Full Bladder

Are you having a full bladder that can sometimes be painful? This is a condition that many adult male tend to experience, in particular older adults or the elderly. Also known as ischuria in medical terms, or simply urinary retention, a full bladder is characterized as having slow urinary flow, constant straining, partial incomplete urination or urination that starts and stops abruptly.

Even after urinating, the bladder could still remain just as full and gradually may caused the bladder to distend or overstretch. As the bladder grows in size to accomodate all the urine that are unable to be released, the bladder ever growing distention and pressure may later causes pain on the bladder.

One should immediately visit the emergency department when unable to pass urine even with a painfully full bladder as an overfull bladder can cause the urine to back up into the ureters and eventually reaches the kidneys. This condition could result in kidney failure if not immediately treated.

Besides that, overly distended bladder can also result in possible tear of the bladder wall and causing the bladder to rupture. Doctors in the emergency department can help drain out the urine from the bladder with the use of a catheter.

Full Bladder Causes

Some of the most common causes of full bladder are the obstruction of the urinary tract, nervous sytem problems or even weak bladder muscles. Generally older men’s urinary retention is caused by the obstruction of urinary tract due to the enlargement of the prostate gland.

The enlargement of this gland, also known as benign prostatic hyperplasia or benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH), could narrow or total obstruct the urine passage through the urethra causing inability to urinate or incomplete urination. Read more about prostate enlargement symptoms here.

Over time, as urine constantly remain in the bladder, the bladder muscle weakens and affects the ability to empty itself. Not only that, the constantly full bladder can also cause bladder stones to occur. Hence if you are having full bladder symptoms, talk to doctor about proper treatments. Normally, urinary retention caused by this problem can be treated through dilation or surgery.