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Ever feel the sudden urge to urinate and can't help but to have a little accident? Do you find yourself seeing the risk of public embarrassment which keeps you from enjoying activities with your friends and family? Urinary control relies on the activities coordinated with the smooth muscle tissue of the bladder and urethra, the skeletal muscle, voluntary inhibition, as well as the autonomic nervous system. The lack of voluntary control of the excretory functions is most commonly called incontinence. It will normally occur in adults but it also has occurred in teens as well.

Incontinence is usually referred to when urine leakage happens and can't be helped or stopped.

During urination the muscles in the wall of the bladder will contract, which forces urine out of the bladder and into the urethra. As this is happening, the sphincter muscles which surround the urethra will relax, letting urine pass out of the body. Incontinence will occur when your muscles suddenly contract, or the sphincter muscles are not strong enough to hold back urine.

Incontinence of urge (also called urinary) will normally happen because you lose that first message sensation telling you that you need to urinate. Urge incontinence sometimes will result from anatomic or pathologic factors. Inherited and acquired disorders such as spina bifida and multiple sclerosis can eventually cause an insufficient urinary storage or control. Women seem to experience urinary incontinence twice as often as men. This may be because of pregnancy and childbirth, and can also be linked to menopause. Just as women are twice as likely to experience it then men, older women are also more likely to experience it that younger women.

In some cases people have what is called an incontinence of stress, where instead of full urination leaking will often happen. Many times people are unaware of this medical condition and often overlook it. However, leaking can often happen during laughing, coughing, and even sneezing.
Although there is no need to be alarmed, stress incontinence is not dangerous it can generally be treated by retraining the urethral muscles.

In some instances incontinence can be acute and temporary. This form of incontinence can be caused from a limited range of mobility, medication side effects, childbirth, and even a urinary tract infection. However, for some it's not that simple, most others have chronic incontinence. This form of incontinence is most generally caused by birth defects, a bladder muscle weakness, a blocked urethra, nerve disorders, and even brain or spinal cord injury.

Learn more about this author, Kayla B Maxwell.
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