When To Call a Doctor

See your doctor immediately if your urinary incontinence does not go away or is accompanied by:

• Weakness or numbness in your buttocks, legs, and feet.
• Fever, chills, and abdominal (belly) or side pain.
• Blood in your urine or burning with urination.
• A change in your bowel habits.

Call your doctor if:

• You have a problem with urinary incontinence that is getting worse.
• Uncontrolled loss of urine is enough of a problem that you need to wear an absorbent pad.
• Incontinence interferes with your life in any way.

Do not be embarrassed to discuss incontinence with your doctor. Incontinence is not an inevitable result of aging. Most people with incontinence can be helped or cured.

If you have a sudden change in your ability to urinate and you are not sure if it is related to your urinary incontinence, see the topic Urinary Problems and Injuries, Age 12 and Older.

Watchful waiting

If you have chronic urinary incontinence that begins slowly, you may be able to control the problem yourself. (See the Home Treatment section of this topic.) If home treatment does not control your problem, or if incontinence interferes with your lifestyle, ask your doctor to recommend a treatment.

If you have urinary incontinence that begins suddenly (acute), call your doctor. Acute incontinence is often caused by urinary tract problems or medicines and can be easily corrected.

Who to see

Any of the following health professionals can diagnose and treat urinary incontinence:

• Family medicine doctor
• Internal medicine doctor
• Physician assistant
• Nurse practitioner
• Urologist
• Geriatrician

If you need surgery to treat your incontinence, it is important to find a surgeon who is experienced in the type of surgery you need, usually a urologist.

To prepare for your appointment, see the topic Making the Most of Your Appointment.