CHRONIC URINARY RETENTION
Name:
Institution Affiliation
Chronic urinary retention is described as the persistent inability to completely empty the bladder despite maintaining the ability to urinate resulting in increased post-void residual (PVR) urine volumes( Stoffel, 2017). Chronic urinary retention develops slowly over months to years and is not typically painful.
Causes
The obstructive causes of chronic urinary retention include benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in men which results from the ongoing process of testosterone being converted to dihydrotestosterone, organ prolapse in women, and urethral strictures. Chronic urinary retention is more common to the aged especially to the males due to factors such as prostrate issues and partial urethra blockages( Serlin, 2018). Other risk factors include urinary tract infections, weak bladder muscles, during childbirth if it causes injury or nerve damage
The use of certain medications may lead to the rise of chronic urinary retention in that they make the bladder less able to squeeze urine out or make the internal urinary sphincter contract. For example, muscle relaxants and antihistamines.
Nerve problem is another cause in that for a person to urinate properly, signals from the brain have to travel through the spinal cord and surrounding nerves to one’s bladder and sphincters and back. If one or more of these nerve signals doesn’t work it can cause chronic urinary retention. People who frequently undergo surgery especially the kind of joint replacement or spinal surgery may experience chronic urinary retention in due time.
Symptoms
The symptoms of chronic urinary infection include the urge to urinate frequently when one finds it hard to start a urine stream or a weak urine stream to start, the feel to urinate again right after you finish urinating since one experiences an ongoing mild discomfort or a feeling of fullness in the bladder and experiences of urge inconsistency or the strong feeling to urinate followed by inability to stop yourself from urinating.
Treatment
Chronic urinary retention is treated by surgery to relieve bladder obstruction and to remove enlarged prostate tissues,( Heratti, 2017) use of urethral dilation and stents which are inserted in the urethra to prevent future blockages and for dilations to treat blocked or constricted urethra, use of prescribed antibiotics to treat urinary retention, catheterization that aids in releasing of urine from the bladder and behavior modification which manages the time and amount of drinks one takes.
In conclusion, chronic urinary retention is a treatable infection that is easy to diagnose. Delaying treatment only allows the condition to get worse
References
Serlin, D. C., Heidelbaugh, J. J., & Stoffel, J. T. (2018). Urinary retention in adults: evaluation and initial management. American family physician, 98(8), 496-503.
Herati, AS; Kohn, TP; Butler, PR; Lipshultz, LI (June 2017).”Effects of Testosterone on Benignand Maligant Conditions of the prostrate”current sexual health reports .18(9) 74.
Stoffel, JT (September 2017).” Non-neurogenic Chronic Urinary Retention: What are we treating?”current urology reports.18(9): 74