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.
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.
Mixed incontinence -- contains components of both stress and urge incontinence.
Bowel incontinence, a separate topic, is the inability to control the passage of stool.
Alternative Names
Loss of bladder control; Uncontrollable urination; Urination - uncontrollable; Incontinence - urinary
Considerations
Incontinence is most common among the elderly. Women are more likely than men to have urinary incontinence.
Infants and children are not considered incontinent, but merely untrained, up to the time of toilet training. Occasional accidents are not unusual in children up to age 6 years. Young (and sometimes teenage) girls may have slight leakage of urine when laughing.
The ability to hold urine is dependent on having normal anatomy and a normally functioning urinary tract and nervous system. You must also possess the physical and psychological ability to recognize and appropriately respond to the urge to urinate.
Stress incontinence (5 images)(Doctor-Reviewed information)
Stress incontinence is an involuntary loss of urine that occurs during physical activity, such as coughing, sneezing, laughing, or exercise.The ability to hold urine and control urination depends on the normal function of the lower urinary tract, ...Reviewer: Peter Chen, MD, Department of Obstetrics and Gynceology, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed byDavid Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.Date: 04/24/2008
Urge incontinence (2 images)(Doctor-Reviewed information)
Urge incontinence involves a strong, sudden need to urinate. Then the bladder contracts, leading to urine leakage.Overactive bladder; Detrusor instability; Detrusor hyperreflexia; Irritable bladder; Spasmodic bladder; Unstable bladder; Incontinenc...Reviewer: Scott M. Gilbert, MD, Department of Urology, Columbia-Presbytarian Medical Center, New York, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.Date: 05/22/2008
Bowel incontinence (2 images)(Doctor-Reviewed information)
Bowel incontinence is the loss of bowel control, leading to an involuntary passage of stool. This can range from occasionally leaking a small amount of stool and passing gas, to completely losing control of bowel movements.Urinary incontinence, a ...Reviewer: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; and George F. Longstreth, MD, Department of Gastroenterology, Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program, San Diego, California. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.Date: 11/02/2008
Urination - excessive volume (2 images)(Doctor-Reviewed information)
Excessive volume of urination means that you release abnormally large amounts of urine each day. The medical term for this condition is polyuria. .An excessive volume of urination for an adult would be at least 2.5 liters of urine p...Reviewer: Marc A. Greenstein, D.O., F.A.C.O.S. Urologist, Somerset Medical Center in Somerville, NJ. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.Date: 01/24/2008
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