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Urinary retention
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Urinary retention is not being able to urinate voluntarily, with the result that the bladder never empties completely. It is not that urine is not being produced: it is that it cannot get out.
The most common reason is purely mechanical, a blockage in the outflow path. It is usually a narrowing of the urethra, the tube through which urine leaves the body, or benign prostatic hyperplasia, that is, an enlarged prostate that narrows that tube but is not cancer. The bladder fills and the outlet does not open.
The acute form is the one that sets in all at once. The person suddenly cannot urinate and usually feels intense urgency, with distension of the lower abdomen and suprapubic pain, that is, right above the pubic bone.
In brief
Urinary retention is the inability to urinate voluntarily, so the bladder does not empty completely.
The most common cause is mechanical obstruction of the outlet, usually narrowing of the urethra or benign prostatic hyperplasia.
The bladder fills and the outlet does not open.
The acute form is a sudden inability to urinate, which usually comes with intense urgency, distension of the lower abdomen and suprapubic pain.
Sources (1)
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingMale Urinary Retention: Acute and Chronic, StatPearlsPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
Updated