Dear Ann Landers,
You will probably think this letter is a fake, but I give you my word of honor it is real. I am 15 years old-a girl. In the last year or so, I have had a problem that has caused me a lot of embarrassment. Whenever I laugh hard I wet my pants. Lately it has been happening almost every other day, but so far only with girl friends. If it should happen when I am with a boy, I would just die. I asked my mother what to do about it, and she said it would go away and not to worry-that she had the same problem when she was my age. Can you give me some advice? NORMAL OR WHAT?

DEAR N.O.W.,
I took your problem to a top-notch urologist, Dr. Russell B. Roth of Erie, Pa. He called it "stress incontinence"-a fancy name for not being able to hold it. According to Roth, this condition is common among women who have had children and experienced a general weakening of the muscle slings that normally hold the bladder in place. When these muscles become weakened, they cannot do the job of protecting against a sudden surge of pressure THE ANN LANDERS ENCYCLOPEDIA 745 caused by coughing, sneezing, laugh-ing, jumping or coming down from a high step. First you should be examined by a urologist to make sure you don't have an organic problem. (Chances are very good that you don't.) If you are OK physically, the trouble is that you let your bladder get too full. (Some teen- agers drink a lot of milk or pop and get too busy to go.) The remedy is twofold. One: Empty your bladder more frequently. Two: Exercise the muscles of control by starting and stopping the urine flow voluntarily-several times a day. This should solve the problem.