Medical History and Physical Exam for Urinary Incontinence in Women

Exam Overview

A medical history is the most important part of the examination for urinary incontinence. During the medical history, your doctor will ask you to describe:

• How long you have had incontinence.
• What, if anything, you are doing (laughing, sneezing, coughing) when you experience incontinence.
• How often you have the problem and how much urine you lose.
• Risk factors you may have that could lead to incontinence.
• Your eating habits.
• Your bowel habits, to determine whether chronic constipation may be contributing to incontinence.
• Prescription and nonprescription medicines you take.
• Treatments for previous problems affecting your urinary or reproductive tract.
• Your use of pads or other protective devices to control urine leakage.

It may be easier for you to answer these questions if you use a bladder diary(What is a PDF document?) for 3 to 4 days before your appointment.

The doctor will ask questions about your general health. To find out the cause of your incontinence, he or she will ask specific questions about your urinary and reproductive tracts, your intestines, and your nervous system.

Symptoms and conditions that are often related to incontinence will also be investigated, such as:

• A need to urinate frequently.
• A sudden, strong urge to urinate.
• Inability to urinate.
• A blocked urine stream.
• Leakage of urine while sleeping.
• Possible urinary tract infection.

A physical exam involves abdominal, rectal, and pelvic examinations. These exams include:

• Looking for growths, such as tumors, in the pelvic area.
• Checking the pelvic muscle tone.
• Checking that the bladder has not dropped out of its proper position and that it is not pressing on the vaginal wall.
• Checking the nervous system to see if a problem is causing muscle weakness or loss of reflexes.