Urinary retention is a serious condition that affects your ability to urinate. In many cases, urinary retention will cause frequent trips to the bathroom, but you may have trouble emptying your bladder completely. It can affect your daily life and quality of living, so at UAMS we want to help you get back to normal life with individualized treatment for your condition.
Types of Urinary Retention
Two types of urinary retention are chronic and acute. With chronic, you may be able to urinate by have trouble emptying your bladder completely or may feel the urgent need to urinate but have little success when you get to the toilet. With acute, you can’t go to the bathroom at all, even though you have a full bladder. This type is a medical emergency and you should seek a doctor’s care immediately.
Diagnosis and Treatment
The condition is most common with men in their 50s and 60s; however, it can also occur in women. A woman may experience urinary retention if her bladder sags or moves out of normal position. For diagnosis, your doctor will perform a number of tests including a urine sample and a bladder scan.
Treatment is different depending on the type you have. With acute, urinary catheterization relieves the retention. For longer-term treatment, our highly-trained doctors will determine an individualized plan to fit your specific needs.
