Bladder weakness is a common problem. It occurs more often as people get older and is twice as common in women as in men occurring in about 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men. However, bladder weakness can affect anyone and has many different causes.
Symptoms
Symptoms of bladder weakness range from occasional minor urine leakage to complete emptying of your bladder contents and may be temporary or persistent (chronic) depending on the cause.
There are several types of bladder weakness:
Stress incontinence. When you exert pressure on your bladder by physical activity such as coughing, sneezing, laughing, exercising or lifting something heavy, you put pressure on the sphincter muscle that holds the urine in your bladder, and this causes it to release urine.
Urge incontinence. You experience a sudden, intense urge to urinate followed by an involuntary loss of urine. You may need to urinate often, including throughout the night. This may be caused by a minor condition, such as a urinary infection, or a more severe condition such as a neurological disorder or diabetes.
Overflow incontinence. When you urinate, your bladder doesn’t completely empty. Afterwards, you experience frequent or constant dribbling of some of the remaining urine.
Mixed incontinence. You experience more than one type of urinary incontinence — most often this refers to a combination of stress incontinence and urge incontinence.
Functional incontinence. A physical or mental barrier prevents you from getting to the toilet in time. For example, if you have severe arthritis, you may not be able to get to the bathroom quickly enough, or even unbutton your pants in time.
References:
Mayo Clinic. Patient Care & Health Information. Diseases & Conditions. Urinary incontinence. Symptoms and Causes. [Online] 9 Feb 2023. Accessed 15 Feb 2023. Available from: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/urinary-incontinence/symptoms-causes/syc-20352808
Healthline. Why Am I Experiencing Urinary Incontinence? [Online] 9 Feb 2022 Accessed 15 Mar 2022. Available from: https://www.healthline.com/health/urinary-incontinence#when-to-seek-help
Sketchymedicine. Doodles for studying. Stress, urge, overflow and mixed incontinence [Online] 16 Feb 2012. Accessed 26 Mar 2023. Available from: https://sketchymedicine.com/2012/02/stress-urge-overflow-and-mixed-incontinence/
