What is "urinary incontinence"

n. inability to control the flow of urine and involuntary urination [syn: enuresis]

Urinary incontinence (UI), also known as involuntary urination, is any leakage of urine. It is a common and distressing problem, which may have a large impact on quality of life. Urinary incontinence is often a result of an underlying medical condition but is under-reported to medical practitioners. Enuresis is often used to refer to urinary incontinence primarily in children, such as nocturnal enuresis (bed wetting).

There are four main types of incontinence:

• Urge incontinence due to an overactive bladder
• Stress incontinence due to poor closure of the bladder
• Overflow incontinence due to either poor bladder contraction or blockage of the urethra
• Functional incontinence due to medications or health problems making it difficult to reach the bathroom

Treatments include pelvic floor muscle training, bladder training, and electrical stimulation. The benefit of medications is small and long term safety is unclear.