How might incontinence be affecting my loved one?
Living with incontinence at home
Bladder or bowel control problems can be a difficult thing for someone to deal with. They may be constantly distracted as they think about their next potential accident. As their supporter, you may be the first one to observe how incontinence negatively affects their life. If you are a partner, your shared intimacy may suffer. You may wish you could fix their bladder or bowel control problems.
The key is to show your loved one that you support them regardless of their struggles with incontinence. Fortunately, there are treatment options available, and with you as their advocate, you can confront bladder and bowel control problems together.
Living with incontinence at work
Managing bladder or bowel control problems at work can create additional stress and disrupt productivity. Incontinence may cause your loved one to make frequent restroom visits and in turn, disrupt essential job activities. Trying to be discrete through multiple pad changes can also be challenging. They may fear that they smell or that their co-workers have noticed their frequent bathroom trips.
The good news is that they can learn more about available treatment options by seeing a doctor who specializes in the treatment of incontinence.
Living with incontinence at play
Downtime with incontinence is not necessarily a break. With incontinence, your loved one may feel embarrassed, self-isolate, or limit their social life, especially exercise and leisure activities. They may give up some of their favorite pastimes due to fear of an accident. In your quest to spend time together, your activity level may also be impacted.
If they ultimately pull back and self-isolate, it may be time to explore available treatment options.
