Frequent urination in women: Ways to find relief

A doctor's gloved hand placing red blocks with health symbols on a table

Millions of Americans quietly suffer from frequent urination, but a naturopathic doctor says five practical, drug-free strategies can help retrain your bladder and take back control of your day.

At a Glance

Dr. Janine Bowring outlines five natural approaches to reducing frequent urination, starting with bladder retraining through deliberate 15-minute delay intervals.
Pelvic floor health, including avoiding high heels and doing Kegel exercises, is identified as a key factor in bladder control for both men and women.
Prostate health is flagged as a specific concern for men experiencing frequent urination, alongside chronic urinary tract infections as a separate category requiring targeted care.
Independent medical sources from AARP, HealthPartners, and urology practices confirm that bladder retraining and Kegel exercises are well-established management strategies.

Bladder Retraining: Teaching Your Body to Wait

Dr. Janine Bowring recommends starting with bladder retraining — deliberately delaying urination by 15 minutes when the first urge strikes. The goal is to gradually extend the time between bathroom visits, conditioning the bladder to hold more before signaling urgency. Bowring directly addresses a common concern, stating the short delay will not cause urinary tract infections. This approach aligns with advice from AARP, which similarly recommends trying to hold off when the urge first appears as a core strategy for reducing frequency. ^[1]^[2]

HealthPartners describes the same technique as bladder retraining, where patients practice peeing at fixed intervals and gradually increase the time between visits. ^[4] Michigan Urology and Spokane Urology likewise list timed voiding and urgency suppression among their recommended home management steps for overactive bladder symptoms. ^[7]^[6] The consistency across these independent medical sources lends meaningful support to Bowring’s first tip, even though her video does not cite specific clinical trials by name.

Pelvic Floor Health and the High-Heels Warning

Bowring’s third tip focuses on pelvic floor health, warning that wearing high heels can offset the balance of the pelvis and increase susceptibility to frequent urination. ^[5] She recommends avoiding high heels as part of a broader strategy to support pelvic alignment. While this specific footwear claim lacks a cited study in the video transcript, the broader principle that pelvic floor weakness contributes to urinary urgency is well-supported. HealthPartners recommends pelvic floor exercises specifically to build muscle strength and reduce urinary symptoms in women. ^[4]

Kegel exercises appear as Bowring’s fifth tip, framed as a way to strengthen the bladder and reduce urination frequency through targeted muscle conditioning. ^[5] AARP, HealthPartners, and Michigan Urology all independently recommend Kegels as a standard self-management tool for bladder control. ^[2]^[4]^[7] For anyone dealing with urgency or leakage, this is one of the most consistently endorsed non-medication approaches available, making it a practical starting point before pursuing clinical intervention.

Addressing Infections and Prostate Health

Bowring’s second tip targets chronic urinary tract infections as a distinct driver of frequent urination, separate from overactive bladder or pelvic floor issues. ^[5] This distinction matters because recurrent infections require a different management path than behavioral retraining alone. Spokane Urology notes that bladder irritation and nerve signaling problems are among the common contributors to urinary frequency, and untreated infections can worsen those signals over time. ^[6] Anyone experiencing repeated infections should consult a physician rather than rely solely on self-management strategies.

For men, Bowring identifies prostate health as the fourth tip, acknowledging that prostate-related issues can directly drive urinary frequency. ^[5] The video does not specify whether the concern is benign prostate enlargement, prostatitis, or another condition, which limits the actionability of this particular tip. Michigan Urology confirms that prostate-related factors are a recognized cause of frequent urination in men and notes that medical evaluation is often necessary to identify the specific issue. ^[7] Men experiencing significant urinary changes should seek a urology evaluation rather than assume lifestyle adjustments alone will resolve the problem. Frequent urination has multiple potential causes — from hormonal shifts and excess weight to neurological factors — and the most effective response depends on identifying the underlying driver. ^[4]^[6]