Urinary Incontinence: Keeping a Daily Record

Overview

Keeping a daily record can help you and your doctor find the best treatment for urinary incontinence.

Keep a daily diary of all liquids taken in and all urine released, whether voluntary or involuntary. Your health professional may also call this a voiding log, bladder record, frequency-volume chart, incontinence chart, or voiding diary. The diary is usually kept for 3 to 4 days.

Record in your diary:

• The time and amount of each urination.
• The conditions under which urine release occurred, such as voluntary urination in the toilet, involuntary urine release, or leakage due to sneezing, laughing, or physical exertion.
• The amounts and types of all liquids consumed. This includes frozen liquid items such as ice cream and frozen fruit juice bars.
• Whether the liquid consumed contained caffeine (if your health professional instructs you to specify this information).

When to keep a daily record

A diary is sometimes requested before you see a doctor about urinary incontinence.

You may be asked to keep a voiding log when:

• You experience the involuntary release of urine.
• No cause for the incontinence is discovered in the medical history and physical exam.
• You are not sure of the frequency and amount of urine leakage.