Elderly persons are especially susceptible to incontinence. Factors affecting this condition are urinary infections, inability to get to the bathroom, and altered fluid intake caused by illness and nursing home routines. U rinary incontinence, the inability to hold your urine until you get to the bathroom, is a common problem, affecting at least 13 million people in the United States. Women are twice as likely as men to experience some loss of bladder control, because of pregnancy, childbirth, menopause, and the very structure of the female urinary tract.
Some elderly men can only void when standing.
Incontinence is the No. 1 reason for nursing home admission. There are plenty of treatments available to elderly patients. Stress incontinence is often the result of childbirth, loss of pelvic muscle tone, or gynecological surgery. Urge incontinence is marked by a sudden, uncontrollable loss of urine, caused by involuntary bladder-wall contractions. Caffeine, bladder infection, and certain medications may exacerbate the problem.