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.
The causes of urinary retention are related to either a blockage that partially or fully prevents urine from leaving your bladder or urethra, or your bladder not being able to maintain a strong enough force to expel all the urine.
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.
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.
Low estrogen bladder symptoms can include incontinence, overactive bladder, and pain. However, these symptoms are treatable. A holistic approach that uses medication, lifestyle changes, physical therapy, or other interventions may help reduce them or help someone manage them.
Interstitial Cystitis (IC) or Bladder Pain Syndrome (BPS) or IC/BPS is an issue of long-term bladder pain. It may feel like a bladder or urinary tract infection, but it's not. It is a feeling of discomfort and pressure in the bladder area that lasts for six weeks or more with no infection or other clear cause.
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.
Cystometry measures how much urine your bladder can hold, how much pressure builds up in your bladder as it stores urine, and how full your bladder is when you begin to feel the urge to urinate. Electromyography measures how well your muscles respond to your nerves in and around your bladder and sphincters.
A PVR volume of less than 50 mL is considered adequate bladder emptying; in the elderly, between 50 and 100 mL is considered normal. In general, a PVR volume greater than 200 mL is considered abnormal and could be due to incomplete bladder emptying or bladder outlet obstruction.
Acute urinary retention, such as immediately after major surgery, will usually resolve by itself within a few days to weeks. Obstructive causes may not resolve without surgical relief of the obstruction.
Urinary retention is treatable, and there is no need to feel embarrassed or ashamed. A doctor can often diagnose the problem. However, in some cases, a person may need a referral to a urologist, proctologist, or pelvic floor specialist for further testing and treatment.
Practice "double voiding" by urinating as much as possible, relaxing for a few moments, and then urinating again. Try to relax before you urinate. Tension from worrying about your symptoms can make them worse.
Mirabegron is a medication approved to treat certain types of urinary incontinence. It relaxes the bladder muscle and can increase how much urine the bladder can hold. It might also increase the amount you're able to urinate at one time. This may help you to empty the bladder more completely.
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.
In turn, the kidneys will only be able to make highly concentrated urine that irritates the bladder. Therefore, staying hydrated by drinking plenty of water throughout the day is one of the essential pieces of any treatment plan for urinary retention.
Acute urinary retention is common in older men, and the likelihood of experiencing acute urinary retention increases with age. Over a five-year period, approximately 1 in 10 men over the age of 70 and almost one in three men in their 80s will develop acute urinary retention.
If urine stays in your bladder, it can lead to urinary incontinence (leaking urine between wees) and urinary tract infections. In severe cases, urine can start to 'back up' towards the kidneys, causing long-term damage.
A combination of a 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor and an alpha-blocker, such as finasteride and doxazosin or dutasteride and tamsulosin, may work better than an individual medicine alone. Antibiotics link treat infections that may cause urinary retention, such as urinary tract infections and prostatitis.
Skip alcohol. Limit drinks with caffeine, such as coffee, tea and cola. They can cause you to urinate more. Know that foods such as soup add to the total amount of fluids.
The first-line treatment of acute urinary retention is a urinary catheter to drain excess urine and decompress the bladder. Chronic urinary retention may also be treated with catheters as well as medications and surgery to relieve urinary tract obstructions.
Definition & Facts
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.
It's considered normal to have to urinate about six to eight times in a 24-hour period. If you're going more often than that, it could simply mean that you may be drinking too much fluid or consuming too much caffeine, which is a diuretic and flushes liquids out of the body.
Bladder pressure is usually a sign that a person needs to urinate. But, it can also indicate an underlying health condition, such as interstitial cystitis. However, some people experience this pressure constantly, and it may feel like an ache. This is not normal and is likely caused by interstitial cystitis.