Cause
occurs when the muscle (sphincter) that holds your
bladder's outlet closed is not strong enough to hold back the urine. This may
happen if the sphincter is too weak, if the
muscles contract too strongly, or if the
bladder is overfull.
A man may have one or more types of
incontinence, and each type may have a different cause.
- Stress incontinence occurs when the
muscle (sphincter) surrounding the
opens at an inappropriate time. This can
happen when you laugh, sneeze, cough, lift something, or change posture. Stress
incontinence can be caused by surgery to treat an
or
,
to treat prostate cancer, or removal
of the prostate. For more information, see the topics
Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) or
Prostate Cancer.
- Urge incontinence is
caused by bladder contractions that are too strong to be stopped by the
sphincter. Often the urge is a response to something that makes you anticipate
urination, such as waiting to use a toilet, unlocking the door when returning
home, or even turning on a faucet. The bladder contractions can be caused by
many conditions, including:
- .
- Bowel problems, such as
.
- , a
painful infection of the prostate gland.
- Certain neurological
conditions that affect nerve signals from the brain, such as
or
.
- Kidney or
.
- Blockage due to
or
.
Overactive bladder is a kind of urge incontinence. But not
everyone with overactive bladder leaks urine. For more information, see the
topic
Overactive Bladder. - usually is caused by obstruction of the urethra from
or
or when the bladder muscles contract
weakly or don't contract when they should. Other causes include:
- Narrowing of the
(stricture).
- Medicines, such as
antihistamines and decongestants.
- Nerve conditions, such as
or
.
- is a rare form of incontinence
caused by physical or mental limitations that restrict a man's ability to reach
the toilet in time.