Urinary retention is often caused in adults or after surgery. It includes various causes like muscular weakness or physical obstruction.

What is Urinary Retention?

It is a loss of urination or inability to empty the bladder. It may arise suddenly or may be a chronic condition. Acute urinary retention is the sudden loss of urination and is painful. Chronic urinary retention is a long-term condition that is slow and may progress to damage the kidneys.

Urinary Retention Causes

Physical Obstruction – It is the blockage to the flow of urine.

• • Prostate Growth – Enlargement of the prostate gland exerts pressure on the urethra, obstructing the flow of urine.
• • Relapse of the pelvic floor muscles – It is the weakening of the pelvic floor muscles in women after childbirth. The muscles lose their contractility, or other pelvic organs press against the urethra.
• • Narrowing of the urethra – It is the tissue or scar that develops in the urethral tube, reducing the flow of urine.
• • Tumors and stones – Uterine fibroid or tumors that obstruct the uterine opening causes urinary retention.
• • Infection and swelling – Urinary tract infections or prostatitis in men cause inflammation and swelling, leading to obstruction in urinary flow.

• Nerve disorder – It is a condition in which nerves are unable to send proper signals. It includes nerve injury, neuropathy, or brain disorders.

• Muscle dysfunction – Its inability to contract or empty the bladder. It occurs due to muscular weakness or injury.

• Post-operative Urinary Retention – After surgery or childbirth, the muscle loses its contractility due to some medications, etc., leading to urinary retention.

Certain Medications – Several medications are proven to affect urinary functions.

• • Antidepressants
• • Muscle relaxants
• • Anti-hypertensive

Difference between Urinary Retention and Urinary Incontinence

Urinary retention is the inability to urinate while urinary incontinence is the leakage of urine, it is inability to retain urine.

Urinary Retention Symptoms

Acute Urinary Retention

• • Complete inability to pass urine.
• • Painful urination
• • Pain in the pelvic area or the lower abdomen.

Chronic Urinary Retention Includes

• • Increased urination frequency
• • Difficulty in urination at the start.
• • Uncontrolled or weak urine stream.
• • Urine leakage
• • Increased urination at night
• • Always feeling to urinate even after immediate urination.

Treatment and Medications for Urinary Retention

• • Draining Urine – It is generally done in acute urinary retention to empty the bladder using a catheter. It immediately relieves symptoms like pain and urinary pressure.
• • Treatment for Chronic Urinary Retention – Chronic urinary retention is treated by:

• • Medication – It involves a group of treatments to improve various underlying causes, like infections, an enlarged prostate, etc.
• • Surgery – Surgical methods are used to remove scar, tumor, enlarged prostate, or the urethral stent to remove the blockage.
• • Non-surgical Approaches – It includes pelvic floor muscle exercises, vaginal suppositories, or bladder control training.

The primary urinary retention medicine used after surgery or muscular atony –

Urinary retention caused by muscular distention or after surgery due to the effect of anesthesia.

• • Bethkast (Bethanechol Chloride) – it is widely used to treat urinary retention caused by muscular atony. Bethanechol mimics the cholinergic effect and causes the detrusor muscle to contract and empty the bladder. It is widely used in urinary retention caused by surgery or childbirth.
• • Alpha-adrenergic Agonists – it is used in urinary retention caused by an enlarged prostate, it relax the muscles of the bladder neck and the prostate to reduce urinary restriction.
• • 5-alpha Reductase Inhibitor – It shrinks the prostate gland and is widely used in urinary obstruction caused by an enlarged prostate.

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