Urinary retention is when you are unable to empty yourbladdercompletely.
Symptoms range from mild to severe, with some acute cases causing potentially life-threatening complications.
The treatment varies by the underlying cause but may involve medications, urinary catheters, or even surgery.
Verywell / Jessica Olah
It also offers tips on how to cope with this surprisingly common urinary tract symptom.
The symptoms can vary based on whether the condition is acute or chronic.
Acute Urinary Retention
Acute urinary retention develops suddenly and sometimes severely.
A person with acute urinary retention is unable to pee even if their bladder is full.
People with chronic urinary retention can urinate, but they just can’t empty their bladders completely.
This could lead to the injury of the bladder,kidneys, or other organs of the urinary tract.
Many of the causes of urinary retention affect both males and females.
But there few are more prevalent inor entirely exclusive toto one sex.
With that said, the underlying cause can be different.
Surgeries that last longer than two hours also increase the risk of urinary retention by threefold.
The diagnosis generally starts with a physical exam and a review of your medical history.
Other procedures such as a bladder ultrasound, spinal MRI, or voiding cystourethrogram can help narrow the causes.
The primary treatment of acute urinary retention is aurinary catheter.
This helps to decompress the bladder and relieve discomfort.
The size (gauge) of the catheter can vary based on the cause of the obstruction.
If the blockage is related to an enlarged prostate, for example, a larger-gauge catheter may be needed.
There are alsoFoley cathetersintended for longer-term use.
If a urinary catheter is not possible, a suprapubic catheter may be used.
The procedure may be performed with eitherlocal or general anesthesia.
This may be all that is needed to restore normal urine flow and resolve chronic urinary retention.
Thedrugs used to treat BPHincludealpha-blockersthat work by relaxing blood vessels and lowering blood pressure.
Surgery
Chronic urinary retention may sometimes require surgery to treat an obstruction because of BPH.
This involves the reconstruction or replacement of a narrowed urethra byopen surgery.
The first-line treatment of acute urinary retention is a urinary catheter to drain excess urine and decompress the bladder.
The older the individual, the greater the risk of complications.
They also need to be used correctly to avoid infection or injury.
Summary
Urinary retention is the inability to empty the bladder completely.
It can be acute or chronic and range in severity from mild to life-threatening.
Men tend to be affected more than women, with most cases of acute urinary retention affecting males.
Neurological causes include spinal cord injury, stroke, multiple sclerosis, and surgical complications.
You stand a greater chance of the condition progressing and worsening if you ignore the problem.
If you have any problems with urination, don’t just live with them; speak with your doctor.
If needed, your doctor can refer you to aurologistspecially trained in diseases and disorders of the urinary tract.
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