms of stress incontinence. Let’s take a look at some of the best ways to manage urine leakage when coughing and regain your confidence.1. ExerciseExercises like yoga and Pilates may help to reduce stress incontinence. Certain poses and movements associated with both of these types of exercise may help improve muscle strength in both your lower body and your pelvic floor, helping minimise your risk of leaks. 2. Pelvic floor exercisesPelvic floor exercises are an important type of exercise that everyone (including men) should do – especially when trying to prevent urine leakage when coughing. These exercises help to strengthen the muscles in your urinary system, giving you more control over your bladder. To locate your pelvic floor muscles, sit or lie down comfortably and squeeze the muscles you would use to stop urine or wind coming out. Hold the muscles tight for a few seconds before releasing.Repeat these exercises numerous times throughout the day and, over time, you should see an improvement in how often you leak urine when you cough. You may wish to speak with your doctor or continence specialist before starting pelvic floor exercises to ensure you’re doing them correctly. Performing pelvic floor exercises incorrectly can lead to further problems.3. Pay attention to what you drinkAlthough coffee is how many people start their day, drinking it can increase the possibility of stress incontinence. Caffeine (found in black and green tea as well as coffee) causes your body to produce more urine and stimulates your bladder. This might make you more likely to leak urine when you cough, so why not try switching to decaffeinated beverages instead? In doing so, this should hopefully reduce your likelihood of experiencing a urine leak. Alcohol is another drink you need to be careful of. Since alcohol is a diuretic, this means it makes you need to urinate more. Cutting down on alcohol can be beneficial when trying to minimise your risk of urine leakage when coughing, as it’ll mean you have less urine in your body to accidentally release.4. Make sure you drink enough waterSome people may feel that they need to cut down on how much water they drink when dealing with stress incontinence. However, this can actually make your condition worse. Not getting enough water can reduce your bladder’s capacity to hold as much urine. It can also increase your chances of constipation, putting further pressure on your pelvic floor muscles. As such, try to drink six to eight glasses of water a day and you should start to notice your stress incontinence symptoms start to improve.5. Stop smoking or vapingWhen you smoke or vape, you put yourself at a much higher risk of developing a chronic cough. When this happens, you put extra strain on your pelvic floor muscles, which can potentially then lead to stress incontinence. So, by trying to give up on smoking or vaping, you should soon see an improvement in your cough and, therefore, the likelihood of urine leakage. 6. Losing weightIf you are overweight or obese, the excess weight can put an increased amount of pressure on your abdominal and pelvic organs. This can lead to a weakened pelvic floor and urine leakage when you cough. However, losing weight healthily through a well-balanced diet and exercise can make a difference. By alleviating the excess pressure on your abdomen and pelvis and strengthening your pelvic floor through exercise, you should be able to minimise urine leakage when you cough.7. Alleviate constipationBeing constipated regularly puts a big strain on your pelvic floor muscles, causing them to weaken. Adding more fibre to your diet can help soften your stools. In doing so, this should mean you don’t have to strain as much when using the bathroom, helping strengthen your pelvic floor muscles. Some of the best high-fibre foods to prioritise include: ● Oats, wholegrain bread, cereal and pasta ● Potatoes with their skins on ● Pulses like beans, lentils and chickpeas ● Fruits and vegetables8. Disposable incontinence productsTreating urine leakage can take time so you will need to try and find ways to manage it until that point. Fortunately, incontinence products are available to help provide you with the comfort and security you need whenever you experience leakage when coughing. Nowadays, there is a wide range of incontinence products to choose from. From pads to pants, with a little bit of research, you can quickly find a product absorbent enough for your needs.Supporting urine leakage with AttendsExperiencing incontinence when you cough is common but can be controlled. There are plenty of things you can do to minimise your symptoms, especially when they’re caused by stress incontinence. However, it’s important to speak with your doctor if your symptoms start to become worse, you find that lifestyle changes don’t help or you need advice on which management options you should prioritise. At Attends, for example, we offer a vast range of incontinence products that can help you protect your clothing and dignity when you accidentally leak urine while coughing. Incorporating incontinence products into your life when trying to find additional comfort and support can help when living with stress incontinence. Sources●  NHS Conditions - Urinary Incontinence ●  NHS Conditions - 10 Ways to Stop Leaks ●  Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists - Calling for action to reduce number of women living with poor pelvic floor health ●  NHS Conditions - Treatment for Urinary Incontinence ●  NHS - How to Get More Fibre Into Your Diet

  Kegel exercises (pelvic floor exercises) are commonly known for offering various benefits to women, especially those with weakened pelvic floor muscles from childbirth. But, they can be beneficial for men as well. These exercises are simple to perform and can be done almost anywhere, making them an accessible and effective way to strengthen pelvic floor muscles for everyone, regardless of gender. In this blog post, we explain what pelvic floor training for men is and why it’s beneficial, while also highlighting how you can perform pelvic floor exercises most effectively.What is male pelvic health training?Male pelvic floor training involves using various exercises, such as Kegels, to help strengthen the muscles of your pelvic floor. Your pelvic floor is made up of layers of muscle and tissue within your pelvis that stretch from your coccyx (tailbone) to your pubic bone. Your urethra (a thin passage where urine travels to and out from the penis) and rectum (back passage) pass through your pelvic floor muscles, which is why they can impact certain factors like your bladder and bowel control. If your pelvic floor becomes weakened, for example, this can lead to bowel or urine incontinence, where you experience an urgent need to empty your bladder or bowel. Some men may also experience dribbling of urine after urinating