Read our guide to toilet problems and incontinence, including causes, solutions and how this might affect a person with dementia.

It’s common for people to have more difficulties using the toilet as they get older, particularly if they have dementia.

Accidents and incontinence can cause problems, especially as a person’s condition progresses. This can be upsetting for the person with dementia and difficult when you’re supporting them.

Many people find it difficult to talk about these issues. However, support is available. With the right help and advice, incontinence and toilet problems can be managed or sometimes prevented.

Incontinence is the unintentional leakage of pee (urine) or poo (faeces) or both – known as ‘double incontinence’.

Urinary incontinence may be a small occasional leak of pee, a continued leak after peeing, or total loss of bladder control.

There are several types of urinary incontinence. One of these – especially common in people with dementia – is an overactive bladder. This causes the feeling of a sudden and intense need to pee, and frequent peeing.

Women are also at particular risk of a type of urinary incontinence called stress incontinence, often caused by pregnancy and childbirth. This is when a cough, sneeze or laugh causes a small leak of pee.

Faecal incontinence can range from accidentally leaking a small amount of poo when breaking wind, to having no bowel control at all. Faecal incontinence is less common than urinary incontinence. It affects men and women about equally.

There are lots of possible reasons why someone loses continence. A person is more at risk of incontinence if they are older, or if they have dementia.

In some cases, older people have a higher risk of incontinence because of a medical condition, which may be treatable. Medical causes of incontinence in older people include:

Many people find it embarrassing to talk about these problems, and this can stop them from seeking help from health professionals. GPs and specialists deal with issues like these frequently and it’s important to get advice and support from them. Medical causes can often be treated or managed.

A person with dementia is more likely to have accidents, incontinence or difficulties using the toilet than a person of the same age who doesn’t have dementia.

For some people, incontinence develops because messages between the brain and the bladder or bowel don’t work properly. They may not recognise that they have a full bladder or bowel, or be able to control them. Other reasons include:

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Incontinence can stop people getting involved in the community. This page is about helping people to get involved with their continence needs met.

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