Total incontinence is the condition in which urine constantly drips from the urethra, day and night. It occurs when the urinary sphincter doesn't close adequately. Some children have this type of incontinence because of a birth defect in which the urethra didn't close off as a tube. In women with total incontinence, the cause is usually an injury to the bladder neck and urethra during childbirth. In men, the most common cause is an injury to the bladder neck and urethra resulting from surgery, particularly removal of the prostate because of cancer.
Psychogenic incontinence is incontinence resulting from emotional rather than physical causes.
This type occurs occasionally in children and even in adults who have emotional problems. A psychologic cause may be suspected when emotional distress or depression is evident and other causes of incontinence are ruled out. Mixed types of incontinence sometimes occur. For example, a child may have incontinence resulting from both nerve malfunction and psychologic factors. A man may have overflow incontinence from prostate enlargement along with urge incontinence from a stroke.