Mayo Clinic Health Manager

Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.

Get Started

Free

E-Newsletter

Subscribe to receive the latest updates on health topics. About our newsletters

  • Housecall
  • Alzheimer's caregiving
  • Living with cancer

Treatments and drugs

By Mayo Clinic staff

CLICK TO ENLARGE

Illustration of urinary system, showing pelvic floor muscles Pelvic floor muscles
Illustration showing sacral nerve stimulation device Sacral nerve stimulation
Illustration of sling procedures Sling procedures
Illustration of bladder neck suspension procedures Bladder neck suspension

Treatment for urinary incontinence depends on the type of incontinence, the severity of your problem and the underlying cause. Your doctor will recommend the approaches best suited to your condition. Often a combination of treatments is used.

Treatment options for urinary incontinence range from more conservative approaches, including behavioral techniques and physical therapy to more aggressive options, such as surgery.

In most cases, your doctor will suggest the least invasive treatments first, so you'll try behavioral techniques and physical therapy first and move on to other options only if these techniques fail.

The success of your treatment depends most of all on the right diagnosis. Talk to your doctor about the specifics and possible complications of any treatment. Ask questions and express concerns to help determine which treatment is right for you.

Behavioral techniques
Behavioral techniques and lifestyle changes work well for certain types of urinary incontinence. They may be the only treatment you need.

  • Bladder training. Your doctor may recommend bladder training — alone or in combination with other therapies — to control urge and other types of incontinence. Bladder training involves learning to delay urination after you get the urge to go. You may start by trying to hold off for 10 minutes every time you feel an urge to urinate. The goal is to lengthen the time between trips to the toilet until you're urinating every two to four hours.

    Bladder training may also involve double voiding — urinating, then waiting a few minutes and trying again. This exercise can help you learn to empty your bladder more completely to avoid overflow incontinence. In addition, bladder training may involve learning to control urges to urinate. When you feel the urge to urinate, you're instructed to relax — breathe slowly and deeply — or to distract yourself with an activity.

  • Scheduled toilet trips. This means timed urination — going to the toilet according to the clock rather than waiting for the need to go. Following this technique, you go to the toilet on a routine, planned basis — usually every two to four hours.
  • Fluid and diet management. In some cases, you can simply modify your daily habits to regain control of your bladder. You may need to cut back on or avoid alcohol, caffeine or acidic foods. Reducing liquid consumption, losing weight or increasing physical activity are other lifestyle changes that can eliminate the problem.

Physical therapy

  • Pelvic floor muscle exercises. These exercises strengthen your urinary sphincter and pelvic floor muscles — the muscles that help control urination. Your doctor may recommend that you do these exercises frequently. They are especially effective for stress incontinence, but may also help urge incontinence.

    To do pelvic floor muscle exercises (Kegels), imagine that you're trying to stop your urine flow. Squeeze the muscles you would use to stop urinating and hold for a count of three and repeat.

    With Kegels, it can be difficult to know whether you're contracting the right muscles and in the right manner. In general, if you sense a pulling-up feeling when you squeeze, you're using the right muscles. Men may feel their penises pull in slightly toward their bodies. To double-check that you're contracting the right muscles, try the exercises in front of a mirror. Your abdominal, buttock or leg muscles shouldn't tighten if you're isolating the muscles of the pelvic floor.

    If you're still not sure whether you're contracting the right muscles, ask your doctor for help. Your doctor may suggest you work with a physical therapist or try biofeedback techniques to help you identify and contract the right muscles. Your doctor may also suggest vaginal cones, which are weights that help women strengthen the pelvic floor.

  • Electrical stimulation. In this procedure, electrodes are temporarily inserted into your rectum or vagina to stimulate and strengthen pelvic floor muscles. Gentle electrical stimulation can be effective for stress incontinence and urge incontinence, but it takes several months and multiple treatments to work.

