Urinary Retention - What Are The Signs?

Acute urinary retention can come on quite suddenly. It is often the cause of great discomfort and pain. The person is likely to be unable to urinate even if his or her bladder is full. The lower abdomen may appear bloated and be painful. The urge to urinate can also be very painful. Immediate emergency treatment should be sought for such symptoms.

Patients suffering from chronic urinary retention find it difficult completely empty their bladder. Thus, they may feel the urge to urinate frequently. In some cases, the person may feel the urge to urinate even more than 10 times a day. This can even cause the person to wake up from his sleep to urinate. This is known as nocturia. Most people urinate 6 to 8 times in a day.

Chronic urinary retention can be a long-term condition. In such cases, a person can pass urine but they are unable to completely empty their bladder. They may have difficulty starting to urinate and the urine stream may be very weak. Some patients are also unable to realize when their bladder is full and thus feel the urge to urinate more frequently. A patient may not be aware of this condition until another issue such as a urinary tract infection is present.

Patients suffering from chronic urinary retention can go years without realizing that they have a problem. This is because the symptoms may be very slight. For example, if a person is used to urinating 6-8 times a day, he or she may not realize when this frequency increases. Similarly, the discomfort in the urinary tract and lower abdomen may be very mild. In most cases, it is detected only when the person also begins to show symptoms of a UTI. This is because the retention of urine in the bladder leads to a concentration of bacteria that increases chances of infection. Exercises that strengthen the pelvic muscles can help prevent urinary retention.