Urge Incontinence

Urge incontinence is a type of urinary incontinence that affects the elderly more often than any other age group. Sometimes referred to as "overactive bladder" or "spastic bladder," urge incontinence is an involuntary loss of urine that usually occurs when a person has a strong, sudden need to urinate. Urge incontinence is not a disease. Rather, it is a sign that there is an underlying problem.

What Causes Urge Incontinence?

Urge incontinence is caused by abnormal bladder contractions. Normally, strong muscles called sphincters control the flow of urine from the bladder. With urge incontinence, the muscles of an "overactive" bladder contract with enough force to override the sphincter muscles of the urethra, which is the tube that urine passes through. This process allows urine to pass out of the bladder.

The bladder may experience abnormal contractions for the following reasons:

• The bladder may not be functioning properly because its nerves are damaged by various diseases -- for example, stroke, multiple sclerosis, or Parkinson's disease.
• The spinal cord may be damaged.
• The bladder may contract in reaction to certain stimuli, such as running water.

In many cases, the cause of urge incontinence cannot be identified.

What Are the Symptoms of Urge Incontinence?

The main symptom of urge incontinence is the constant urge to urinate and the involuntary loss of urine at inappropriate times. For instance, you may leak urine in public or while you are sleeping.

What Are the Risk Factors for Urge Incontinence?

People at greater risk for urge incontinence include:

• the elderly
• women who are pregnant or who have just had a baby
• women who are experiencing menopause
• people who are obese
• men who have had prostate surgery
• people who have nerve damage from diabetes, stroke, or injury
• people who have nerve or muscle damage caused by such diseases as Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, or Parkinson's disease
• people who are suffering from urinary tract infections

How Is Urge Incontinence Treated?

Urge incontinence can be treated with a variety of behavioral treatments, with medications, or with surgery.

Behavioral Treatments for Urge Incontinence

One way of dealing with urge incontinence is to simply change some of your behaviors. For instance, if you can anticipate when your bladder is overactive and may be contracting abnormally, you can take action to avoid any mishaps or urine leakage.

Here are some techniques that may be helpful:

• Biofeedback: Biofeedback is a practice that helps you learn how your body normally behaves. When you do, you will know when it is not functioning properly. In the case of urge incontinence, biofeedback can help you recognize when your bladder is overactive.

Two biofeedback techniques are timed voiding and bladder training. To practice timed voiding, you use a chart to record the times that you urinate and when you leak urine. This will give you an idea of your leakage "patterns." Then you can avoid leaking in the future by going to the bathroom at those times.