Urge incontinence

Urge incontinence is characterized by an "imperative" urge micturition, allowing the person affected little time to reach the toilet and thus resulting in involuntary loss of urine. There are two forms of urge incontinence: " motor" and "sensory".

Motor urge incontinence is caused by overstimulation of the bladder wall musculature - the so-called "detrusor muscle" - which expels urine by contraction. The detrusor muscle contracts too frequently, thereby triggering the urge micturition even when only a small amount of urine is present in the bladder. The frequent contractions are caused, for example, by increased impulses transmitted under psychic stress situations (a strong urge micturition in psychic stress situations when the bladder is nearly empty is also not uncommon in persons with a healthy bladder) or when the impulses are not inhibited sufficiently due to degenerative diseases of the central nervous system.

In slighter cases, there are only initial symptoms of an "irritable bladder" with a nagging urge to urinate frequently, while the patient retains voluntary control. As the symptoms become more pronounced, the urge micturition can no longer be controlled voluntarily and incontinence results. The urination is then sudden and flood-like and can be total or partial.

On the other hand, sensory urge incontinence is often caused by bladder infections, bladder stones or tumors. The imperative urge micturition does not arise because the bladder musculature is overactive, that means, the bladder musculature is contracting too much, but rather explained simply, the mucous membranes of the bladder are being irritated and overstimulated by the existing illness. The bladder neck responds by opening, with subsequent loss of tone of the sphincter and involuntary loss of urine.