Urinary Incontinence

What is urinary incontinence?

Loss of bladder control is called urinary incontinence. It can happen to anyone, but is more common in older people. 1 in 10 people over the age of 65 have this problem. Symptoms range from mild leaking to uncontrollable wetting. Women seem to be affected more than man.

What causes urinary incontinence?

There are several types of incontinence with different causes:

Stress Incontinence
Stress Incontinence involves leaking of urine during physical activities that cause sudden increases in abdominal pressure such as coughing, laughing, or sneezing. Weakness of the muscles that control outflow of urine from the bladder is the usual cause. This type of incontinence can be related to the stretching of pelvic muscles during childbirth.

Urge Incontinence
An uncontrollable need to urinate that may occur during day or night. This type of incontinence may be caused by inflammation or infection of the bladder or a nerve disorder.

Overflow Incontinence
Causes frequent or constant dribbling of urine because the bladder is unable to empty completely and overfills. Nerve and muscle disorders or injuries are common causes of overflow incontinence.

Mixed Incontinence
A combination of urge and stress incontinence. Many frail elderly people have both urge and stress incontinence.

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