Urge incontinence is leakage of urine that occurs due to the involuntary contraction of your bladder. This can commonly occur when you first wake up in the morning, it can occur when you get home and put your key in the front door (“key-door phenomenon”), while doing dishes (as the water hits your hands), or almost any other time. It is usually characterized by larger volume leakages and more socially devastating situations than is typically seen with stress incontinence (which is usually a much lower volume leak, for example a tablespoon squirt happening during a cough).
Urge incontinence is a symptom of a condition call overactive bladder (OAB) which includes urgency and frequency of urination. When there is actual leakage the condition is call OAB-wet and when there is only urgency and frequency without leakage the condition is termed OAB-dry. These conditions must first be evaluated to rule out urine infection or urinary retention (not emptying your bladder completely). It is typically diagnosed with urodynamic testing in which the bladder is filled to capacity while measuring pressures occurring in the bladder. If an involuntary bladder contraction is seen on testing, the diagnosis is confirmed. Once confirmed various treatment options are available, including pelvic floor exercises and pelvic physical therapy, bladder training and voiding diaries , medications (that can block the “go” signal to the bladder) or nerve stimulation therapy.