SIGN IN YOUR ACCOUNT TO HAVE ACCESS TO DIFFERENT FEATURES

FORGOT YOUR PASSWORD?

FORGOT YOUR DETAILS?

AAH, WAIT, I REMEMBER NOW!
24/7 HELPLINE (903) 212-7500
  • PATIENT PORTAL LOGIN

PhyNet Health PhyNet Health

  • Home
  • Find a Clinic
    • Hughes Springs, TX
    • Longview, TX
    • Jefferson, TX
    • Kilgore, TX
    • Lindale, TX
    • Linden, TX
    • Gladewater, TX
    • Lone Star, TX
    • Tatum, TX
    • Marshall, TX
  • Health Services
    • Primary Care Services
    • Physical Therapy / Rehab
    • Allergy Testing & Treatment
    • Chronic Care Management
    • Remote Monitoring Program
    • Virtual Visit
  • Resources
    • MedlinePlus Wiki
      • Health Topics
    • Home Health Coordination
    • Transitions of Care
    • Insurance Help
  • About Phynet
    • About Phynet
    • PhyNet News
    • Better Together Stories
    • Careers
  • Billing

Health Topics

Skip navigation

An official website of the United States government

Here’s how you know

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( Lock Locked padlock icon ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

National Institutes of Health National Library of Medicine
MedlinePlus Trusted Health Information for You
  • Health Topics
  • Drugs & Supplements
  • Genetics
  • Medical Tests
  • Medical Encyclopedia
  • About MedlinePlus
  • About MedlinePlus
  • What's New
  • Site Map
  • Customer Support
  • Health Topics
  • Drugs & Supplements
  • Genetics
  • Medical Tests
  • Medical Encyclopedia
Español
You Are Here:
Home →
Health Topics →
Urinary Incontinence
URL of this page: https://medlineplus.gov/urinaryincontinence.html

Urinary Incontinence

Also called: Bladder control problems
On this page

Basics

  • Summary
  • Start Here
  • Diagnosis and Tests
  • Treatments and Therapies

Learn More

  • Living With
  • Specifics

See, Play and Learn

  • Images
  • Videos and Tutorials
  • Test Your Knowledge

Research

  • Clinical Trials
  • Journal Articles

Resources

  • Reference Desk
  • Find an Expert

For You

  • Children
  • Men
  • Women
  • Older Adults
  • Patient Handouts

Summary

What is urinary incontinence (UI)?

Urinary incontinence (UI) is the loss of bladder control, or being unable to control urination. It is a common condition. It can range from being a minor problem to something that greatly affects your daily life. In any case, it can get better with proper treatment.

What are the types of urinary incontinence (UI)?

There are several different types of UI. Each type has different symptoms and causes:

  • Stress incontinence happens when stress or pressure on your bladder causes you to leak urine. This could be due to coughing, sneezing, laughing, lifting something heavy, or physical activity. Causes include weak pelvic floor muscles and the bladder being out of its normal position.
  • Urge, or urgency, incontinence happens when you have a strong urge (need) to urinate, and some urine leaks out before you can make it to the toilet. It is often related to an overactive bladder. Urge incontinence is most common in older people. It can sometimes be a sign of a urinary tract infection (UTI). It can also happen in some neurological conditions, such as multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injuries.
  • Overflow incontinence happens when your bladder doesn't empty all the way. This causes too much urine to stay in your bladder. Your bladder gets too full, and you leak urine. This form of UI is most common in men. Some of the causes include tumors, kidney stones, diabetes, and certain medicines.
  • Functional incontinence happens when a physical or mental disability, trouble speaking, or some other problem keeps you from getting to the toilet in time. For example, someone with arthritis may have trouble unbuttoning his or her pants, or a person with Alzheimer's disease may not realize they need to plan to use the toilet.
  • Mixed incontinence means that you have more than one type of incontinence. It's usually a combination of stress and urge incontinence.
  • Transient incontinence is urine leakage that is caused by a temporary (transient) situation such as an infection or new medicine. Once the cause is removed, the incontinence goes away.
  • Bedwetting refers to urine leakage during sleep. This is most common in children, but adults can also have it.
    • Bedwetting is normal for many children. It is more common in boys. Bedwetting is often not considered a health problem, especially when it runs in the family. But if it still happens often at age 5 and older, it may be because of a bladder control problem. This problem could be caused by slow physical development, an illness, making too much urine at night, or another problem. Sometimes there is more than one cause.
    • In adults, the causes include some medicines, caffeine, and alcohol. It can also be caused by certain health problems, such as diabetes insipidus, a urinary tract infection (UTI), kidney stones, enlarged prostate (BPH), and sleep apnea.

