NHS - Urinary incontinence

Urinary incontinence is the unintentional passing of urine. It's a common problem thought to affect millions of people.

There are several types of urinary incontinence, including:

• stress incontinence – when urine leaks out at times when your bladder is under pressure; for example, when you cough or laugh
• urge incontinence – when urine leaks as you feel a sudden, intense urge to pee, or soon afterwards
• overflow incontinence (chronic urinary retention) – when you're unable to fully empty your bladder, which causes frequent leaking
• total incontinence – when your bladder cannot store any urine at all, which causes you to pass urine constantly or have frequent leaking

It's also possible to have a mixture of both stress and urge urinary incontinence.

Find out more about the symptoms of urinary incontinence.

Preventing urinary incontinence

It's not always possible to prevent urinary incontinence, but there are some steps you can take that may help reduce the chance of it happening.

These include:

• maintaining a healthy weight
• avoiding or cutting down on alcohol
• staying active – in particular, ensuring that your pelvic floor muscles are strong

Healthy weight

Being obese can increase your risk of urinary incontinence. You may be able to lower your risk by maintaining a healthy weight through regular exercise and healthy eating.

Use the healthy weight calculator to see if you are a healthy weight for your height.

Get more information and advice about losing weight.

Drinking habits

Depending on your particular bladder problem, a GP can advise you about the amount of fluids you should drink.

If you have urinary incontinence, cut down on alcohol and drinks containing caffeine, such as tea, coffee and cola. These can cause your kidneys to produce more urine and irritate your bladder.

The recommended weekly limit for alcohol consumption is 14 units.

A unit of alcohol is roughly half a pint of normal strength lager or a single measure (25ml) of spirits.

Find out more about alcohol units.

If you have to urinate frequently during the night (nocturia), try drinking less in the hours before you go to bed. However, make sure you still drink enough fluids during the day.

Pelvic floor exercises

Being pregnant and giving birth can weaken the muscles that control the flow of urine from your bladder. If you're pregnant, strengthening your pelvic floor muscles may help prevent urinary incontinence.

Find out more about exercise during pregnancy.

Everyone may benefit from strengthening their pelvic floor muscles with pelvic floor exercises.

Find out more about pelvic floor exercises.