Medications
Often, medications are used in conjunction with behavioral techniques. Drugs commonly used to treat incontinence include:

  • Anticholinergics. These prescription medications calm an overactive bladder, so they may be helpful for urge incontinence. Several drugs fall under this category, including oxybutynin (Ditropan), tolterodine (Detrol), darifenacin (Enablex) solifenacin (Vesicare) and trospium (Sanctura).
  • Topical estrogen. Applying low-dose, topical estrogen in the form of a vaginal cream, ring or patch may help tone and rejuvenate tissues in the urethra and vaginal areas. This may reduce some of the symptoms of incontinence.
  • Imipramine. Imipramine (Tofranil) is a tricyclic antidepressant that may be used to treat mixed — urge and stress — incontinence.

Medical devices
Several medical devices are available to help treat incontinence. They're designed specifically for women and include:

  • Urethral inserts. These are small, tampon-like disposable devices or plugs that a woman inserts into her urethra — the tube where urine exits the body — to prevent urine from leaking out. Urethral inserts, available by prescription, aren't for everyday use. They work best for women who have predictable incontinence during certain activities, such as playing tennis. The device is inserted before the activity and removed before urination.
  • Pessary (PES-uh-re). Your doctor may prescribe a pessary — a stiff ring that you insert into your vagina and wear all day. The device helps hold up your bladder, which lies near the vagina, to prevent urine leakage. You need to regularly remove the device to clean it. You may benefit from a pessary if you have incontinence due to a dropped (prolapsed) bladder or uterus.

Interventional therapies

  • Radiofrequency therapy. This non-surgical procedure uses radiofrequency energy to heat tissue in the lower urinary tract. Once the tissue heals, it is usually firmer, which may reduce the chance of urinary leaks.
  • Botulinum toxin type A. Injections of botulinum toxin type A (Botox) into the bladder muscle may benefit people who have an overactive bladder. Researchers have found this to be a promising therapy, but the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not yet approved this drug for incontinence.
  • Bulking material injections. Bulking agents are materials, such as collagen, carbon-coated zirconium beads or coaptite, that are injected into tissue surrounding the urethra. This helps keep the urethra closed and reduce urine leakage. The procedure — usually done in a doctor's office — requires minimal anesthesia and takes about five minutes. The downside is that repeat injections are usually needed every six to 18 months.
  • Sacral nerve stimulator. A device, which resembles a pacemaker, is implanted under the skin in your buttock. A wire from the device is connected to a sacral nerve — an important nerve in bladder control that runs from your lower spinal cord to your bladder. Through the wire, the device emits painless electrical pulses that stimulate the nerve and help control the bladder.

Surgery
If other treatments aren't working, several surgical procedures have been developed to fix problems that cause urinary incontinence.

Some of the more common procedures include:

  • Artificial urinary sphincter. This small device is particularly helpful for men who have weakened urinary sphincters from treatment of prostate cancer or an enlarged prostate gland. Shaped like a doughnut, the device is implanted around the neck of your bladder. The fluid-filled ring keeps your urinary sphincter shut tight until you're ready to urinate. To urinate, you press a valve implanted under your skin that causes the ring to deflate and allows urine from your bladder to flow.
  • Sling procedures. A sling procedure uses strips of your body's tissue, synthetic material or mesh to create a pelvic sling or hammock around your bladder neck and urethra. The sling helps keep the urethra closed, especially when you cough or sneeze. There are many types of slings, including tension-free, adjustable and conventional.
  • Bladder neck suspension. This procedure is designed to provide support to your urethra and bladder neck — an area of thickened muscle where the bladder connects to the urethra. It involves an abdominal incision, so it's done under general or spinal anesthesia. The procedure usually takes about an hour, and recovery takes about six weeks.

Absorbent pads and catheters
If medical treatments can't completely eliminate your incontinence — or you need help until a treatment starts to take effect — you can try products that help ease the discomfort and inconvenience of leaking urine.

