[The psychological status of the female with urinary incontinence].

In the former western part of Germany, in 1989 about three million people claimed social costs because of urinary incontinence. 80 percent of them were women. The psychic situation of these women is mainly determined by social consequences of their incontinence. Behavioural changes to avoid incontinence lead to social isolation. A coherence between incontinence or urgency and agony or depression is acknowledged. Especially in elderly people, who have to change their well-known environment due to nursing problems, incontinence is a major problem, which often deteriorates with the new situation. Incontinence also leads to avoidance of sexuality. Women are mostly more irritated than their partners. On the other hand incontinence is used to avoid sexuality and thus may be a sign of a sexual conflict.