Leaking when you laugh: It’s common but not normal

It’s been a full decade since Whoopi Goldberg starred in a series of webisodes about peeing a little (or, as she called it, spritzing) in an effort to sell Poise brand incontinence products. At the time, the star was a regular on the mega-popular women’s talk show The View, which highlights just how much the problem of stress incontinence had come out of the closet.

While there’s no denying that these ads worked wonders for mitigating stigma, they also relied on a common misconception about pelvic health. Leaking while you laugh is very common—but it’s not normal – using a product to soak up the leakage is certainly not getting to the root of the issue.  The issue is the pelvic floor, lack of fitness of the pelvic floor to be clear.  Like  any other fitness issue, the pelvic floor deserves to be addressed.

Before we go any further, we recommend you acquaint yourself with some basic anatomy by reading Get to know your pelvis. Ready?

Stress urinary incontinence is the medical (and far less fun) term for leaking when you laugh, and it’s only one type of incontinence. In this case, the problem is essentially a mechanical failure of the pelvic floor.   The pelvic floor is collapsing or buckling out because it doesn’t have the fitness it should. When you laugh, it creates pressure that an unfit pelvic floor cannot withstand so you pee a little.

The thing is, laughing—or exercising, sneezing, or coughing—is a very basic function that any fit person should be able to handle. If you’re leaking when you laugh, it’s a sign that your body needs your help. You need to pay attention.

Luckily, help is easy to find. At Corelife Wellness we specialize in conservative care options for increasing pelvic floor fitness. The first step is to schedule a consultation and we’ll take it from there. Put your pelvic health first so you can get back to enjoying a life full of laughter. Now that’s normal.