It’s happened to just about every woman – something tickles your fancy and you let out a great big laugh, which quickly turns to alarm as you feel that unpleasant trickle of urine.
Medically speaking, this is a form of urinary incontinence. When it only happens occasionally, you probably have nothing to worry about. But if you find yourself leaking urine frequently, or without an outside cause, you could be dealing with an underlying condition.
If you have concerns about the frequency of your leaking urine, take a moment to identify the type of incontinence you are dealing with. Should you decide to address the issue with a doctor, this information can help you provide a more thorough explanation during your appointment.
If you are leaking throughout the day and night, this constitutes total incontinence.
Total incontinence is sometimes the most distressing for women. In essence, your bladder leaks happen frequently or constantly, without any identifiable outside cause. Women with this condition often leak large amounts of urine at a time.
With overflow incontinence, you may feel like you constantly have to urinate.
Dribbling and the inability to completely empty the bladder are the hallmarks of overflow incontinence. Women sometimes experience this issue as part of a urinary tract infection. When no infection is present, there is likely to be another condition related to the bladder, urethra or nervous system.
If a strong need to urinate comes on suddenly, you are experiencing urge incontinence.
When incontinence occurs because your bladder seems suddenly full and begins to empty itself before you can make it to a bathroom, you may have an underlying issue with your urinary tract, bladder or bowels. Overactive bladder falls into this category, as well, meaning there is no infection or disorder. Your bladder simply has a tendency to spasm.
When laughing or sneezing makes you lose bladder control, that’s called stress incontinence.
Those most often affected by stress incontinence are women who are pregnant or have gone through childbirth, and those who are experiencing menopause. Either pressure on the bladder from a growing fetus or anatomical changes that occur because of childbirth or menopause can bring on this condition.
What to do about it, and when to worry
The occasional episode of stress incontinence is normal for most women. If your incontinence occurs frequently enough that it concerns you, or if it is accompanied by other symptoms, fight any embarrassment you might feel and call your doctor.
Since there’s a possibility that incontinence could indicate a more serious condition, getting evaluated by a medical professional is important. Just like with most health issues, you should never self-diagnose, even with the assistance of reliable online sources.
