MODEL RELEASED. Incontinence bag. A district nurse explains the use of a urinary incontinence bag to an elderly woman. Incontinence is an uncontrollable, involuntary passing of urine. The condition often affects the elderly because the efficiency of the sphincter muscles surrounding the urethra declines with age. As here, elderly women are affected more often by incontinence than men. An incontinence bag acts to collect the urine via a catheter and the bag takes on the role of a false bladder. This method is used when normal bladder function cannot be restored.