Urinary incontinence is a condition in which a person has an inability to control the bladder. People with this condition often experience urine leakage when they are sneezing, coughing or sleeping. The four types of this urinary condition are urge incontinence, overflow incontinence, stress incontinence and functional incontinence. In most cases, medical treatment or lifestyle changes can stop urinary incontinence or ease discomfort.
Step 1
Write a bladder diary. Most doctors ask their patients to maintain a diary of their daily urination habits. Individuals with mild symptoms of urinary incontinence keep a daily record of the number of times they urinate, how much they urinate, when they urinate, whether there was an urge to urinate and the number of unfortunate incontinence situations they encounter. During the initial visit, a bladder stress test is often administered. The doctor examines whether a coughing patient leaks urine simultaneously.
Step 2
Undergo a urinalysis and urine culture. This test requires a doctor to collect a patient's urine sample and send it to a laboratory. The urine is checked for viruses, bacteria, traces of blood, signs of infection and other abnormalities.
Step 3
Schedule an appointment for an ultrasound and cystoscopy. An ultrasound uses sound waves to produce images of the urinary tract region and includes the urethra, bladder and kidneys. During a cystoscopy test, the doctor inserts a small tube with a camera into the urethra. According to the American Urologic Association, this test checks for abnormalities in the urinary tract.
Step 4
Undergo a postvoid residual and cystogram urine test. After a person has urinated into a medical container, a doctor uses sound waves or a tiny tube to measure the urine amount left in the bladder. Most doctors use an ultrasound to conduct this procedure. A large amount of leftover urine means the patient has a bladder problem because it is not properly emptying its contents. During a cystogram, the doctor injects a special dye through a catheter into the bladder and urethra. As the person urinates, a series of x-rays are taken to determine urinary tract problems.
Step 5
Submit to an urodynamic test. The Mayo Clinic reports that this test measures bladder pressure during urination and rest periods. As a patient's bladder is filled with water, a doctor records the bladder pressure. The test results help a doctor to examine signs of urinary incontinence.
