People with acute urinary retention are unable to urinate even though they have a full bladder. Acute urinary retention can cause severe pain and be life threatening. If you are suddenly unable to urinate, it's important that you seek emergency medical treatment right away.
A healthy bladder can hold about 2 cups of urine before it's considered full. It takes your body 9 to 10 hours to produce 2 cups of urine. That's about as long as you can wait and still be in the safe zone without the possibility of damaging your organs.
Treatment. Treatment for urinary retention depends on the type of urinary retention you have—either acute or chronic—and the cause of your urinary retention. Treatments for urinary retention may include draining the bladder, medicines, medical procedures or devices, surgery, and self-care treatments.
Urinary retention can be attributed to two causes — either obstruction or non-obstruction. If there is an obstruction (for example, bladder or kidney stones), a blockage occurs and urine cannot flow unimpeded through your urinary track. This is the basis for acute urinary retention and is potentially life threatening.
Acute urinary retention, a potentially life-threatening medical condition, requires immediate emergency treatment. Acute urinary retention can cause great discomfort or pain. Chronic urinary retention can be a long- lasting medical condition.
Urinary retention may cause harm to the function of the bladder and the kidneys, incontinence, and may increase the risk of urinary tract infections. Thus, it requires urgent medical attention for evaluation and management. In some cases, hospitalization is required.
Acute urinary retention can be life threatening. If you have any of the other symptoms of urinary retention, such as trouble urinating, frequent urination, or leaking urine, talk with your health care professional about your symptoms and possible treatments. Chronic urinary retention can cause serious health problems.
Chronic kidney disease: for some people, urinary retention causes urine to flow backwards into the kidneys. This backward flow is called reflux and it may damage or scar the kidneys. Urinary incontinence: this may occur together with chronic urinary retention or after surgery (eg, for prostate enlargement).
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.
Acute urinary retention is a medical emergency and may involve complete inability to urinate and painful, urgent need to urinate. Surgical and other treatments are available to resolve urinary retention.
People with acute urinary retention are unable to urinate even though they have a full bladder. Acute urinary retention can cause severe pain and be life threatening. If you are suddenly unable to urinate, it's important that you seek emergency medical treatment right away.
Urinary retention can be a short-term or long-term problem and can occur suddenly (acute) or get worse over time (chronic). If urine stays in your bladder, it can lead to urinary incontinence (leaking urine between wees) and urinary tract infections.
Conclusion: Urinary retention can lead to serious complications, including bladder rupture.
Bladder irritants
Coffee, tea and carbonated drinks, even without caffeine. Alcohol. Certain acidic fruits — oranges, grapefruits, lemons and limes — and fruit juices. Spicy foods.
For those with chronic urinary retention, it may be hard to start the flow of urine or have a weak flow after starting. Some may also feel the urge to urinate after completing since they aren't completely emptying their bladder. The chronic condition is most often found in older men, but can also occur in women.
The most common treatment for urinary retention is an indwelling urinary catheter, which causes 80% of hospital-acquired urinary tract infections. Appropriate use of bladder ultrasonography can reduce the rate of bladder damage as well as the need to use an indwelling urinary catheter.
Complications of urinary retention
If you have urinary retention you may get: urinary tract infections. kidney infections. stones in your kidneys and bladder.
Urine might be retained if there is an obstruction or stricture (narrowing) in or around the bladder, or when muscles in or around the bladder are weak. Certain types and locations of tumors, certain medications, being dehydrated, or having constipation can also cause urinary retention.
Individuals react differently to physical and emotional stressors and experimental models have demonstrated a relationship between the stress response and developing urinary retention. Trauma, particularly sexual trauma, may be a shared risk factor for developing psychological co-morbidities and urinary retention.
In rare and serious situations, holding urine for too long can lead to a bladder rupture. “We have seen patients who haven't urinated in about a week, and they'll have over 2 liters of urine in their bladder,” Dr. Bandukwala says. “If too much pressure builds up in the bladder, it can rupture.
In most cases, patients with bladder rupture have gross hematuria (77% to 100%). Other symptoms of bladder rupture include pelvic pain, lower abdominal pain, and difficulty voiding. It is important to note that trauma to the urinary tract is frequently associated with other traumatic injuries.
People with anxiety disorders can experience a range of symptoms and side effects, even physical ones. More frequent symptoms include a pounding or rapid heartbeat, unexplained aches and pains, dizziness, and shortness of breath, but anxiety can also cause less common side effects like urinary retention.
Conclusion: Urinary retention can lead to serious complications, including bladder rupture.
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.