It is usually associated with an underlying disease. Prostatism The treatment of acute incontinence includes frequent toileting and treatment of the underlying cause. Catheterization should be avoided as it increases the likelihood of hospital-acquired infections. Stress incontinence occurs in women who usually have had children and is characterized by loss of small volumes of urine following coughing, sneezing or other maneuvers that increase intra-abdominal pressure. It happens because the internal urethral sphincter, the circular band of muscle that surrounds the bladder opening, has lost muscle tone and pushed outside of the abdominal cavity.
Reflex incontinence occurs in persons with spinal cord damage.
Their bladders do not receive, via the spinal cord, the message to stop urination. Functional incontinence occurs when either a person's physical or mental state deters the person from urinating in the toilet, i.e., the person lacks the physical ability to reach the toilet or lacks an adequate thought process to go to the toilet when having the urge to urinate. Causes include strokes, dementia and depression. This occurs in persons with autonomic neuropathy. Obstructive - prostate enlargement is the usual cause.