Mixed Incontinence Causes And Treatments
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Mixed Incontinence
Mixed incontinence is very common and occurs when symptoms of both stress and urgency types of incontinence are present. Often, symptoms of one type of incontinence may be more severe than the other.
For example, you may have a weak pelvic floor due to childbirth, creating stress urinary incontinence. Sometimes that causes leakage when one laughs or sneezes. When this incontinence is combined with an Overactive Bladder, the best treatment usually addresses the more serious condition. In this case, the weak pelvic floor would be a great place to start treatment.
You might also have mixed incontinence if there is urine leakage:
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After an urge to urinate
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When you experience a sudden urge to urinate
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While you sleep
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After drinking a small amount of water
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Touching water or hearing it run
Causes
As you might expect, mixed incontinence also shares the causes of both Stress Urinary Incontinence and Urgency Urinary Incontinence.
Stress Urinary Incontinence often results when childbirth, pregnancy, sneezing, coughing, or other factors have compromised the muscles that support and control the bladder. This, in turn, causes leakage.
Involuntary actions of the bladder muscles creates Urgency Urinary Incontinence. Damage to nerves of the bladder, the nervous system, or muscles themselves are usually the key causes. This damage may be caused by serious health issues including diabetes, MS, Parkinson’s disease, strokes, thyroid problems, and other surgery-related injuries.
Treatment Options
You can find more information on causes and treatments for mixed incontinence on the following pages:
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Urgency Urinary Incontinence, also known as Overactive Bladder (OAB)
Your physician will be better able to work with you on the appropriate treatment path based on your diagnosis. To help get a better understanding of what is at the root of your specific incontinence, your doctor may have you keep a diary for a day or more as a record of when you urinate, intentionally or on accident. Your doctor may ask you to record the specific time as well as the amount of urine to provide additional data.
Related Articles
Ask The Expert: From A Doctor’s Perspective What Are Some Common Questions You Hear?
If you’ve ever sneezed and held your breath hoping for the best, you’re not alone. Bladder leaks, pelvic floor issues, and the constellation of symptoms that go with them are incredibly common — and incredibly under-discussed. We sat down with two of our favorite experts who are changing the bladder leak conversation: Dr. Barbara Frank, Attn: Grace medical advisor and board certified OB/GYN, and Dr. Sara Reardon, pelvic floor physical therapist (and the woman your pelvic floor has been waiting to meet). They took turns asking each other the questions their patients ask most — and answered them with the same candor they bring to the exam room. They cover everything from how to prepare for postpartum, to what question to ask your own pelvic floor PT, to how to manage incontinence during menopause. This is a knowledge drop you don’t want to miss.
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If you’re experiencing more frequent trips to the bathroom or sudden, intense urges to urinate, you might be wondering what is going on and what you can do about it. Let’s talk through some of the changes that might be going on in your body and how you can be better prepared to manage your bladder control.
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Most people assume that when an incontinence product leaks, the product itself failed. In reality, what often changes first is everything around it. Bladder leakage is not static. The amount of urine, how quickly it’s released, when leaks happen, and even how the body moves during sleep can all shift over time. A product that worked well six months ago may suddenly struggle under conditions it was never designed to handle.
This is especially common with overnight leakage, changes in mobility, medication adjustments, or shifts in bladder control related to aging and health conditions.
One of the biggest misconceptions is that absorbency alone determines performance. In reality, fit, absorption speed, body position, and wear duration all influence whether a product holds up in real-world situations.
Ask The Expert: From A Doctor’s Perspective What Are Some Common Questions You Hear?
If you’ve ever sneezed and held your breath hoping for the best, you’re not alone. Bladder leaks, pelvic floor issues, and the constellation of symptoms that go with them are incredibly common — and incredibly under-discussed. We sat down with two of our favorite experts who are changing the bladder leak conversation: Dr. Barbara Frank, Attn: Grace medical advisor and board certified OB/GYN, and Dr. Sara Reardon, pelvic floor physical therapist (and the woman your pelvic floor has been waiting to meet). They took turns asking each other the questions their patients ask most — and answered them with the same candor they bring to the exam room. They cover everything from how to prepare for postpartum, to what question to ask your own pelvic floor PT, to how to manage incontinence during menopause. This is a knowledge drop you don’t want to miss.
