You may often lose small amounts of urine during the day and night, get up often during the night to go to the bathroom, pass only a small amount of urine but feel as if your bladder is still partly full, or spend a long time at the toilet but produce only a weak, dribbling stream of urine. Overflow incontinence can be caused by loss of normal bladder control in a person with diabetes, and often in older men whose normal flow of urine is blocked by an obstructed urethra due to an enlarged prostate gland. Tumors and urinary stones also can block the urethra. It is a serious condition requiring immediate medical attention. Untreated, it can cause urine to flow backwards from the bladder to the kidney, raising the risk of kidney infection and permanent damage.
Overflow incontinence is rare in women.
This occurs in people with normal bladder control but who are unable to reach a toilet in time due to a physically limiting disorder. A person with Alzheimer's disease, for example, may not think well enough to plan a timely trip to a restroom. A person in a wheelchair may be blocked from getting to a toilet in time. This is often the reason for incontinence of elderly women in nursing homes. Prostate disorders Incontinence is a symptom, not a disease.