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Not urinating much
Bloating
No urine
Abdominal bloating
Low urine output
Bloated belly
Decreased output of urine
Not seeing your symptoms? No worries!
What is Urinary Retention?
Urinary retention is a condition where the bladder cannot empty completely or at all during urination. It can be acute—a sudden inability to urinate. It can also be chronic — a gradual inability to fully empty the bladder of urine. Urinary retention may be caused by a host of different ailments.
Typical Symptoms of Urinary Retention
- Having difficulty urinating or producing less urine
- Need to strain or bear down to pass urine, in the past month
- Unable to pass urine for 12 hours or more
- Pain in the lower abdomen
- Stomach or abdominal pain
- Abdominal bloating
- Pain in the pubic bone
- Stomach or abdominal pain with bloating
Diagnostic Questions for Urinary Retention
Your doctor may ask these questions to check for this disease:
- Have you been experiencing difficulty urinating or producing less urine?
- Have you had difficulty urinating recently?
- Has it been over 12 hours since you last passed urine?
- Do you have pain in your lower abdomen?
- Do you have any stomach or abdominal pain?
Treatment of Urinary Retention
Treatment for urinary retention depends on whether it is acute or chronic. Acute urinary retention generally needs to be treated immediately by inserting a catheter tube through the urethra to drain the bladder. At the same time, doctors will search for the cause and treat the underlying cause. Chronic urinary retention does not need to be treated as urgently. The focus is on addressing the underlying cause.
Reviewed By:
Kenji Taylor, MD, MSc (Family Medicine, Primary Care)
Dr. Taylor is a Japanese-African American physician who grew up and was educated in the United States but spent a considerable amount of time in Japan as a college student, working professional and now father of three. After graduating from Brown, he worked in finance first before attending medical school at Penn. He then completed a fellowship with the Centers for Disease Control before going on to specialize in Family and Community Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) where he was also a chief resident. After a faculty position at Stanford, he moved with his family to Japan where he continues to see families on a military base outside of Tokyo, teach Japanese residents and serve remotely as a medical director for Roots Community Health Center. He also enjoys editing and writing podcast summaries for Hippo Education.
Nao Saito, MD (Urology)
After graduating from Tokyo Women's Medical University School of Medicine, Dr. Saito worked at Tokyo Women's Medical University Hospital, Toda Chuo General Hospital, Tokyo Women's Medical University Yachiyo Medical Center, and Ako Chuo Hospital before becoming Deputy Director (current position) at Takasaki Tower Clinic Department of Ophthalmology and Urology in April 2020.
Content updated on Mar 31, 2024
Following the Medical Content Editorial Policy
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People with similar symptoms also use Ubie's symptom checker to find possible causes
- Decreased urine output
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- No urine output in 12 hours
- Stomachache
- Urinating less than normal
- Very difficult to urinate
- Reduction in urine volume
- Unable to empty bladder completely
- I have lower abdominal pain
- I have left lower abdominal pain
- Pain in the lower right stomach
- Upper left abdominal pain
- Upper right abdominal pain
- Have periodic abdominal pain
See full list
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Link to full study:
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.08.29.24312810v1References
Billet M, Windsor TA. Urinary Retention. Emerg Med Clin North Am. 2019 Nov;37(4):649-660. doi: 10.1016/j.emc.2019.07.005. Epub 2019 Aug 16. PMID: 31563200.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0733862719300690?via%3DihubSelius BA, Subedi R. Urinary retention in adults: diagnosis and initial management. Am Fam Physician. 2008 Mar 1;77(5):643-50. PMID: 18350762.
https://www.aafp.org/pubs/afp/issues/2008/0301/p643.html