Alcohol and incontinence – what’s the connection?

With the annual Dry July campaign coming to a close and an estimated 20,000 people giving up alcohol for the month, we wanted to dive into the impact drinking can have on bladder and bowel control.

Prostate Cancer Foundation Australia (PCFA) is one of the organisations supported by Dry July fundraising, so we chat to Bernie Riley, Head of Telenursing, to find out more.

Is there a relationship between consuming alcohol and experiencing loss of bladder or bowel control?

Alcohol can contribute to loss of bladder and bowel control. Rather than directly causing leakage, it can exacerbate existing problems or contribute to symptoms which can lead to incontinence. These effects may be short-term, occurring soon after drinking, or longer-term for people who regularly drink more than the recommended daily limit.

What do the Australian alcohol guidelines recommend?

Health organisations increasingly advise that there is no completely safe level of alcohol consumption. For healthy adults, the Australian guidelines recommend no more than 10 standard drinks a week and no more than four standard drinks on any one day.

One standard drink is roughly equal to a 375ml can or bottle of mid-strength beer or 100ml of wine at 13% alcohol. The less you drink, the lower your risk of harm. People under 18 and women who are pregnant or planning a pregnancy should not drink alcohol.

For women who are breastfeeding, the NHMRC advises that not drinking is safest for the baby.

If someone thinks their symptoms are caused or made worse by alcohol, what is the best way to find out?

Discussing your symptoms with your general practitioner (GP) is often the best place to start. Your GP can assess the degree to which your alcohol intake is affecting your symptoms or the treatments and medications you may be prescribed.

Reducing alcohol consumption is often an effective strategy for reducing bowel and urinary symptoms.

Can alcohol cause incontinence or does it just exacerbate existing conditions?

Alcohol consumption can cause people to produce more urine, irritate the bladder lining and lead to urinary urgency, frequency and leakage. For people with existing problems such as overactive bladder or stress incontinence, alcohol may exacerbate symptoms.

It can also affect bowel function in the short term, causing diarrhoea in some people, and in others leading to constipation due to dehydration. This can sometimes result in overflow leakage, where loose stool leaks around a blockage.

Long-term heavy alcohol consumption can impair nerve and muscle function, which can worsen bowel control. Alcohol can also interact with some medicines used to manage bladder and bowel conditions (check with your GP or pharmacist if you take regular medicines).

Where can you go for help?

Alongside your GP, men experiencing loss of urinary control or bowel control can seek help from a prostate cancer specialist nurse locally or through Prostate Cancer Foundation Australia’s Telenursing service. You can access this service by calling 1800 22 00 99 or requesting a call back. For help reducing or stopping drinking call the National Alcohol and Other Drug Hotline on 1800 250 015.

Are people experiencing problems with their prostate (such as prostate cancer, an enlarged prostate or recent prostatectomy) more likely to experience leaks or loss of control when drinking alcohol?

Yes, for the reasons outlined above. For instance, following a prostatectomy, men may have a reduced bladder capacity, some urgency and impaired control due to damage to urinary sphincters, particularly in the early recovery period.

Alcohol intake may further impact loss of control, increase urgency, frequency, and urine output, placing extra stress on the control mechanisms and leading to greater likelihood of leakage. Alcohol can also relax the pelvic floor muscles and bladder control mechanisms which can lead to unintentional loss of bladder control.

For some men with bowel conditions, such as looser and more frequent stools as a result of prostate cancer treatments, alcohol can increase peristalsis (contractions of the intestines that help push food and waste through your gut and rectum), leading to diarrhoea and less control or faecal leakage.

Are there other diet and lifestyle choices that particularly impact people with prostate cancer, an enlarged prostate or recent prostatectomy in terms of experiencing symptoms of incontinence?

Foods and beverages such as carbonated drinks, caffeine, spicy foods, artificial sweeteners and highly refined sugars, and acidic foods like citrus and tomatoes, are all thought to be irritants that may affect continence. Reducing or avoiding these irritants may improve bladder and bowel control. Maintaining a healthy weight is important.

Carrying excess weight increases the pressure on your bladder and bowel, which can worsen incontinence. Quitting smoking is also beneficial in reducing irritation to the bladder. Smoking can lead to a chronic cough, reduced blood flow, impaired healing and poorer pelvic muscle control, which can all impact incontinence.

For those needing support to quit smoking, contact Quitline on 13 78 48.

Prostate cancer information

An estimated 28,868 Australian men were diagnosed, and 3,975 Australian men died from prostate cancer in 2025. Forecasts suggest that by 2035, 34,587 Australian men will be newly diagnosed with prostate cancer each year, accounting for a 20% increase in incidence numbers over the 10 years from 2025 to 2035.

The good news is, early detection and advancements in treatment mean that over the last 40 years, the five-year relative survival for prostate cancer has improved from 58% to 96%.

PCFA is Australia’s leading community-based organisation for prostate cancer research, awareness, and support. Their goal is ‘zero deaths in our lifetime’. Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australia. Visit prostate.org.au to find a PCFA support group near you.

For more information and to register for 2027 visit dryjuly.com/pcfa

Also in this edition

• Carer of the Year
• Mad about materials
• Finding a group to support you
• A day in the life of someone with neurogenic urinary retention
• What is neurogenic urinary retention?
• Looking after your bowels in hospital
• Disabilities: talking to your GP about incontinence
• Is health advice from TikTok or ChatGPT better?