Stress Incontinence Symptoms

Stress incontinence symptoms mainly include leaking urine at different times of the day. Stress incontinence causes an involuntary release of urine when there is sudden pressure, or stress, on the bladder. You could experience daytime wetting, such as leaking urine when sneezing or leaking urine when coughing. You could also have leaking urine when laughing or leaking urine when exercising. Depending on how advanced your stress incontinence is, there could be a small amount to moderate amount of urine that leaks.

Stress incontinence symptoms can cause you to feel embarrassed in certain situations. For example, you may begin leaking urine on the stairs as you are walking into your house or place of work. With stress incontinence you may also experience frequent enuresis, or bed wetting, at night. Wetting the bed can not only be an embarrassing habit that you are unable to control but it can also cause a rash or skin irritation from your body coming into contact with urine-soaked sheets or clothing.

Because of the added pressure a baby in the womb adds to your internal organs, you may experience urine leaking during pregnancy. Pregnancy and childbirth can also lead to long-term stress incontinence. When the pelvic muscles stretch, the bladder and urethra can become weak and unable to control the release and withholding of urine on a regular basis. Sometimes this can be cured or dealt with by performing pelvic floor muscle exercises. In some patients, especially those who have gone through multiple vaginal births, surgery is the necessary treatment option.

Urinary incontinence usually indicates that you have some kind of underlying medical condition that is treatable. Stress incontinence develops because of poor functioning muscles that are supposed to support the bladder or help control urination. Urge urinary incontinence, also known as an over active bladder, can be caused by cancer bladder symptoms or an obstruction in the bladder such as bladder stones or an enlarged prostate. A neurogenic bladder can develop because of a neurological disorder or condition that prevents your brain from knowing when it is the right time to urinate. An enlarged prostate in men can cause overflow incontinence.

Stress incontinence symptoms can vary from person to person, as well as day to day. You may not experience incontinence every time you cough, laugh, or sneeze. You may have days when you can exercise or lift heavy things without leaking urine. However, any time you are involved in an activity that can put increased pressure on the bladder, you are more vulnerable to urine loss, especially when you have a full bladder.