Incontinence is the inability to control the passage of urine. This can range from an occasional leakage of urine, to a complete inability to hold any urine. Urinary incontinence affects approximately 13 million people in the United States and is more common in women than in men. It occurs in 10 percent to 25 percent of women younger than age 65 and in 15 percent to 30 percent of women older than age 60 who do not live in nursing homes. Among nursing home residents, incontinence is even more common, affecting more than 50 percent of female patients.
The two main types of urinary incontinence are:
- Stress incontinence -- occurs during certain activities like coughing, sneezing, laughing, or exercise.
- Urge incontinence -- involves a strong, sudden need to urinate followed by instant bladder contraction and involuntary loss of urine. You don't have enough time between when you recognize the need to urinate and when you actually do urinate.
- Overflow incontinence -- happens when small amounts of urine leak from a bladder that is always full. A man can have trouble emptying his bladder if an enlarged prostate is blocking the urethra. Diabetes and spinal cord injury can also cause this type of incontinence.
- Functional incontinence -- happens in many older people who have normal bladder control. They just have a hard time getting to the toilet in time because of arthritis or other disorders that make moving quickly difficult.
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