The Four Types of Urinary Incontinence

In the United States, 25 million adults experience loss of bladder control on a regular basis. Urinary incontinence symptoms range from mild lack of bladder control to uncontrollable wetting. The majority of people with the condition are women but many men also experience some form of incontinence.

The Clinical Practice Guideline defines four types of incontinence: stress, urge, mixed, and overflow. What is the difference between these types and what are the causes behind each condition?

Stress Incontinence

If you experience urine leakage when you sneeze, laugh, cough, climb stairs, or through other activities that cause increased abdominal pressure, you may have stress incontinence. Stress on the abdominal cavity will also put pressure on the bladder. Individuals who lack bladder control are likely to experience urinary accidents when this type of pressure is exerted. Stress incontinence may be caused by an injury to the urethral area, certain medications, childbirth, obesity, prostate surgery, surgery of the pelvic area, chronic coughing from asthma or bronchitis, or other health conditions.

Urge Incontinence

Urge incontinence occurs when bladder muscles do not contract correctly. These contractions occur no matter how much urine is in the bladder and often cause urine to leak. Causes of this type of urine leakage may be a result of a bladder infection, bladder stones, inflammation of the bladder, bladder cancer, neurological diseases such as multiple sclerosis, neurological injuries such as stroke or spinal cord injury, or other health conditions.

Mixed Incontinence

As the name suggests, mixed incontinence is a combination of stress and urge incontinence. You may have this type if you experience urine leakage when laughing, coughing, during exercise, or other physical activities and also have a sudden urge to urinate at times, urinate after drinking a small amount of liquid, or urinate during sleep.

Overflow Incontinence

The name “overflow” was given to this type of incontinence because it causes urine to constantly dribble from the bladder even after voluntarily passing urine. This type can be caused by weak bladder muscles, which does not allow for complete emptying of the bladder. A blocked urethra can also cause this condition. Diseases such as autonomic neuropathy from diabetes or autonomic neuropathy can cause this type of bladder control loss. Conditions such as kidney stones, tumors, nervous system disorders, spinal cord injuries, and benign prostatic hyperplasia are also common causes.

If you are experiencing a loss of bladder control, seek medical attention as soon as possible. Your doctor will be able to assess any underlying medical problems and will be able to recommend an appropriate treatment plan.