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Bladder Health

What is Incontinence?

Say the word incontinence, and several scenarios may come to mind: weak or no bladder control, having a strong and sudden urge to urinate (and maybe not making it to the bathroom) or frequent trips to the toilet (with or without leaks.) The official definition from the International Continence Society is the unwanted and involuntary leakage of urine.

Incontinence affects women in greater numbers than men and tends to get worse as women age. Why? We have a more complicated urination process and anatomical structure than men, we have different hormones than men, and we experience life events such as pregnancy, vaginal delivery and menopause, all of which can impact continence.

There are many types of urinary incontinence (UI), all defined by how and when you leak urine and how much you leak. What follows are the main categories:

• Stress: (SUI) Leaking small amounts of urine during physical movement (coughing, sneezing, exercising…even laughing out loud!)(link to new stress pages)
• URGE: (UUI) A strong and sudden urge to urinate, often accompanied by leaking large amounts of urine.
• Overactive Bladder (OAB): Urinary frequency and urgency, with or without urge incontinence. This term is being used more and more by physicians and pharmaceutical companies instead of SUI and UI.
• FUNCTIONAL: In functional incontinence, the patient has mental or physical disabilities that impair urination, although the urinary system itself is normal. This can occur in conjunction with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, or patients with severe depression
• OVERFLOW: Unexpectedly leaking small amounts of urine from a full bladder; the bladder fails to communicate the urge to go to the brain.
• Mixed: Symptoms of stress and urge UI together.
• Transient: Temporary or situational leaking that goes away with time (ie., infection, taking a new medication, colds with coughing)

Symptoms of Incontinence

The main symptom of UI is typically some degree of urine leakage, but depending on the type can also include the following:

• Waking up in the middle of the night, once or several times, to use the bathroom
• A sudden, strong urge to go, being afraid you might not make it to the toilet or sometimes even losing control before you get to the bathroom
• Leaking a little urine when you laugh, cough, sneeze, or lift something heavy
• Having difficulty completely emptying your bladder, or going to the bathroom and then 5 minutes later having to go again

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