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Toileting & bladder retraining programs
Bladder training is a treatment for people who have an urgent need to pass small lots of urine more often than normal, and who at times may also leak (urine) along with the urgency. This happens if the bladder is very sensitive and overactive, with little or no time between the urge to go to the toilet and the bladder emptying.
These symptoms may be due to conditions such as stroke, an enlarged prostate gland, Parkinson's Disease or a long history of poor bladder habits. For many people though, no clear cause can be found.
The aim of bladder training is to make bladder control better and increase the amount of urine the bladder can hold without urgency or leakage of urine.
The program teaches people to hold on longer between visits to the toilet. When the bladder is sensitive or overactive, learning to 'hold on' can be difficult to start with, but for many it becomes easier with practice.
Page last updated 20 Nov 2006