Why winter can make a weak bladder worse

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"If you find yourself urinating more often in cold weather, or having sudden powerful urges to urinate you're not imagining it, and you're not alone", says Tracey Seipel, CEO and Founder of Seipel Group, an Australian company specialising in natural urological health.

"Weak bladder symptoms affect up to 75% of seniors, and some symptoms can intensify in winter. The cause is cold diuresis. If you're going from being warm and toasty inside to a sudden cold change outside, your body thinks you may be in danger of hyperthermia so it constricts blood vessels to direct blood flow away from the skin and inwards to try and keep your organs warm. Blood pressure goes up a bit, your kidneys then filter out excess fluid in your blood to reduce the pressure, and this leads to increased urination."

"On top of that, when it's cold your body temperature is lower and that can tense the muscles around the bladder contributing to bladder spasms which increases episodes of urgency or incontinence. You also sweat less so more moisture is sent to the kidneys instead of being excreted through the pores".

You can't control the weather, but you can alleviate some of the bladder dramas.

Here's some tips on that from Tracey.

Short term. When that urgency hits, curl your toes hard. This stimulates the tibial nerve that runs down the back of your leg and overlaps with the bladder nerves, and you will feel the effect right away. Some people also recommend deep breathing to calm the nervous system.

Medium term. Over winter avoid excessive alcohol, tea, coffee, caffeinated energy drinks and soft drinks as they aggravate the bladder. Replace with some herb teas like fresh mint, ginger or lemon. And make sure to keep your fluid intake up. That might seem counterintuitive but dehydration causes urine to become more concentrated which also aggravates the bladder.

Long term. Proactively support your bladder health throughout your life. Healthy lifestyle changes including exercise are great, especially pelvic floor exercises.

"Incontinence is not a problem with too much fluid, it's a problem with holding the urine, so strengthening the bladder is a must," says Tracey.

"Your bladder is a muscle and many weak bladder symptoms are due to that muscle losing tone and strength as you age."

Tracey dedicated 20 years of research to formulate Urox® Bladder Control, an award-winning and clinically-proven herbal formula that strengthens the bladder.

Urox® contains a modern blend of three herbal extracts used in traditional medicines: Crateva, which aids healthy bladder control; Horsetail and Crateva which work to reduce urinary frequency and urgency; and Lindera which supports healthy bladder tone and function.

"Urox® helps keeps your bladder fit for all seasons!" Tracey says.

Click here for more information.

Urox® Bladder Control $49.95

Available in all leading pharmacies.

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