kidney and urinary tract disorders
Urinary Incontinence in Adults
Types of Incontinence
There are several types of incontinence: Urge incontinenceis uncontrolled urine leakage (of moderate to large volume) that occurs immediately after an urgent, irrepressible need to urinate. Getting up to urinate during the night (nocturia) and nocturnal incontinence are common. Stress incontinenceis urine leakage due to abrupt increases in intra-abdominal pressure (for example, those that occur with coughing, sneezing, laughing, bending, or lifting). Leakage volume is usually low to moderate. Overflow incontinenceis dribbling of urine from an overly full bladder. Volume is usually small, but leaks may be constant, resulting in large total losses. Functional incontinenceis loss of urine because of a problem with thinking or a physical impairment unrelated to the control of urination. For example, a person with dementia due to Alzheimer disease may not recognize the need to urinate or not know where the toilet is. People who are bedridden may be unable to walk to the toilet or reach a bedpan. Often, however, a person has more than one type of incontinence. People are then described as having mixed incontinence. 