Is there anything to be done about stress incontinence in the very elderly?

[A580Hojas]

My Mum is amazing for 90. She has limited mobility but gets about her bungalow OK and has a wheeled walking frame for outside.

She has all her mental faculties, showing no signs of forgetfulness or anything like that. Lives independently with some help from friends and neighbours for bits of shopping (main shopping done online by me and my sibling) and the very occasional trip to GP. She showers daily all by herself and does things like changing her bed and defrosting her freezer.

However, she has COPD and coughs a lot. The coughing causes sometimes pretty drastic incontinence (from the bladder). She is 90. She manages with Tena Lady etc but finds it unpleasant and worries about coughing in the night and wetting the bed.

Is there anything that a GP would do to help her or is it a case of put up with it at her great age?

She's sounds lucky and loved! An achievement at her age!
What about period knickers? They do hold quite a lot and are more comfy than pads

Can she get a referral to the inconvenience service by the gp. In the home I worked in they had someone come out and assess the residents needs and then provided pads to them for free

There is totally no need for her to put up with it. If the GP says so argue, would they want their mother to suffer the same? Excuse my rant, some of my ladies had been told this. (I'm a retired nurse) Caffeine irritates/stimulates the bladder so please get her decaffeinated tea and coffee. There isn't any difference in the taste. Dark chocolate has some caffeine. Green tea has lots of caffeine in it. There is also medication that her GP can prescribe. Obviously a referral to a Uro-gynaecologist and/or Continance service is important. Pads can be delivered to her home. I wish you success.

I have stress incontinence and I'm not elderly , lol. I wear period pants all the time . I'd recommend the Modibodi Heavy / Overnight pants, they are so comfortable and very absorbent. During the day I use a regular Tena pad as well . If your mum is coughing a lot with her COPD, I'd recommend a heavy Tena pad as well . Good luck !

gelert I totally disagree, there is a difference in taste between caffeinated and decaffeinated, not least because the range of decaffeinated varieties is so small - I have yet to find a strength 5 decaffeinated ground coffee. So it’s a big change. But it can have huge effects, in my case going from heavy pads and a couple of changes a day, to wearing a pantyliner if I’m going to do something strenuous. And the effects kicked in well within a fortnight of going caffeine free, enough to convince me to persist

Does she do Kegels?