Q. Do all women with incontinence have the same symptoms? I only experience leakage when I exercise or cough.

A. The symptoms differ depending on the type of incontinence you experience. The most common type is stress incontinence. If you have stress incontinence, you may leak urine when you cough, laugh, exercise, or lift heavy objects. That's because these activities put pressure on the bladder, sometimes for just an instant. Another common type is urge incontinence, which is also called overactive bladder. If you suffer from urge incontinence, you will often feel a strong urge to urinate, even at nighttime or when your bladder is not full. Sometimes, just drinking a little liquid or hearing running water may trigger the urge. You also may leak urine before you can reach a toilet.

Some women suffer from both stress and urge incontinence. This is called mixed incontinence, which is common among older women.