Urinary retention occurs when you can't completely empty your bladder. It can cause damage to your bladder and kidneys. It can result from a blockage of the passage that lets urine out of your bladder (urethra), or a problem with how your bladder muscle works.
A blockage to the way urine leaves your body. Medications you're taking for other conditions. Nerve issues that interrupt the way your brain and urinary system communicate. Infections and swelling that prevent urine from leaving your body.
A urinary tract infection (UTI)
Besides frequent urination, signs of a UTI include fever, a burning feeling when you pee, discolored urine and constantly feeling like you need to pee (even after peeing). You may also feel bladder pressure or discomfort in your back or around your pelvis.
Incomplete emptying of a bladder can affect people across all age groups and be a cause for pain, irritation, and embarrassment to the person. The medical term for the condition is 'Urinary Retention'. If not treated in time, the condition can lead to complications including kidney failure that can be fatal.
Urinary retention is a condition in which you cannot empty all the urine from your bladder. Urinary retention can be acute—a sudden inability to urinate, or chronic—a gradual inability to completely empty the bladder of urine.
“Yes, a UTI could go away on its own, but some infections are different than others,” he says. “And if left untreated, it may linger longer.” UTIs are classified into two main categories: uncomplicated, also known as cystitis; and complicated, which may be catheter-associated or happen during pregnancy.
Most of the time, UTIs go away pretty quickly—usually, symptoms stop within a couple of days, and the bacteria completely clear out after you've taken antibiotics for three to seven days, per AUA. However, there are some things you can do to help speed up the healing process.
Acute urinary retention, a potentially life-threatening medical condition, requires immediate emergency treatment. Acute urinary retention can cause great discomfort or pain.
During the infection — and after — make sure to drink a lot of water, at least 12 8-ounce cups per day. This will flush out your system and help prevent future infections. If you feel like you've got to go, GO! Don't hold it, as this simply delays getting rid of more bacteria.
When bacteria or viruses get into your kidneys, usually through your urinary tract, they can cause a kidney infection. If you have symptoms such as pain in the sides of your lower back, fever, chills or pain while urinating (i.e., peeing), contact your doctor right away.
UTIs can be found by analyzing a urine sample. The urine is examined under a microscope for bacteria or white blood cells, which are signs of infection. Your health care provider may also take a urine culture. This test examines urine to detect and identify bacteria and yeast, which may be causing a UTI.
With acute urinary retention, a health care professional will immediately drain the urine from your bladder using a catheter. Removing the urine from the bladder eases your pain and helps prevent your bladder and kidneys from being damaged.
In acute urinary retention the diagnosis is usually obvious. In chronic retention the clinical features are more variable and include nocturnal enuresis, recurrent UTIs, and lower urinary tract symptoms associated with bladder outflow obstruction, such as frequency, urgency, hesitancy and poor stream.
The most common cause of urinary retention is benign prostatic hyperplasia. Other common causes include prostatitis, cystitis, urethritis, and vulvovaginitis; receiving medications in the anticholinergic and alpha-adrenergic agonist classes; and cortical, spinal, or peripheral nerve lesions.
If your UTI goes untreated, it may progress into a more serious infection. “An untreated bladder infection can become a kidney or prostate infection. These infections are more serious, because they can travel through the blood stream causing sepsis. Sepsis makes people very ill and can even be critical,” Dr.
Drink Plenty of Fluids to Flush Out Bacteria — But Don't Overdo It. Drinking plenty of water — six to eight glasses daily — can flush bacteria out of your urinary tract and help prevent bladder infections.
This is called 'incomplete bladder emptying' or 'urinary retention' and it's very common in women. This occurs when the muscles of your bladder are not able to squeeze properly in order to empty your bladder.
Urinary retention and incomplete bladder emptying can result from urethral obstruction (such as in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia), shy bladder syndrome, or detrusor areflexia (acontractility of the bladder due to an abnormality of nervous control).
When your kidneys are failing, a high concentration and accumulation of substances lead to brown, red, or purple urine. Studies suggest the urine color is due to abnormal protein or sugar as well as high numbers of cellular casts and red and white blood cells.