or struggle to control the urge to release wind as well. Some of the most common causes of weakened pelvic floor muscles in men include:  ●  Surgery to treat an enlarged prostate gland. ●  Repeatedly straining to empty your bowels. ●  A chronic cough caused by asthma, smoking or bronchitis. ●  Being overweight. ●  Neurological damage from a stroke, spinal injury or multiple sclerosis.Symptoms of a weak pelvic floorIf you have any of the following symptoms, you may already have a weakened pelvic floor: Stress urinary incontinence: Where urine leaks out when coughing, laughing, sneezing or exerting yourself. Bowel incontinence: The accidental leakage of faeces and struggling to hold in wind. Post-micturition dribble: Leaking a few drops of urine after you’ve finished urinating. Erectile dysfunction: Not being able to maintain or gain an erection. Premature ejaculation: Ejaculating before you would like to during sex, usually within two or three minutes. Although your pelvic floor can weaken, it can become strong again through pelvic floor training – using various exercises to tighten and release your pelvic floor muscles both regularly and repeatedly. By retraining your pelvic floor muscles in this way, you may even see an improvement in your incontinence symptoms.Benefits of pelvic floor exercises for menStrengthening your pelvic floor muscles can offer a number of benefits. For example, this might include: ●  Improved bowel and bladder control. ●  Enhanced ability to maintain an erection. ●  Reduced likelihood of premature ejaculation. ●  Minimised risk of incontinence accidents or emergencies. While you won’t see the results of your pelvic floor exercises right away, with enough time and practice, you should start to see an improvement and regain control of your pelvic muscles. Identifying your pelvic floor musclesBefore you try to perform any pelvic floor exercises, you first need to identify the muscles. The best way to do this is by performing the following steps: 1. Sit or lie down with your thighs, buttocks and abdomen relaxed. 2. Try to tighten the ring of muscle around your back passage – it should feel similar to trying to hold in wind. 3. Relax this muscle and tighten it again a few more times until you are confident in identifying it. 4. Now imagine you are urinating and try to activate the muscles you would use to stop it midstream. 5. If you’re using the correct muscles for this, your penis may move towards your abdomen slightly. If you are unable to squeeze your pelvic floor muscles, speak with your doctor as they will be able to rule out any underlying conditions and provide you with tailored advice and support. If you find that pelvic floor exercises are difficult or you're struggling to activate the right muscles, make sure to speak with your doctor or local continence service as doing pelvic floor exercises incorrectly can lead to further problems – hindering your condition instead of improving. Pelvic floor exercises for menOnce you are happy that you’ve found your pelvic floor muscles and know how to tighten and relax them, you’re ready to learn pelvic floor exercises. However, before you get started, make sure that when you’re performing these exercises, you don’t: ●  Squeeze your buttocks. ●  Hold your breath. ●  Stop your flow of urine while actually urinating (as this can disrupt bladder emptying).Simple pelvic floor exercises for menThere are a few pelvic floor exercises you can do that can support the strength of your pelvic muscles. These come in varying levels of difficulty and will require you to exert yourself in different ways and at different speeds. Slow pelvic exercises How to perform slow pelvic exercises: 1 - Tighten your pelvic muscles. 2 - Hold them tightly for as many seconds as you can for up to ten seconds. 3 - Make sure that you’re not squeezing your thigh or buttocks muscles and are solely squeezing your pelvic floor. It should feel like a ‘squeeze and lift’ and your buttocks and thighs should not move. 4 - Slowly relax your muscles for four seconds. 5 - Repeat the slow tightening exercise up to ten times. Difficulty: These exercises are relatively easy but it can be challenging holding your muscles tight for up to ten seconds. How long will it take: If you repeat this exercise ten times, it can take around two and a half minutes.Fast pelvic exercises How to perform fast exercises: 1 - Tighten the muscles of your pelvic floor for one second. 2 - Relax them for one second. 3 - Try to complete ten of these exercises. 4 - Make sure you’re only squeezing and releasing your pelvic muscles, not your thighs or buttocks. Difficulty: These pulsed tightening exercises can be slightly more difficult as they require a lot of control over your pelvic floor muscles. However, they will become easier with time and provide your pelvic floor with a good workout.  How long will it take: If you repeat this exercise ten times, it can take 20 seconds to complete. How often should pelvic floor exercises be performed?You should try to carry out your pelvic floor exercises four to five times a day, every day and perform fast and slow exercises to build up strength. You can also do them in a variety of positions, including sitting, standing, lying down and even walking. Why not use the time you spend brushing your teeth to carry out some exercises or perhaps while you’re sat watching TV? With how quick and easy they are to do, it can be easy to incorporate pelvic floor exercises into your day-to-day routine whenever suits you best.When will I see and feel the results of pelvic floor exercises?Your pelvic floor muscles are like all the other muscles in your body which means it takes time and practice for them to grow stronger. Depending on the current state of your pelvic floor muscles, it can take up to six months for you to see noticeable changes and improvements in your symptoms. However, that doesn’t mean it can’t happen sooner and you may experience a reduction in your symptoms before then.Discover more about male incontinence support with AttendsPelvic floor exercises can be a great way for you to reduce symptoms of incontinence. However, as it can take some time before you experience the results, you may need additional support in the meantime. At Attends, we offer a wide range of incontinence products for men, tailored to meet the unique challenges you may be facing. Whether you’re experiencing urine dribbling or accidental streams of urine, we have the right product for you. With a regular pelvic floor exercise routine and absorbent incontinence products, you can feel confident in your bladder and bowel control once again.Sources●  Mayo Clinic - Kegel Exercises for Men ●  University Hospitals Sussex - Male Pelvic Floor Exercises ●  NHS UK - Pelvic Floor Exercises for Male Patients ●  Cambridge University Hospitals - Pelvic Floor Exercises in Men FAQs