What you can do for yourself:

Take a good daily fluid intake – this should be 1.5 to 2 litres.

Tea, coffee and alcohol can make LUTS worse so take in moderation. Most of your fluid in-take should be water.

During hot weather, air travel, after exercising and during illness you need to drink more.

You should also:

• Eat a balanced diet – include soluble fibre (oats, barley, berries and fruit) and insoluble fibre (roughage such as wheat-based foods, cereal, vegetables and nuts)
• Eat regular meals
• Empty your bowel when you feel the need – delaying may lead to constipation which can make LUTS worse
• Control your weight and practice pelvic floor exercises
• Stop smoking – smokers are more likely to have troublesome urinary incontinence because of the strain that coughing puts on the pelvic floor. If you would like support to stop smoking, you can:
• • contact your GP;
  • or access your Local NHS Stop Smoking Services online

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