Urinary incontinence happens when you lose control of your bladder. In some cases, you may empty your bladder's contents completely. In other cases, you may ...WhyAmIExperiencingUrinaryIncontinence?MedicallyreviewedbyElaineK.Luo,M.D.—WrittenbyMaryEllenEllisonAugust24,2020TypesCausesWhentoseeahealthcareproviderDiagnosisTreatmentPreventionOverviewUrinaryincontinencehappenswhenyoulosecontrolofyourbladder.Insomecases,youmayemptyyourbladder’scontentscompletely.Inothercases,youmayexperienceonlyminorleakage.Theconditionmaybetemporaryorchronic,dependingonitscause.AccordingtotheUrologyCareFoundation,millionsofadultsintheUnitedStatesexperienceurinaryincontinence.AccordingtoJohnsHopkinsMedicine,it’smorecommonamongwomenage50andover.However,thisconditioncanaffectanyone.Asyouage,themusclessupportingyourbladdertendtoweaken,whichcanleadtourinaryincontinence.Manydifferenthealthproblemscanalsocausethecondition.Symptomscanrangefrommildtosevereandcanbeasignofcancer,kidneystones,infection,oranenlargedprostate.Ifyouexperienceurinaryincontinence,makeanappointmentwithyourhealthcareprovider.Urinaryincontinencecaninterferewithyourdailylifeandleadtopotentialaccidents.Yourhealthcareprovidercanalsodetermineifamoreseriousmedicalconditionisthecause.TypesofurinaryincontinenceUrinaryincontinenceisdividedintothreegeneraltypes.Youcanpotentiallyexperiencemorethanonetypeatthesametime.StressincontinenceStressincontinenceistriggeredbycertaintypesofphysicalactivity.Forexample,youmightlosecontrolofyourbladderwhenyou’re:exercisingcoughingsneezinglaughingSuchactivitiesputstressonthesphinctermusclethatholdsurineinyourbladder.Theaddedstresscancausethemuscletoreleaseurine.UrgeincontinenceUrgeincontinenceoccurswhenyoulosecontrolofyourbladderafterexperiencingasuddenandstrongurgetourinate.Oncethaturgehits,youmaynotbeabletomakeittothebathroomin.OverflowincontinenceOverflowincontinencecanoccurifyoudon’tcompletelyemptyyourbladderwhenyouurinate.Later,someoftheremainingurinemayleakfromyourbladder.Thistypeofincontinence