The bladder, like all organs in our body, undergoes the phenomenon of aging. Fortunately, there are natural substances that can treat bladder diseases like urinary incontinence or overactive bladder.

Because of the taboo surrounding urinary incontinence, many people are reluctant to talk about it and therefore miss out on effective treatment. This is why urinary incontinence is a real handicap that limits physical activities, disrupts social, sexual and professional life, and increases the risk of depression and anxiety related to embarrassment. However, the problem is widespread since it is considered that there are 2.5 million incontinents in France.

Overactive bladder This involves involuntary contractions of the bladder muscle (the detrusor), which causes a sudden and sometimes irrepressible urge to urinate, even if the bladder is not full. In addition, there is an increase in urinary frequency with a need to urinate more than 8 times in 24 hours, including at least 2 times during the night.

Urinary incontinence. This is an involuntary loss of urine occurring while coughing, walking, laughing, carrying heavy loads (stress incontinence). There is another type of incontinence that occurs outside of exertion, including at night. It is often accompanied by urgent needs that, when not met in time, turn into leakage. The person often does not have time to reach the toilet (urge incontinence). Urinary incontinence affects mostly women after 50 years of age. The risk factors are pregnancy and aging (menopause). In France, incontinence affects 25% of women over the age of 50 and 15% of men aged 60 or more (often related to prostate enlargement). In addition, 10% of children aged 6 years or older suffer from enuresis (bedwetting).

Natural products with proven efficacy An American-patented blend of plants (Aronia melanocarpa - Equisetum arvense) and minerals (magnesium and colloidal silica). The patent relates to a particular extraction process of the silica present in horsetail, which is very little assimilated by man but which, in colloidal form, is very effective. The product has been the subject of two clinical studies in Australia and the United States, which demonstrate both its efficacy and its safety. In these studies, patients reduced their daytime urinary frequency by 25% after 1 month of treatment, by 40% after 2 months and by 50% after 3 months. As for the need to urinate during the night, it decreased by 28% after 1 month, 62% after 2 months and 70% after 3 months of treatment. Most of the patients included in these studies were able to go a full night without waking up to urinate after 2 months of treatment, whereas initially they had been waking up 2 to 3 times a night. In conclusion, these 2 studies have shown that it is an effective product for both men and women to reduce the discomfort of aging bladder but the maximum effect is obtained after 2 to 3 months of treatment. None of the participants experienced any side effects. Another laboratory study showed that the product has an enormous antioxidant activity (18 times more than blueberries and 30 times more than spinach!). It is this property that could explain its positive effect on the memory of the elderly.

Although the problem of enuresis in children has not yet been the object of an official study, the first results obtained in my personal practice are encouraging, since 1 child out of 2 reacts positively to the treatment. I advise to treat only children of 5 years old or more with 2 capsules with the evening meal during 3 months.

By Dr. Thierry Schmitz