What Is Female Stress Urinary Incontinence?
Female stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is the involuntary leakage of urine during physical activities that increase pressure on the bladder, such as exercise, lifting something heavy, sneezing or coughing.

Stress urinary incontinence is different than urge incontinence, which is when you suddenly feel the need to urinate, even if there is not much in your bladder.

Causes
Stress urinary incontinence occurs when the pelvic muscles that control urination become weak. When pressure on the bladder is increased—as it is during coughing, for example—the weakened muscles can no longer close off the urethra (the tube that carries urine from the bladder to the outside of the body).

There are a number of ways your pelvic muscles can become weakened, but the most common are pregnancy and childbirth. Women who have had multiple pregnancies and vaginal deliveries are the most likely to suffer from stress urinary incontinence. Other contributing factors include:

• Aging
• Injury to the brain or nervous system
• Pelvic area surgery
• Some types of medicines
• A chronic cough
• Smoking
• Being significantly overweight

You can experience temporary incontinence brought on by certain medications or by consuming caffeine, alcohol or a large volume of any liquid. Let your physician know if these situations apply to you to help determine the cause of your condition.

Symptoms
The main symptom of stress urinary incontinence is the involuntary leakage of urine during physical activities such as coughing, sneezing, laughing, exercising, bending, lifting, walking and running.

Diagnosis
Your gynecologist, urologist or urogynecologist will look at your medical history and examine you. You may need to undergo some tests, including a urinalysis, stress test, cystoscopy and ultrasound. You may also be asked to keep a diary tracking your urination and leakage, your activities, and what you eat and drink.

For more detailed information, you can also visit our resource library for physicians. Please note this information has been created for medical professionals and may not be appropriate for everyone.