Anticholinergic (antispasmodic) drugs. These prescription medications calm an overactive bladder, so they may be helpful for urge incontinence. Examples include tolterodine (Detrol), oxybutynin (Ditropan) and hyoscyamine (Levsin). These drugs can be effective at controlling incontinence, but a side effect is dry mouth. To combat dry mouth, you may be tempted to drink more water. But that may not help your incontinence. Your doctor may recommend that you suck on a piece of candy or chew gum instead to produce more saliva. Or you may want to try an extended-release form of oxybutynin (Ditropan XL) or tolterodine (Detrol LA) or an oxybutynin skin patch (Oxytrol). These forms of medication may have fewer side effects than the standard forms do.

Imipramine (Tofranil). This antidepressant may be used to treat incontinence. It causes the bladder muscle to relax, while causing the smooth muscles at the bladder neck to contract.

Antibiotics. If your incontinence is due to a urinary tract infection or an inflamed prostate gland (prostatitis), your doctor can successfully treat the problem with antibiotics.

If other treatments aren't working, there are nearly 200 variations of surgical procedures used to fix problems that cause urinary incontinence. In men, surgery may be necessary to remove an enlarged prostate gland that's constricting the urethra. Surgical removal of a tumor in the bladder or a uterine fibroid also may eliminate incontinence.

If your bladder or uterus has slipped out of position, a surgeon can put the structure back in place with a variety of techniques. Rarely, surgery to treat urinary incontinence may involve enlarging the bladder or correcting a birth defect. Or surgery may be needed to bolster weakened urinary sphincter muscles.

If medical treatments can't completely eliminate your incontinence — or you need help until a treatment starts to take effect — you can try products that help ease the discomfort and inconvenience of leaking urine. These products should be a last resort, because most people benefit from other treatments.

Pads and protective garments. Various absorbent pads are available to help you manage urine loss. Most products are no more bulky than normal underwear, and you can wear them easily under everyday clothing. Men who have problems with dribbles of urine can use a drip collector — a small pocket of absorbent padding that's worn over the penis and held in place by closefitting underwear. Men and women can wear panty liners or pads in their underwear to collect urine. Adult diapers are available in both disposable and reusable forms and come in a variety of sizes. Some people find that wearing plastic underwear over their regular underwear helps keep them dry. Others opt for washable underwear and briefs with waterproof panels. Incontinence products can be purchased at drugstores, supermarkets and medical supply stores.

Catheter. If you're incontinent because your bladder doesn't empty properly, your doctor may recommend that you learn to insert a soft tube (catheter) into your urethra several times a day to drain your bladder. This may give you more control, especially if you have overflow incontinence. In some cases people have to keep a catheter in constantly. The catheter is connected to an external bag to hold urine. As needed, the bag is emptied.