What is incontinence?

Incontinence (in-CONT-ti-nunce) is the loss of bladder or bowel control.
There are five basic types of incontinence:

1. Stress incontinence occurs when pelvic muscles have been damaged, causing the bladder to leak during exercise, coughing , sneezing, laughing, or any body movement which puts pressure on the bladder.

2. Urge incontinence, the urgent need to pass urine and the inability to get to a toilet in time, occurs when nerve passages along the pathway from the bladder to the brain are damaged, causing a sudden bladder contraction that cannot be consciously inhibited.

3. Overflow incontinence refers to leakage that occurs when the quantity of urine produced exceeds the bladder's holding capacity.

4. Reflex incontinence, the loss of urine when the person is unaware of the need to urinate, may result from an abnormal opening between the bladder and another structure, or from a leak in the bladder, urethra, or ureter.

5. Incontinence from surgery follows such operations as hysterectomies, caesarian sections, prostatectomies, lower intestinal surgery, or rectal surgery.