Women experience incontinence two times more often than men. Pregnancy and childbirth, menopause, and the structure of the female urinary tract account for this difference. But both women and men can become incontinent from strokes, multiple sclerosis, and physical problems associated with old age. Older women, more often than younger women, experience incontinence. But incontinence is not inevitable with age.
Incontinence is treatable and often curable at all ages.
If you experience incontinence, you may feel embarrassed. It may help you to remember that loss of bladder control can be treated. You will need to overcome your embarrassment and see a doctor to learn if you need treatment for an underlying medical condition. Incontinence in women usually occurs because of problems with muscles that help to hold or release urine. The bladder connects to the urethra, the tube through which urine leaves the body.