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Inability to Urinate

Inability to Urinate Overview

When you cannot empty your bladder completely, or at all, despite an urge to urinate, you have urinary retention. To understand how urinary retention occurs, you need to understand the basics of how urine is stored in and released from the body.

The bladder is a balloon-like organ in your lower belly (pelvis) that stores urine.

  • Urine is composed of waste and water filtered from the blood by the kidneys.

  • It travels down thin tubes called ureters to the bladder.

  • When about 1 cup (200-300 mL) of urine has collected in the bladder, a signal is sent via nerves in the spinal cord to the brain; the brain then returns a signal that starts contractions in the bladder wall. At the same time, the internal sphincter muscle relaxes.

  • These 2 reactions combined allow urine to flow out of the bladder and down a narrow tube called the urethra.

  • From there, it is released from the body by urination.

  • To a certain point, you can control when you urinate. We are all familiar with the experience of having to urinate at an inconvenient time. When you "hold it in," you are squeezing a muscle called the external sphincter to keep urine in the urethra.

Retention can be an acute (new, short-term) or chronic (ongoing, long-term) condition. It always requires medical attention, sometimes hospitalization, for treatment, symptom relief, and detection of the underlying cause. Failure to treat the condition can lead to infections or damage to the urinary tract and kidneys.

Urinary retention is not an unusual condition. It is more common in men than in women.



Next: Inability to Urinate Causes »

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ENABLEX is a prescription medicine used in adults to treat the following symptoms due to a condition called overactive bladder:

  • · having a strong need to go to the bathroom right away (also called "urgency")
  • · leaks or wetting accidents (also called "urinary incontinence")
  • · having to go to the bathroom too often (also called "urinary frequency")

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

You should not take once-daily ENABLEX if you have certain types of stomach problems, glaucoma, or have trouble emptying your bladder. Side effects of ENABLEX include blurred vision, and more commonly dry mouth, constipation, indigestion, and abdominal pain. Use caution when doing certain activities until you know how ENABLEX affects you.


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Inability to Urinate

Abdominal Pain in Adults Overview

Abdominal pain can range in intensity from a mild stomach ache to severe acute pain. The pain is often nonspecific and can be caused by a variety of conditions. Many organs are found within the abdominal cavity. Sometimes the pain is directly related to a specific organ such as the bladder or ovary. Usually, the pain originates in the digestive system. For example, the pain can be caused by appendicitis, diarrheal cramping, or food poisoning.

The type and location of pain may help the physician find the cause. The intensity and duration of pain must also be considered when making a diagnosis. A few general characteristics of abdominal pain are as follows:

  • Abdominal pain can be sharp, dull, stabbing, cramp-like, knifelike, twisting, or piercing. Many other types of pain are possible.

  • Abdominal pain can be brief, lasting for a few minutes, or it may persist for several hours a...

Read the Abdominal Pain (Adults) article »



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