Herbal Remedies for Overactive Bladder

There are a number of new prescription drugs that treat various types of overactive bladder, also known as incontinence. Still, it's hard not to be tempted by the array of botanical and herbal treatments for incontinence that line drugstore shelves and beckon from the Internet. With all the promises that are made for these herbal remedies, who wouldn't want to give at least a few of them a try? Some of them even tout "clinical studies" "proving" these herbal products can treat overactive bladder.

Unfortunately, most of the studies are in-house studies. They are conducted by the companies that make the products. That means these natural remedies for incontinence are rarely put through the kind of rigorous randomized, placebo-controlled testing that drugs must go through before they are considered for treatment.

Incontinence (OAB) Types and Concerns

Urinary incontinence affects about 12 million Americans -- more women than men. It happens when you lose urine by accident.

• Stress Incontinence
• Urge Incontinence
• Diet and Medications
• Incontinence Products
• Pregnancy and Overactive Bladder
• Overactive Bladder in Kids
• Incontinence in Men

Other Types of Incontinence

Slideshow: Urinary Incontinence in Women

Urinary incontinence, or loss of bladder control, is a frustrating problem for more than 13 million Americans. View the slideshow.

Related Links

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Moreover, rarely are any of the studies of herbal products for overactive bladder published in peer-reviewed medical journals. For many people, peer review is the "gold standard" for vetting the findings of a clinical trial.

Does this mean that none of the herbal products work for overactive bladder? Not necessarily. Because clinical trials are expensive and most natural treatments cannot be patented, there is little funding available to conduct the kind of rigorous testing needed to prove they do what's been claimed.

What we can do, though, is ask the opinion of medical specialists who use some of these natural products to treat overactive bladder in their own patients. At least then, we'll have the benefit of their experience to help us know which herbal remedies work and which don't for treating overactive bladder.

What follows is a discussion of some of the key natural ingredients that either do have clinical trials to back up the claims about their impact on incontinence or else come highly recommended by medical doctors or hospital-based incontinence treatment programs.

There is, however, a caveat. If you suffer from urinary incontinence or overactive bladder, your problem needs to be diagnosed by a doctor before you try any herbal or botanical treatment. Most are not likely to cause you any harm. But certain types of incontinence will not be helped by these treatments. Consequently, you may miss a window of opportunity for benefiting from a more traditional medical treatment.

Natural Treatments for Incontinence

Pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo) -- Pumpkin seed is one of the few herbal or botanical treatments for urinary incontinence to undergo clinical investigation. It has been the subject of a number of published clinical trials in humans and animals. In particular, researchers have looked at how it relates to prostate health in men and bladder health in women.

The pumpkin plant has been praised throughout history for a variety of restorative powers. And Native American tribes have used it for centuries to enhance prostate and bladder health. Among its key components are essential fatty acids, as well as compounds known as "phytoesterol." Studies show these ingredients in pumpkin seed have a beneficial effect on maintaining prostate health and improving support for a woman's bladder, especially after menopause.