Urinary retention due to drinking too much alcohol

This is an automatically translated article.

There are many different causes of acute urinary retention, one of which can be due to excessive alcohol consumption. In case of acute urinary retention, if not promptly catheterized, it can lead to rupture of the bladder, causing urine and blood to overflow into the abdominal cavity, causing acute infection, affecting the patient's life.

1. What is urinary retention like?

For normal people, urination is a reflex control at will, there is a harmonious combination between strong muscle contraction and wide dilation of the bladder neck, under the control of the central nervous system to make urine flow. Urine goes from the bladder to the urethra and then out.
Normally, when the bladder contains a certain amount of urine, about 250ml-300ml will cause irritation that makes you need to urinate and urinate. Urinary retention is when your bladder is full of urine but you are unable to urinate. Urinary retention, also known as urinary retention, occurs mainly in adults. Urinary retention if not treated in time can have bad consequences.
There are many different possible causes of acute urinary retention. If the bladder wall does not contract strongly enough, urinary retention can occur. Weak bladder contractions are caused by a loss of contact with the autonomic nervous system that controls urination, or due to spinal trauma, pelvic fractures, or bladder conditions (such as fibrous bladder walls). due to chronic inflammation or acute inflammation of the bladder, chronic inflammation, bladder stones ...).
In some cases, bladder stones move to block the opening of the bladder with the urethra, obstructing the flow of urine, even completely blocking it, causing acute urinary retention. Urinary retention can also be caused by chronic urethritis causing fibrosis, narrowing of the urethra due to inflammation such as gonorrhea or Chlamydia.
In men, urinary retention can also be caused by a disease of the prostate gland (such as inflammation, benign prostatic hyperplasia or benign or malignant tumor) that will compress the bladder neck causing urinary retention.
Women can also experience urinary retention due to the above common causes. Some cases of acute urinary retention may be due to psychological reasons such as traveling in crowded trains, sitting in meetings for a long time, etc., having to hold urine for a long time, leading to urinary retention.

2. Why is urinary retention due to alcohol?

In addition to the above causes, acute urinary retention can also be caused by drinking a lot of alcohol. In fact, there are many patients with acute urinary retention due to alcohol.
The mechanism of this formation is because high blood alcohol concentration inhibits the cerebral cortex and some nerve centers involved in controlling urination, causing consciousness disturbances, so people who drink alcohol do not have The feeling of needing to urinate, from which the bladder capacity increases beyond the allowable threshold.

3. Manifestations of acute urinary retention

Most people with urinary retention have symptoms of pain, i.e. bladder, anterior pubic area and persistent discomfort if not treated (medical) or not catheterized (surgical intervention) in time.
People with acute urinary retention often have a burning sensation and always want to urinate but cannot urinate, which makes them feel more uncomfortable and irritable.
Urinary retention feels very uncomfortable, painful, and burning in the bladder, especially when accompanied by acute or chronic inflammation of the bladder. These things will greatly affect your daily life as well as your health.
If urinary retention is not handled in time or recurs many times, it can cause cystitis, even retrograde inflammation, nephritis and greatly affect kidney function, thereby causing kidney failure.
The bladder is like a rubber ball that can be stretched to hold urine, when full, the bladder wall will be thinner and more vulnerable than an empty or low-water bladder.
In case of acute urinary retention, if not promptly catheterized, it can lead to bladder rupture, causing urine and blood to overflow into the abdominal cavity, causing acute infection. This situation, if not treated promptly, can lead to death.

4. How to handle acute urinary retention due to drinking alcohol?

Management of acute urinary retention requires medical examination as soon as possible to determine the cause and appropriate treatment.
Urinary catheters need to be absolutely sterile medical equipment, otherwise it can cause hospital UTIs. In case of acute urinary retention accompanied by cystitis, prostate disease in men, spinal cord injury, pelvic trauma, urethral fibrosis... the treatment needs to be patient under the supervision. Prescribing medication and consulting a doctor.
In summary, there are many different causes of acute urinary retention, one of which can be due to drinking a lot of alcohol. In case of acute urinary retention, if not promptly catheterized, it can lead to rupture of the bladder, causing urine and blood to overflow into the abdominal cavity, causing acute infection, affecting the patient's life. Therefore, the best way to prevent acute urinary retention due to alcohol is to avoid or use this drink in a reasonable and moderate manner.

Please dial HOTLINE for more information or register for an appointment HERE. Download MyVinmec app to make appointments faster and to manage your bookings easily.