Incontinence

What is incontinence? 

Urinary incontinence or involuntary urine loss is a common condition. Impaired control of the bladder or sphincter of the bladder makes it harder to hold urine. Incontinence is a condition that can affect anyone and the severity of incontinence varies from person to person. It can range from occasional loss of urine when coughing and sneezing, to sudden urges to urinate that are so strong you can’t get to the toilet in time. 

What types of urinary incontinence are there? 

There are many different forms of urinary incontinence and it is important to identify the exact cause of urine leakage to find an appropriate treatment. Some of the most common forms of urinary incontinence are stress incontinence, urge incontinence, overflow incontinence, and mixed incontinence. 

• Stress incontinence or stress incontinence: This is the occurrence of involuntary leakage of urine when there is increased pressure in the abdominal cavity such as when coughing, sneezing, laughing, bending, lifting,… . The urine leakage stops when the increase in pressure passes. The cause of stress incontinence is a weakened pelvic floor and sphincter muscle. 
• Urge incontinence: This is the sudden, urgent need to urinate that often cannot be controlled until the toilet is reached. This form does not always have a clearly identifiable cause. Usually, a combination of an irritable bladder and poor contraction of it plays a role in causing this problem. Urge incontinence can occur at all ages, but most commonly in the elderly.
• Overflow incontinence: With overflow incontinence, one has involuntary leakage of urine due to an overflowing bladder There may be several causes for overflow incontinence. It is usually due to some form of blockage in your urethra, or because your bladder muscles are not contracting strongly enough. In this way, your bladder can gradually become overflowing. 
• Mixed incontinence: Mixed incontinence is a combination of urge incontinence and stress incontinence. With this condition, you may feel the urge to urinate but also lose drops when you laugh or cough.

Incontinence allowance

Do you suffer from involuntary urine leakage? Then you may be entitled to a refund or intervention from your health insurance fund.

• The incontinence lump sum for non-dependents is 173.76 euros per year (in 2022) and is indexed annually. 
• The incontinence lump sum for heavily dependent persons is 532.37 euros per year (in 2022) and is indexed annually.