If you sometimes wet yourself, you may have urinary incontinence. There are several reasons this happens:

• Stress incontinence: the loss of urine during normal activities like laughing, coughing, sneezing, and lifting a heavy object or during exercise.
  
• Overflow incontinence: urine overflows from the bladder because there is no sense that the bladder is full.
   
• Urge incontinence: a very strong feeling that you need to urinate. The bladder may only contain a very small amount of urine. You just can’t seem to get to the bathroom in time. Unless the person urinates, some urine may leak out. This is also called overactive bladder. You may have one or more of these.
  

What are symptoms?

• The loss of a few drops of urine  
• A constant dribble of urine
• Emptying of the whole bladder without any warning.
  

What causes it?

• Childbirth
• Diabetes
• Menopause
• Nervous system disease like Parkinson’s disease.
• Nerve damage, from conditions like MS or a stroke.
• Pelvic surgery
• The inability to get to the bathroom in time
• A bladder or vaginal infection  
• Some medicines
• Enlarged prostate
• Constipation
  

How is it treated?

Incontinence can be stopped or decreased in almost everyone. Different treatments may include: _Exercises to increase the strength of the pelvic floor muscles

• Diet to limit foods and drinks that irritate the bladder  
• A high-fiber diet may help with constipation
• Medicines or a change in medicines
• Bladder retraining
• Surgery
  

It is also very important to prevent skin breakdown from leaking urine. If you wet yourself, be sure to change your clothes and wash the skin with mild soap and water. Pat dry with a towel. Special pads and underwear are available to help as well.