Urinary incontinence is the unintentional passing of urine. It’s a common problem thought to affect millions of people. There are several types of urinary incontinence, including:Stress incontinence – when urine leaks out at times when your bladder is under pressure; for example, when you cough or laugh Urge incontinence – when urine leaks as you feel a sudden, intense urge to pass urine,
or soon afterward overflow incontinence (chronic urinary retention) – when you’re unable to fully empty your bladder, which causes frequent leaking.
Total incontinence – when your bladder can’t store any urine at all, which causes you to pass urine constantly or have frequent leaking.
Urge incontinence, or urgency incontinence, is when you feel a sudden and very intense need to pass urine and you’re unable to delay going to the toilet. There are often only a few seconds between the need to urinate and the release of urine.
Your need to pass urine may be triggered by a sudden change of position, or even by the sound of running water. You may also pass urine during sex, particularly when you reach orgasm. This type of incontinence often occurs as part of a group of symptoms called overactive bladder syndrome, which is where the bladder muscle is more active than usual.
As well as sometimes causing urge incontinence, overactive bladder syndrome can also mean you need to pass urine very frequently and you may need to get up several times during the night to urinate.
Mixed incontinence: Mixed incontinence is when you have symptoms of both stress and urge incontinence. For example, you may leak urine if you cough or sneeze, and also experience very intense urges to pass urine.
