Stress incontinence
With stress incontinence, urine leaks when you cough, sneeze, laugh, lift something heavy or exercise due to weak pelvic floor muscles that put pressure on the bladder or urethra. Some women experience only an occasional problem. Others have severe or frequent leakage.
Overactive bladder
Also called urge incontinence, you may urinate frequently (day or night) or feel a strong urge to urinate all of a sudden. You might leak a little or completely lose all your urine. This can occur during sleep, after drinking water or when you touch running water.
Overflow incontinence
This is due to a weak bladder, or a tight urethra tube. Your bladder doesn't empty properly, so this causes you to dribble or leak urine.
Mixed urinary incontinence
You have symptoms of stress incontinence and overactive bladder.
Bladder capacity test
Measures how much urine your bladder can hold.
Bladder stress test
Checks for urine leakage when you cough.
Cystoscopy
Looks inside your urethra and bladder using a thin tube with a camera
Residual urine test
Measures how much urine is left in your bladder after you urinate. This could be done with a catheter or with a bladder scan.
Urinalysis
Tests your urine for infection, urinary stones or other problems.
Urodynamics
Measures your bladder pressure and urine flow.
Behavior modification
You change how much and when you drink and use the bathroom at scheduled times. This retrains your bladder.
Physical therapy
A physical therapist works with you on behavior modification, education and exercises to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles.
Exercises
Kegel exercises strengthen your pelvic floor and bladder muscles.
Biofeedback
You use devices to measure your muscle strength while performing pelvic floor muscle exercises.
Insertable devices
A ring-shaped device called a pessary is placed in your vagina. The pessary supports your bladder or uterus. This takes pressure off your bladder.
Medications
There are medicines that control urge incontinence. They work best when taken for long-term use.
Urethra injections
A treatment for when the urethra is weak, a bulking agent like collagen is injected near the opening of your bladder. This narrows the opening and reduces leakage.
Botox injections
If the bladder muscle is too tense or the bladder spasms, Botox can be injected into the bladder wall using a cystoscope (a thin camera placed through the urethra tube). This causes the bladder muscle to relax and reduces leaking.
Neuromodulation
A device like a pacemaker is implanted into the low back to stimulate the bladder nerves. If your urge incontinence doesn't respond to behavioral changes or medicine, this may be a good option for you.
Slings
Surgery repairs weakened tissue to support the urethra. A mesh material called a sling is placed to support the urethra. Another option uses a tissue graft from your own body to create a sling.
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American Urogynecological Society
The American Urogynecological Society offers educational fact sheets on a variety of conditions and treatments. Fact sheets are also available in Spanish.
International Urogynecological Association
The International Urogynecological Association offers detailed information on many conditions and treatments. Information is available in several languages.
Society of Urodynamics, Female Pelvic Medicine & Urogenital Reconstruction
The Society of Urodynamics, Female Pelvic Medicine & Urogenital Reconstruction (SUFU) offers resources on bladder problems, UTIs and more.