Occasional accidents in children up to age 6 years, especially with urine, are not unusual. Nighttime incontinence is usually referred to as bedwetting or enuresis in children. In young girls, and occasionally adolescent females, slight leakage of urine may be associated with laughing. Incontinence in children may be associated with severe urinary tract infections , spinal injuries and neurological abnormalities that result in abnormal bladder control. Incontinence is seen more frequently among the elderly.
Women are more likely than men to be affected by urinary incontinence.
Incontinence is not a hopeless situation. Although incontinence is usually not an emergency, problems with incontinence should be reported to the doctor. The gynecologist and the urologist are the specialists who are most familiar with incontinence and can evaluate the causes of incontinence and recommend several treatment approaches. The ability to hold urine and maintain continence is dependent on normal anatomy and function of the lower urinary tract and the nervous system. Additionally, the person must possess the physical and psychological ability to recognize and appropriately respond to the urge to urinate.