WingmanOpen the free toolsWingmanOpen the free toolsIf the VA already service-connected your urinary incontinence (also called urinary incontinence, incontinence, incontinent, bladder leakage), it can cause or worsen other conditions that are ratable on their own. These "secondary" claims are where many veterans leave money on the table. Below is what a service-connected urinary incontinence commonly leads to, why, and what evidence each one takes.
A secondary claim only works if the primary condition (urinary incontinence) is already service-connected, and you have a nexus — a doctor's opinion that it is "at least as likely as not" the cause. More on nexus letters →
Incontinence is usually not a standalone condition, it is the way the VA evaluates whatever is causing it (prostate surgery, bladder disease, a nerve injury, a spinal condition). And 38 CFR 4.115a rates continual urine leakage by one concrete thing: whether you need an appliance, and how many times a day you change absorbent materials. Vets routinely lose evaluation here because nobody wrote down the pad count, not because the leakage is not bad enough.
What you'd need: A bladder diary recording pad or brief changes per day over two to four weeks, the brand and absorbency you use, receipts or a supply order showing volume, urology notes, and any appliance or catheter use.
Retained urine, catheters and constant moisture all raise infection risk, and recurrent infections are evaluated in their own part of 38 CFR 4.115a. Where infection rather than leakage is the bigger problem, the rating follows whichever predominates, so both need to be documented.
What you'd need: Urine cultures with dates, antibiotic courses, and records of any drainage procedure or hospitalization.
Skin held against wet absorbent material breaks down. Incontinence-associated dermatitis is a real, documentable condition rated in the skin schedule, and it is separate from the urinary rating because it is a different body system and different findings.
What you'd need: Photographs, dermatology or primary care notes describing the affected area, the percentage of the body involved, and the topical or systemic treatments prescribed and for how long.
Leakage you cannot predict changes where you will go, how long you will stay and whether you travel at all. Withdrawal and low mood that follow are a recognized secondary mental health path.
What you'd need: A mental health diagnosis and a provider opinion connecting the mood symptoms to the incontinence, plus your own statement about what you have stopped doing.