  • Pads and protective garments. Various absorbent pads are available to help you manage urine loss. Most products are no more bulky than normal underwear, and you can wear them easily under everyday clothing. Men who have problems with dribbles of urine can use a drip collector — a small pocket of absorbent padding that's worn over the penis and held in place by closefitting underwear. Men and women can wear adult diapers, pads or panty liners, which can be purchased at drugstores, supermarkets and medical supply stores.
  • Catheter. If you're incontinent because your bladder doesn't empty properly, your doctor may recommend that you learn to insert a soft tube (catheter) into your urethra several times a day to drain your bladder (self-intermittent catheterization). This should give you more control of your leakage, especially if you have overflow incontinence. You'll be instructed on how to clean these catheters for safe reuse.
Lifestyle and home remedies Tests and diagnosis
References
  1. Urge urinary incontinence/overactive bladder. National Association for Continence. http://www.nafc.org/bladder-bowel-health/types-of-incontinence/urge-incontinence. Accessed May 16, 2009.
  2. Non-surgical treatment for female stress urinary incontinence. National Association for Continence. http://www.nafc.org/bladder-bowel-health/types-of-incontinence/stress-incontinence/non-surgical-treatment-for-female-stress-urinary-incontinence. Accessed May 16, 2009.
  3. DuBeau CE. Treatment of urinary incontinence. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed May 16, 2009.
  4. Herbruck LF. Stress urinary incontinence: An overview of diagnosis and treatment options. Urology Nursing. 2008;28:186.
  5. Cartwright R, et al. Current management of overactive bladder. Current Opinion in Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2008;20:489.
  6. Urinary incontinence. National Institute on Aging. http://www.nia.nih.gov/HealthInformation/Publications/urinary.htm. Accessed May 16, 2009.
  7. Seeking treatment. National Association for Continence. http://www.nafc.org/seeking-treatment. Accessed May 16, 2009.
  8. Interstitial cystitis/Painful bladder syndrome. National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse. http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/interstitialcystitis. Accessed May 16, 2009.
  9. How medications affect your bladder. National Association for Continence. http://www.nafc.org/bladder-bowel-health/types-of-incontinence/urge-incontinence/medications. Accessed May 16, 2009.
  10. Facts and statistics. National Association for Continence. http://www.nafc.org/media/media-kit/facts-statistics. Accessed May 16, 2009.
  11. Urinary incontinence: What every man should know. National Association for Continence. http://www.nafc.org/bladder-bowel-health/what-is-incontinence/what-every-man-should-know. Accessed May 16, 2009.
  12. What I need to know about prostate problems. National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse. http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/prostate_ez/#prostatitis. Accessed May 16, 2009.
  13. Urinary incontinence in women. National Association for Continence. http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/uiwomen/index.htm#evaluation. Accessed May 16, 2009.
  14. Cystoscopy and ureteroscopy. National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse. http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/cystoscopy. Accessed May 16, 2009.
  15. Peterson JA. Minimize urinary incontinence: Maximize physical activity in women. Urology Nursing. 2008;28:351.
  16. Karsenty G, et al. Botulinum toxin A (Botox) intradetrusor injections in adults with neurogenic detrusor overactivity/neurogenic overactive bladder: A systematic literature review. European Association of Urology. 2008;53:275.
  17. Artificial urinary sphincter. National Association for Continence. http://www.nafc.org/uploads///pdf/educational%20brochures/OnlineAUS.pdf. Accessed May 17, 2009.
  18. Surgery for urinary incontinence. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. http://www.acog.org/publications/patient_education/bp166.cfm. Accessed May 17, 2009.
  19. Surgical treatment for female stress urinary incontinence. National Association for Continence. http://www.nafc.org/bladder-bowel-health/types-of-incontinence/stress-incontinence/surgical-treatment-for-female-stress-urinary-incontinence. Accessed May 17, 2009.
  20. Khan F, et al. Surgical treatment of stress urinary incontinence in women. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed May 17, 2009.
  21. Cespedes RD. Is injection therapy for stress urinary incontinence dead? No. Urology. 2009;73:11.
  22. Christofi N, et al. An evidence-based approach to lifestyle interventions in urogynaecology. Menopause International. 2007;13:154.

DS00404

June 27, 2009

© 1998-2010 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (MFMER). All rights reserved. A single copy of these materials may be reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. "Mayo," "Mayo Clinic," "MayoClinic.com," "EmbodyHealth," "Enhance your life," and the triple-shield Mayo Clinic logo are trademarks of Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.

Print Share Reprints

Text Size: smaller largerlarger