Incontinence, urinary - Symptoms of urinary incontinence
- Introduction
- Symptoms of urinary incontinence
- Causes of urinary incontinence
- Diagnosing urinary incontinence
- Non-surgical treatments for urinary incontinence
- Surgery and procedures for urinary incontinence
- Preventing urinary incontinence
- Complications
- 'Women should not feel embarrassed'
Having urinary incontinence means you pass urine unintentionally.
When and how this happens varies depending on the type of urinary incontinence you have.
Although you may feel embarrassed about seeking help, it's a good idea to see your GP if you have any type of urinary incontinence.
Urinary incontinence is a common problem and seeing your GP can be the first step towards finding a way to effectively manage the problem.
Common types of urinary incontinence
Around nine in every 10 people with urinary incontinence have either stress incontinence or urge incontinence.
Stress incontinence
Stress incontinence is when you leak urine when your bladder is put under extra sudden pressure, for example when you cough. It is not related to feeling stressed. Other activities that may cause urine to leak include:
- sneezing
- laughing
- heavy lifting
- exercise
The amount of urine passed is usually small, but stress incontinence can sometimes cause you to pass larger amounts, particularly if your bladder is very full.
Urge incontinence
Urge incontinence, or urgency incontinence, is when you feel a sudden and very intense need to pass urine and you are unable to delay going to the toilet. There is often only a few seconds between the need to urinate and the release of urine.
Your need to pass urine may be triggered by a sudden change of position, or even by the sound of running water. You may also pass urine during sex, particularly when you reach orgasm.
This type of incontinence often occurs as part of group of symptoms called overactive bladder syndrome (OAB), which is where the bladder muscle is more active than usual.
As well as sometimes causing urge incontinence, OAB can also mean you need to pass urine very frequently and you may need to get up several times during the night to urinate.
Less common types of urinary incontinence
Mixed incontinence
Mixed incontinence is when you have symptoms of both stress and urge incontinence. For example, you may leak urine if you cough or sneeze, and also experience very intense urges to pass urine.
Overflow incontinence
Overflow incontinence, also called chronic urinary retention, occurs when the bladder cannot completely empty when you pass urine. This causes the bladder to swell above its usual size.
If you have overflow incontinence, you may pass small trickles of urine very often. It may also feel as though your bladder is never fully empty and you cannot empty it even when you try.
Total incontinence
Urinary incontinence that is severe and continuous is sometimes known as total incontinence.
Total incontinence may cause you to constantly pass large amounts of urine, even at night. Alternatively, you may pass large amounts of urine only occasionally, and leak small amounts in between.
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