An overactive bladder (OAB) can cause great disruptions in one’s life. People with OAB experience frequent and sudden bladder spasms, and sometimes can’t even make it to the bathroom in time (urge incontinence). Overactive bladder can affect one’s work, relationships, social life and self-esteem. Fortunately there are many ways to treat the condition.
One way to treat overactive bladder is by using a vibrating watch and implementing a timed voiding program.
What is a timed voiding program?
A timed voiding program is designed to help people with incontinence increase their bladder’s capacity and decrease the amount of times they run for the bathroom. The program consists of a schedule of when you’ll use the bathroom. This schedule is created based on your voiding habits, which you can determine by keeping a bladder diary. Timed voiding programs have been especially effective in helping people with urge incontinence and OAB learn how to retrain their bladder and suppress those urinary urges.
How can a vibrating watch help?
Making a voiding schedule is simple, but following through with it can be difficult – especially if you lead a busy and active life. A vibrating watch can help you keep track of time and alert you to use the bathroom when you’re scheduled to. Like the name implies, a vibrating reminder watch is a programmable watch with a vibrating function and/or a sound alert.
Watches can be programmed to alert at specific times or intervals, depending on the model. People with flexible daily schedules may want to set their watches to countdown at specific intervals, for example, every two hours. However, you may want to use the specific times option if you need to schedule around meetings, parties and other events.
How do I choose a vibrating watch?
Not all vibrating watches are created equal. Some watches only have a countdown feature, which could be ineffective if you have a busy schedule. Watches also vary in the amount of daily alarms it offers – for example, the VibraLITE 12 has 12 daily alarms, while the MeDose watch offers only six independent alarms.
Another feature to note is the type of alert the watch offers. We’ve been talking about vibrating watches, but there are other watches that offer sound only. Vibrating watches are great for those who want a discreet reminder; beeping watches are ideal for people who need a sound stimulus or don’t want to feel sudden vibrations on their body. Many of the timed voiding watches we carry offer both sound and vibration.
When choosing a watch, make sure to choose the correct size. Most vibrating watches have the same size watch face, which is about 1.5 inches in diameter. You’ll also to take note of the length of the watch’s band. The VibraLITE 12 watch can fit wrists as small as 4.5 inches.
If you or a loved one is experiencing overactive bladder, try implementing a timed voiding program and using a vibrating reminder watch. This combination can help you or your loved one not only regain bladder control but also self-confidence and quality of life.
