Causes of Urinary Incontinence and Urinary Retention

Urinary Incontinence:

The unintentional loss of urine. Inability to hold urine in the bladder due to loss of voluntary control over the urinary sphincters resulting in the involuntary passage of urine. Incontinence fall under three catigories: Stress Incontinence, Urge Incontinence and Overflow Incontinence.

Causes of Stress Incontinence:

  1. Pregnancy and childbirth
  2. Overweight or obese
  3. Taking certain medications
  4. For men, having prostate surgery

Causes of Urge Incontinence:

  1. Damage to the bladder's nerves
  2. Damage to other parts of the nervous system
  3. Damage to muscles

Causes of Overflow Incontinence:

  1. Weak bladder muscles
  2. Nerve damage
  3. Conditions that block the flow of urine, such as tumors or an enlarged prostate
  4. Constipation
  5. Certain medications

Urinary Retention:

The inability to completely or partially empty the bladder. Suffering from urinary retention means you may be unable to start urination, or if you are able to start, you can’t fully empty your bladder. There are two catigories of urinary retention, non-obstructive and obstuctive urinary retention.

Common causes of non-obstructive urinary retention are:

  1. Stroke
  2. Vaginal childbirth
  3. Pelvic injury or trauma
  4. Impaired muscle or nerve function due to medication 
  5. Accidents that injure the brain or spinal cord
  6. Post-Operative Urinary Retention (POUR) associated with use of anaesthesia

Common causes of obstructive urinary retention are:

  1. Cancer
  2. Kidney or bladder stones
  3. Enlarged prostate (BPH) in men