•  
  •  

Functional Incontinence: Timed Voiding and Prompted Voiding

Topic Overview

Functional incontinence occurs when a person is unable to reach the bathroom in time to urinate because of physical or mental limitations, such as problems with walking, conditions such as arthritis, or problems with reasoning (such as dementia). People who have functional incontinence can try timed voiding and prompted voiding to control incontinence.

Timed voiding

Timed voiding is also called habit training. It sets a schedule for urinating (voiding) that is determined by your personal habits. It doesn't attempt to increase how long you can wait before having to urinate or teach you to resist the urge to urinate.

Prompted voiding

Prompted voiding requires a caregiver to prompt you to urinate. The goal is to decrease the chance of accidents by making you aware of the need to urinate periodically. Prompted voiding usually is used in combination with timed voiding for people who are unaware of their bodily functions, such as people who have dementia.

Credits

By Healthwise Staff
Primary Medical Reviewer E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine
Specialist Medical Reviewer Avery L. Seifert, MD - Urology
Last Revised January 25, 2012

Last Revised: January 25, 2012

Author: Healthwise Staff

Medical Review: E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine & Avery L. Seifert, MD - Urology

This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. How this information was developed to help you make better health decisions.

To learn more visit Healthwise.org

© 1995-2012 Healthwise, Incorporated. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated.