Voiding difficulties

Voiding Difficulty is a condition when the Patient find the passing of urine to be slow and intermittent. She gets a feeling that  urine has not been completely voided. This condition might begin suddenly without any warning or develop gradually. This problem may not be associated with pain. The condition might develop in such a way that one day the patient unable to pass urine completely that results in the bladder becoming distended and the urine overflowing.

It is very important to diagnose the disease early to prevent an acute retention of urine and the bladder and kidneys sustaining injuries from overstretching. This might lead to a chronic urine retention. The larger the amount of the urine that had been retained in the bladder and the longer that this retention of urine persists, the longer it would take for the bladder to recover.

What are the general symptoms of the voiding difficulty?

The common symptoms of the voiding difficulty include:

• strain to pass out urine
• delay in initiating the urine flow
• a slow or intermittent urine flow
• increased frequency of  voiding
• a sensation of incomplete bladder emptying
• a strong feeling of need to pass out urine
• frequent passing out of small amounts of urine
• uncontrollable leakage of urine
• an inability to pass urine leading to pain in the lower tummy

What are the different causes of voiding difficulty?

The voiding difficulty is generally caused due to an obstruction of the urethra or the urinary tract. There could be several reasons for this:

• a vaginal infection
• an infection in the urinary tract
• severe prolapse in the pelvic organ, especially of the bladder ( cystocele) and the uterus, resulting in kinking of the urine pipe
• postmenopausal changes of the genital and urinary tract and the vagina
• a complication of surgery for a pelvic organ prolapse or a stress incontinence of the urinary system
• difficult vaginal or instrumental delivery after a prolonged labour, especially with the help if epidural for pain relief
• constipation
• side effects of medications
• uterine fibroids situated in the back wall of the womb
• mucocele or cyst of the para urethral glands.
• Urethral curuncle.