Who is at risk for urinary incontinence (UI)?

In adults, you are at higher risk of developing UI if you:

  • Are female, especially after going through pregnancy, childbirth, and/or menopause
  • Are older. As you age, your urinary tract muscles weaken, making it harder to hold in urine.
  • Are a man with prostate problems
  • Have certain health problems, such as diabetes, obesity, or long-lasting constipation
  • Are a smoker
  • Have a birth defect that affects the structure of your urinary tract

In children, bedwetting is more common in younger children, boys, and those whose parents wet the bed when they were children.

How is urinary incontinence (UI) diagnosed?

Your health care provider may use many tools to make a diagnosis:

  • A medical history, which includes asking about your symptoms. Your provider may ask you to keep a bladder diary for a few days before your appointment. The bladder diary includes how much and when you drink liquids, when and how much you urinate, and whether you leak urine.
  • A physical exam, which can include a rectal exam. Women may also get a pelvic exam.
  • Urine and/or blood tests
  • Bladder function tests
  • Imaging tests

What are the treatments for urinary incontinence (UI)?

Treatment depends on the type and cause of your UI. You may need a combination of treatments. Your provider may first suggest self-care treatments, including:

  • Lifestyle changes to reduce leaks:
    • Drinking the right amount of liquid at the right time
    • Being physically active
    • Staying at a healthy weigh
    • Avoiding constipation
    • Not smoking
  • Bladder training. This involves urinating according to a schedule. Your provider makes a schedule from you, based on information from your bladder diary. After you adjust to the schedule, you gradually wait a little longer between trips to the bathroom. This can help stretch your bladder so it can hold more urine.
  • Doing exercises to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles. Strong pelvic floor muscles hold in urine better than weak muscles. The strengthening exercises are called Kegel exercises. They involve tightening and relaxing the muscles that control urine flow.

If these treatments do not work, your provider may suggest other options such as:

  • Medicines, which can be used to
    • Relax the bladder muscles, to help prevent bladder spasms
    • Block nerve signals that cause urinary frequency and urgency
    • In men, shrink the prostate and improve urine flow
  • Medical devices, including
    • A catheter, which is a tube to carry urine out of the body. You might use one a few times a day or all the time.
    • For women, a ring or a tampon-like device inserted into the vagina. The devices pushes up against your urethra to help decrease leaks.
  • Bulking agents, which are injected into the bladder neck and urethra tissues to thicken them. This helps close your bladder opening so you have less leaking.
  • Electrical nerve stimulation, which involves changing your bladder's reflexes using pulses of electricity
  • Surgery to support the bladder in its normal position. This may be done with a sling that is attached to the pubic bone.

NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Start Here

  • Bladder Control Problems (Urinary Incontinence) From the National Institutes of Health (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) Also in Spanish
  • Urinary Tract Health From the National Institutes of Health (Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development)
  • What is Urinary Incontinence? (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish

Diagnosis and Tests

  • Cystoscopy and Ureteroscopy From the National Institutes of Health (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) Also in Spanish
  • Daily Bladder Diary From the National Institutes of Health (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) - PDF
  • Urinary Tract Imaging From the National Institutes of Health (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) Also in Spanish
  • Urodynamic Testing From the National Institutes of Health (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) Also in Spanish

Treatments and Therapies

  • Bladder Control: Medications for Urinary Problems (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
  • Bladder Training for Urinary Incontinence (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
  • Surgery for Stress Urinary Incontinence (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists)
  • Surgery for Stress Urinary Incontinence in Women (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Living With

  • Bladder Control: Lifestyle Strategies Ease Problems (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Specifics

  • Adult Bed-Wetting: A Concern? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
  • Stress Incontinence (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Images

  • Bladder and urethral repair - series (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
  • Inflatable artificial sphincter - series (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish

Videos and Tutorials

  • Bladder function - neurological control Video (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish

Test Your Knowledge

  • Urinary Incontinence Quiz (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish

Clinical Trials

  • ClinicalTrials.gov: Bedwetting From the National Institutes of Health (National Institutes of Health)
  • ClinicalTrials.gov: Urinary Incontinence From the National Institutes of Health (National Institutes of Health)
  • ClinicalTrials.gov: Urinary Incontinence, Stress From the National Institutes of Health (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

  • Article: Relationship between the weight-adjusted-waist index and urinary incontinence in women: A...
  • Article: Internet Health Information-Seeking Trend of Urinary Incontinence in Mainland China: Infodemiology...
  • Article: Preventive aspirin use and its association with urinary incontinence in middle-aged...
  • Urinary Incontinence -- see more articles

