Urinary incontinence is uncontrollable leaking of urine from the bladder. When the bladder is functioning normally, it does not empty without your awareness and control.
Urinary incontinence becomes more common as people get older.
It is an embarrassing problem for as many as one in three Americans age 60 or older. The condition is at least twice as common among women as men. The most common kind of urinary incontinence in women is stress incontinence, in which urine leaks during lifting, exercise, coughing, sneezing, or laughing. It is caused by relaxed pelvic muscles that may have been stretched or torn during child-bearing. Urge incontinence is an inability to hold the urine once the urge to urinate occurs.