Even when incontinence cannot be completely cured, modern products and ways of managing the condition can ease the discomfort and inconvenience it causes. Incontinence may be brought on by an illness accompanied by fatigue, confusion, or hospital admission. Incontinence is sometimes the first and only symptom of a urinary tract infection. Curing the illness usually will relieve or clear up the incontinence. It occurs most often in women.
Urge incontinence is the inability to hold urine long enough to reach a toilet.
It is often found in people who have conditions such as a stroke, dementia, Parkinson's disease, and multiple sclerosis, but it can occur in otherwise healthy older persons. Overflow incontinence is the leakage of small amounts of urine from a bladder that is always full. In older men, this type of incontinence occurs when an enlarged prostate blocks the flow of urine from the bladder. Another cause is loss of normal bladder contractions in some people with diabetes. Functional incontinence occurs in many older people who have normal urine control but who have difficulty reaching a toilet in time because of arthritis or other crippling disorders.