The common but embarrassing side-effect of hay fever plaguing women

For women who suffer with incontinence, every sneeze hay fever brings on comes with a side of panic.

The condition is essentially a loss of bladder control caused by weakened muscles down there.

Incontinence is more common in women who have given birth because of the incredible strain it puts on the pelvic floor muscles, but it can affect anyone.

Stress urinary incontinence is when wee leaks out from the bladder when it is under stress – like when you cough and sneeze.

So women with this condition who also suffer from hay fever can suffer through a pretty rough few months.

The sunny weather is set to shine, but that brings with it a higher pollen count and, you guessed it, more sneezing.

Luckily, there is one exercise you can do to strengthen your pelvic floor and help put an end to incontinence.

Pelvic floor muscle exercises also help prevent the unthinkable – prolapse of a woman’s internal organs, something that can happen after giving birth.

Pelvic floor exercises strengthen the muscles around the bladder, vagina or penis and back passage.

Also known as kegels, the exercises can help prevent urinary incontinence, treat prolapse and even make sex better by increasing sensitivity and boosting orgasms in women.

How can you do pelvic floor exercises?

To strengthen your pelvic floor muscles, sit and squeeze and release 10-15 times in a row.

Don’t hold your breath or tighten your tummy, bum or thigh muscles at the same time.

When you get used to the exercises, you can hold the squeezes for a few seconds – and do more reps.

Each week add more squeezes to your daily routine and within a few months you should notice results, enjoying greater sensitivity during sex.