Health Information: Incontinence

In This Section:

Urinary incontinence, or loss of bladder control, affects an estimated 13 million Americans. It is not a disease, but rather a symptom of an underlying condition. Urinary incontinence is not a normal part of aging; in fact, incontinence can begin at any age.

There are several types of incontinence:

Stress Incontinence - Loss of urine with exercise or certain movements. Signs of this type of incontinence are urine leakage associated with sneezing, coughing or laughing.
Urge Incontinence - Involuntary loss of urine as soon as you feel the urge to go to the bathroom. Signs include leaking urine on the way to the bathroom, or when hearing, touching or drinking liquids.
Overflow Incontinence - Signs of this type incontinence include the feeling that you are not able to completely empty your bladder and getting up at night often to urinate.
Functional incontinence - May occur after a major illness or in nursing homes. It is often seen when a person has difficulty moving from one place to another.

Causes of incontinence

Temporary conditions related to:

urinary tract infection
vaginal infection
constipation
medications

More chronic forms of incontinence can be caused by:

hormone imbalance
weakness of muscles that hold bladder in place, weakness of the bladder itself or weakness of the urinary sphincter muscles.
overactive bladder muscles
immobility

Diagnosis

It is important to see a doctor if you are experiencing signs of urinary incontinence. The doctor will examine you and ask very specific questions regarding your urinary habits. You can help in this process by providing a detailed account of your symptoms.

You may have blood tests to assess your kidney function, and urine tests to check for the presence of infection or blood.
X-rays of the kidney and bladder may be done.
Sometimes a cystoscope, a small lighted telescope, may be inserted into the bladder by the doctor to check for abnormalities in the lower urinary tract.

Treatment

Medications may be used to treat certain types of incontinence, such as incontinence caused by infection or hormone imbalance. If the cause of incontinence is found to be an anatomical problem, surgery may be recommended by your doctor. Once the cause of your incontinence has been pinpointed, your doctor will be able to discuss with you the various treatment options that may be appropriate for you.

The Continence Center at Sacred Heart

The Continence Center at Sacred Heart offers treatment to children and adults suffering from urinary and fecal incontinence. For details, please call (509) 474-3750.