Dr. Dana
Which kind of bladder leak do you have?
3 questions about when you leak. Your answers point to a pattern: stress, urge or mixed. The result shows on this page, with no email.
The 2 main patterns
Stress leaks happen with effort. A cough, a sneeze, a laugh, a jump or a heavy bag pushes on your bladder. If your pelvic floor closes late or too softly, a few drops get out.
Urge leaks come with a sudden, strong need to go. The urge arrives first. The leak follows, on the way to the toilet.
Mixed leaks are both. Among US women who leak, 37.5% have stress leaks only, 22% have urge leaks only and 31.3% have both.[2]
How this quiz works
The 3 questions follow the shape of the 3 Incontinence Questions, a short test from a 2006 study of 301 women.[1]
In that study, the questions found 86% of the stress leaks and 75% of the urge leaks that a full doctor's evaluation found. That makes it a good first sort. It also means about 1 answer in 4 to 7 lands in the wrong group, so a doctor confirms.
What to do with your result
- Stress leaks: guidelines list pelvic floor training for at least 3 months as the first step.[3] A squeeze timed before a sneeze, called the Knack, helps on the spot.
- Urge leaks: see your doctor first. Bladder habits help many women: what you drink, when you go, and how you calm an urge.[4]
- Mixed leaks: start with the pattern that bothers you most. Your doctor can help you choose.
Bring notes to your doctor
For 3 days, write down each leak: the time, what you were doing, and whether an urge came first. These notes help your doctor more than any quiz.
Laugh without worrying.
The Bladder leaks class teaches the Knack, slow holds and bladder habits, one day at a time, for 6 weeks.
- A class by a urologist
- 5 to 10 minutes a day
- Week 1 is open to everyone
Quick answers
What is the difference between stress and urge incontinence?
Stress leaks happen when pressure pushes on the bladder: a cough, a sneeze, a laugh, a lift. Urge leaks come with a sudden, strong need to go, before you reach the toilet. Mixed leaks are both.
Can a quiz tell me which kind of leak I have?
It can point to a pattern. In a 2006 study, 3 similar questions found 86% of the stress leaks and 75% of the urge leaks that a full doctor's evaluation found. Only a doctor can tell for sure.
Which kind of bladder leak is the most common?
Among US women who leak, 37.5% have stress leaks only, 22% have urge leaks only and 31.3% have both, in a national survey from 2015 to 2018.
What should I do after the quiz?
Write down when your leaks happen for 3 days, then show your notes to your doctor. For stress or mixed leaks, guidelines list pelvic floor training for at least 3 months as the first step.
Sources
- Brown JS, et al. The sensitivity and specificity of a simple test to distinguish between urge and stress urinary incontinence (the 3 Incontinence Questions). Annals of Internal Medicine, 2006. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Patel UJ, Godecker AL, Giles DL, Brown HW. Updated prevalence of urinary incontinence in women: 2015-2018 national population-based survey data. Female Pelvic Med Reconstr Surg, 2022. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- NICE guideline NG123. Urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse in women: management, 2019. nice.org.uk
- ACOG Practice Bulletin No. 155. Urinary incontinence in women, 2015 (reaffirmed). acog.org
