Urinary Incontinence: Types, Causes and Risk Factors
Urinary incontinence is the involuntary loss of urine that is sufficient to be a problem.
There are many risk factors that can play a part in urinary incontinence. It can be caused by many physical conditions. Many of these causes are temporary and reversible. This is called “acute incontinence”. Persistent incontinence may develop slowly over time or continues after conditions causing acute incontinence have been treated. There are many kinds of persistent incontinence. The three most common types are stress, urge and mixed incontinence. These account for more than 80% of all incontinence. The other kinds of persistent incontinence are overflow, functional and total.
Risk Factors for Urinary Incontinence
- Immobility
- Confusion due to illness
- Medications
- Obesity
- Diuretics (fluid pills)
- Smoking
- Low fluid intake
- Environmental barriers
- High-impact aerobics
- Diabetes
- Estrogen depletion
- Pelvic muscle weakness
- Childhood nocturnal enuresis (bed-wetting)
- Pregnancy / vaginal delivery / episiotomy
Acute Incontinence
Acute incontinence usually happens all of a sudden during a new illness or condition. A complete evaluation by your physician will identify any acute reasons for the incontinence and simple treatment may put an end to the incontinence. Some acute causes are:
- Urinary tract infection (UTI)
- Irritation or inflammation of the vagina, bladder or urethra
- Constipation or fecal impaction
- Medication effects
- Confusion related to an illness
- Inability to move around due to illness
- Hormone imbalance in women
Persistent Incontinence
Some of the causes of persistent incontinence are:
- Weakness of the pelvic muscles that hold the bladder in position
- Weakness of the bladder itself
- Weakness of the urethral sphincter muscles
- Overactive bladder muscles (OAB)
- Blocked urethra
- Hormone imbalance in women
- Neurological disorders (stroke, Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis for example)
- Immobility (not being able to move around)
Stress Urinary Incontinence
Stress incontinence is the involuntary loss of urine when you exercise or move in a certain way. You may leak urine when:
- Sneezing, coughing or laughing
- Getting up from a chair or getting out of bed
- Exercising or running, walking
The increase in abdominal pressure from these activities presses on the bladder. If the urethra does not stay closed or the pelvic muscles are not strong enough, urine is pushed out. These leaks are small amounts of urine. Some causes of stress incontinence in women are:
- Pregnancy and childbirth.
- Lack of estrogen
- Weakness in pelvic muscles
Urge Urinary Incontinence
Urge incontinence is the involuntary loss of urine as soon as you feel a strong need to go to the bathroom. These leaks are large amounts of urine. You may leak urine when:
- You can’t get to the bathroom quickly enough
- You drink a small amount of liquid
- You hear or touch running water
- You put your key in the door
Some causes of urge urinary incontinence are:
- Irritation or inflammation of the bladder, vagina or urethra
- Enlargement of the prostate
- Fecal impaction
- Problems with the nervous system (stroke, Parkinson’s, MS, spinal cord injury)
- Medications
Mixed Urinary Incontinence
This is a combination of both stress and urge incontinence.
Overflow, Functional, Total
Overflow incontinence is when the bladder cannot empty completely, leading to frequent small amounts of urine.
Functional incontinence is the loss of urine when the person cannot or will not use the toilet appropriately.
Total incontinence is the complete loss of control with almost continuous loss of urine. It is rare.