Reference Desk

  • Urinary Tract and How It Works From the National Institutes of Health (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) Also in Spanish

Find an Expert

  • National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases From the National Institutes of Health

Children

  • Bedwetting (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
  • Bladder Control Problems and Bedwetting in Children From the National Institutes of Health Easy-to-Read (National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse) Also in Spanish
  • Products for Children with Enuresis and Daytime Urinary Incontinence (National Kidney Foundation)

Men

  • Kegel Exercises for Men: Understand the Benefits (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Women

  • Cystocele (Prolapsed Bladder) From the National Institutes of Health (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) Also in Spanish
  • Kegel Exercises From the National Institutes of Health (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) Also in Spanish
  • Lifestyle & Behavioral Changes (American Urogynecologic Society)
  • Urinary Incontinence (Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health)
  • Vaginal Pessary (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish

Older Adults

  • Eldercare at Home: Incontinence (AGS Health in Aging Foundation)
  • Urinary Incontinence in Older Adults From the National Institutes of Health (National Institute on Aging) Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

  • Artificial urinary sphincter (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
  • Bedwetting (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
  • External incontinence devices (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
  • Indwelling catheter care (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
  • Kegel exercises - self-care (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
  • Self catheterization - female (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
  • Self catheterization - male (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
  • Stress urinary incontinence (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
  • Suprapubic catheter care (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
  • Urge incontinence (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
  • Urinary catheters (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
  • Urinary incontinence (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
  • Urinary incontinence - injectable implant (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
  • Urinary incontinence - retropubic suspension (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
  • Urinary incontinence - tension-free vaginal tape (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
  • Urinary incontinence - urethral sling procedures (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
  • Urinary incontinence products (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
  • Urinary incontinence products - self-care (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
  • Urinary incontinence surgery - female - discharge (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
  • Urine drainage bags (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
  • When you have urinary incontinence (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish

Topic Image

Urinary Incontinence

MEDICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA

  • Artificial urinary sphincter
  • Bedwetting
  • Bladder and urethral repair - series
  • Bladder function - neurological control
  • External incontinence devices
  • Indwelling catheter care
  • Inflatable artificial sphincter - series
  • Kegel exercises - self-care
  • Self catheterization - female
  • Self catheterization - male
  • Skin care and incontinence
  • Stress urinary incontinence
  • Suprapubic catheter care
  • Urge incontinence
  • Urinary catheters
  • Urinary catheters - what to ask your doctor
  • Urinary incontinence
  • Urinary incontinence - injectable implant
  • Urinary incontinence - retropubic suspension
  • Urinary incontinence - tension-free vaginal tape
  • Urinary incontinence - urethral sling procedures
  • Urinary incontinence - what to ask your doctor
  • Urinary incontinence products
  • Urinary incontinence products - self-care
  • Urinary incontinence surgery - female - discharge
  • Urine drainage bags
  • When you have urinary incontinence

Related Health Topics

  • Overactive Bladder
  • Pelvic Floor Disorders
  • Urinary Tract Infections

National Institutes of Health

The primary NIH organization for research on Urinary Incontinence is the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Other Languages

Find health information in languages other than English on Urinary Incontinence

Disclaimers

MedlinePlus links to health information from the National Institutes of Health and other federal government agencies. MedlinePlus also links to health information from non-government Web sites. See our disclaimer about external links and our quality guidelines.

The information on this site should not be used as a substitute for professional medical care or advice. Contact a health care provider if you have questions about your health.

  • About MedlinePlus
  • What's New
  • Site Map
  • Customer Support
  • Subscribe to RSSRSS
  • Connect with NLM
  • NLM Web Policies
  • Copyright
  • Accessibility
  • Guidelines for Links
  • Viewers & Players
  • HHS Vulnerability Disclosure
  • MedlinePlus Connect for EHRs
  • For Developers
National Library of Medicine 8600 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20894 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health
Last updated January 9, 2024
Return to top

Patients

  • Find a Clinic
  • Health Services
  • Complex Case Management
  • MA / Medicare Assistance

Quick Links

  • Billing Information
  • Careers
  • About Phynet
  • PhyNet News

Network Links

  • PrimeCareHomeHealth.com
  • PrimeCareNet.com
  • PrimeCareManagers.com
  • Core-Rehab.com

Home Office

4002 Technology Center Longview TX 75605
Phone: (903) 247-0484
Fax: (903) 247-0485
[email protected]
  • PrimeCareHomeHealth.com
  • PrimeCareNet.com
  • PrimeCareManagers.com
  • Core-Rehab.com
  • GET SOCIAL

© 2021 PhyNet Health • All rights reserved
YOUR LIFE. YOUR CHOICE.

TOP