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Urinary Incontinence
Reviewed by Medicinsk Expert•Last updated: 2026-10-22•Older Adults

Urinary Incontinence

Urinary incontinence is a common condition involving the loss of bladder control, though it can often be managed or improved with proper treatment.

Types of Urinary Incontinence (UI)

There are several different types of UI, each with different symptoms and causes:

  • Stress incontinence: Happens when stress or pressure on your bladder causes you to leak urine (e.g., coughing, sneezing, laughing). 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 to urinate and leak before reaching the toilet. It is often related to an overactive bladder and is most common in older people. It can be a sign of a UTI or neurological conditions like multiple sclerosis.
  • Overflow incontinence: Happens when your bladder doesn't empty all the way, causing it to become too full and leak. This is most common in men and can be caused by tumors, kidney stones, diabetes, and certain medicines.
  • Functional incontinence: Happens when a physical or mental disability, trouble speaking, or other problems prevent you from reaching the toilet in time.
  • Mixed incontinence: A combination of more than one type, usually stress and urge incontinence.
  • Transient incontinence: Urine leakage caused by a temporary situation, such as an infection or new medicine, which goes away once the cause is removed.
  • Bedwetting: Urine leakage during sleep. In children, it may be due to slow physical development or illness. In adults, causes include medicines, caffeine, alcohol, diabetes insipidus, UTI, kidney stones, enlarged prostate (BPH), and sleep apnea.

Risk Factors

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

  • Are female, especially after pregnancy, childbirth, or menopause
  • Are older, as urinary tract muscles weaken with age
  • Are a man with prostate problems
  • Have health problems such as diabetes, obesity, or long-lasting constipation
  • Are a smoker
  • Have a birth defect affecting the urinary tract structure

Diagnosis

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

  • Medical history and a bladder diary
  • Physical exam, including rectal or pelvic exams
  • Urine and/or blood tests
  • Bladder function tests
  • Imaging tests

Treatment & Management

Treatment depends on the type and cause of UI and may include a combination of the following:

Self-Care Treatments

  • Lifestyle changes: Drinking the right amount of liquid, being physically active, maintaining a healthy weight, avoiding constipation, and not smoking.
  • Bladder training: Urinating according to a schedule to help stretch the bladder.
  • Pelvic floor exercises: Kegel exercises to strengthen the muscles that control urine flow.

Other Options

  • Medicines: To relax bladder muscles, block nerve signals, or shrink the prostate.
  • Medical devices: Catheters or vaginal inserts to decrease leaks.
  • Bulking agents: Injected into tissues to help close the bladder opening.
  • Electrical nerve stimulation: Changing bladder reflexes using pulses of electricity.
  • Surgery: To support the bladder in its normal position, such as using a sling.

Frequently Asked Questions

urinary tract infection (UTI) typically causes sudden-onset symptoms including burning during urination, pelvic ache, foul-smelling or cloudy urine, fever, and acute urgency. Chronic incontinence generally develops gradually without burning or fever and persists over months. A clinician will perform a simple urinalysis and culture; if an infection is present, treating it with antibiotics usually resolves temporary incontinence. Once an infection is ruled out, evaluation shifts toward pelvic floor weakness, bladder overactivity, or structural causes.
Limiting bladder irritants such as caffeine, alcohol, artificial sweeteners, carbonated beverages, and highly acidic or spicy foods can significantly reduce sudden bladder spasms and urgency. Rather than severely restricting water intake—which concentrates urine and irritates the bladder lining—aim to drink moderate amounts of water evenly throughout the day. Restricting fluids two to three hours before bedtime can help reduce nighttime awakenings and bedwetting.
Pelvic floor training strengthens the supportive musculature around the bladder neck and urethra, making it highly effective for stress and mixed incontinence. When performed correctly and consistently three times per day, most people begin noticing measurable improvements in bladder control within 6 to 12 weeks. Working with a specialized pelvic floor physical therapist can ensure you are isolating the correct muscles without bearing down or tightening the abdominal and gluteal muscles.
Surgery is typically evaluated when conservative therapies, such as pelvic muscle exercises, lifestyle changes, and pessaries, fail to improve significant leakage. Common procedures include mid-urethral sling operations, which place a synthetic mesh or tissue ribbon under the urethra to provide support during coughing, sneezing, or lifting. Before surgery, patients undergo urodynamic testing to confirm the exact mechanics of leakage and ensure there is no hidden urinary retention.
Source: MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine

MedlinePlus brings together authoritative health information from the National Library of Medicine (NLM), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and other government agencies and health-related organizations.

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