Myths and realities

Myths

• Bladder weakness is a disease
• Only old ladies experience bladder weakness
• It'll get better by itself
• Drinking less fluid will help
• Protection for bladder weakness can't be discreet
• Bladder weakness means it's time to slow down or alter routines
• Surgery is the only solution
• If I have a bladder weakness mishap, people will notice the smell.

Myth 1: "Bladder weakness is a disease."

Bladder weakness is not a disease but it could be the cause of an underlying health problem, which may be easily treated by visiting your GP. So don't just carry on with tried and tested coping techniques, the whole issue could be solved by a simple discussion with your GP!

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Myth 2: "Only old ladies experience bladder weakness."

All sorts of people find them selves having to cope with bladder weakness at some point in their lives, it's surprisingly democratic! In fact, one in six Britons aged over 40 experience bladder weakness, although it can develop at a much younger age - perhaps as a consequence of surgery or childbirth. Women do tend to be more prone to this condition than men, but after the age of 65, the percentage of men with the condition begins to draw level with and even overtake the percentage of women affected.

It's not just adults that suffer either, about seven per cent of children aged 5-11 experience bed-wetting. Without proper management, some of these children might develop urge incontinence later in life. You can find more information on bed-wetting at the following website www.drynites.com.

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Myth 3: "It'll get better by itself".

If the bladder weakness is due to an underlying health problem there's some chance it could get worse, which is all the more reason to visit your GP and find out about the treatments that are available. With the right intervention, bladder weakness can be cured or at least easily managed. So why not take positive action before it starts affecting your day-to-day routines. With the rights products and treatment you can carry on living your life to the full!

Your doctor or health professional is always a good person to start with. If simple measures don't seem to help, they can refer you on to a physiotherapist or nurse continence advisor.

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Myth 4: "Drinking less fluid will help."

You might think that drinking less fluid would stop you having to visit the toilet as often. However, urine that's more concentrated due to lack of fluid intake can actually irritate the bladder and make matters worse. Inadequate fluid intake is also likely to cause constipation, which can also aggravate the problem. In the long term drinking less fluid will mean that your bladder learns to hold less and less urine. The bladder can be retrained however by using a combination of pelvic floor exercises and gradually increasing the amount of time between visits to the loo.

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Myth 5: "Protection for bladder weakness can't be discreet."

Due to embarrassment and poor information over two million people in the UK use the wrong products to cope with bladder weakness, many resorting instead to feminine care products which are simply not up to the job. DEPEND® liners and pads are as slim and discreet as feminine care products, yet are uniquely designed to cope with urine loss. Made of a unique super absorbent material, all DEPEND® products contain a special core which absorbs liquid quickly, which when combined with the special ultra soft, breathable outer cover, makes DEPEND® pads 10 times drier* than the leading Feminine care brand's similar sized maxi sanitary pads.

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Myth 6: "Bladder weakness means it's time to slow down or alter routines."

With the right products and the right treatment, there is absolutely no reason why you shouldn't continue doing what you love best. There's more to life than bladder weakness after all. Staying fit and healthy will boost your confidence and your mood. Plus keeping your weight down is also advisable as weight gain can make bladder control much more difficult to maintain.

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Myth 7: "Surgery is the only solution."

Solutions to bladder weakness tend to focus on more serious medical procedures such as surgery or prescription drugs. Often sufferers of bladder weakness are given little advice for ways of living with the condition on a day-to-day basis, not realising that the stress and inconvenience can be greatly reduced with effective treatment and the right product choice.

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Myth 8: "If I have a bladder weakness mishap, people will notice the smell."

All DEPEND® products feature a special core which absorbs liquid quickly and neutralises odour by trapping the urine away from the air and protecting you from odours up to five hours. So you needn't worry about anyone noticing, which means you can go about your daily business uninterrupted.

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