Urinary retention can be caused by a problem with the nerves that control your bladder. This can happen as a result of diabetes, stroke, multiple sclerosis, brain or spinal cord infections or injuries, or pelvic injury.
Urinary Tract Infection (UTI)
One of the most common causes of feeling the urge but being unable to pee are UTIs. These occur about four times more frequently in women than men. UTIs are caused when bacteria — most commonly E. coli — spread to the genitalia from the anal region or elsewhere.
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.
See your doctor immediately if your bladder feels full but you cannot urinate at all. If your doctor is not available, go to the emergency department.
Don't wait a long time to address difficulty peeing. After 36 to 48 hours of symptoms, it's time to seek a professional diagnosis.
The urethra is the tube that carries urine from the bladder to the outside of your body. In men, a blockage can be caused when the prostate gland gets so big that it presses on the urethra. This is the most common cause of chronic urinary retention in men. One cause in women is a bladder that sags.
Draining the bladder
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.
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.
Tamsulosin is in a class of medications called alpha blockers. It works by relaxing the muscles in the prostate and bladder so that urine can flow easily.
Urinary retention has been described with the use of drugs with anticholinergic activity (e.g. antipsychotic drugs, antidepressant agents and anticholinergic respiratory agents), opioids and anaesthetics, alpha-adrenoceptor agonists, benzodiazepines, NSAIDs, detrusor relaxants and calcium channel antagonists.
Your kidneys can become so full of urine that they swell and press on nearby organs. This pressure can damage your kidneys and in some cases may lead to chronic kidney disease and kidney failure.
Conclusions Acute urinary retention might be a clinical marker for occult urogenital, colorectal, and neurological cancers. Occult cancer should possibly be considered in patients aged 50 years or older presenting with acute urinary retention and no obvious underlying cause.
Depending on the type of treatment, recovery can take anywhere between two days to several months.
The symptoms of urinary retention can range from severe abdominal pain and the inability to urinate, to few or no symptoms at all. Urinary retention results from either a blockage that partially or fully prevents the flow of urine, or your bladder not being able to maintain a strong enough force to expel all the urine.