Urinary retention is when your bladder doesn’t empty completely or at all. Blockages, medications or nerve issues can cause it.

Oct 15, 2018 · Initial management of urinary retention involves assessment of urethral patency with prompt and complete bladder decompression by catheterization.

Learn about the treatments for acute and chronic urinary retention. The right treatment depends on the cause of your urinary retention.

Mar 13, 2018 · Read on to learn more about the symptoms of both acute and chronic urinary retention, what can cause it, and how it’s treated. What are the symptoms? Symptoms may differ slightly for …

Dec 27, 2025 · The first-line treatment of acute urinary retention is a urinary catheter to drain excess urine and decompress the bladder. Chronic urinary retention may also be treated with catheters as …

Doctors use a catheter to remove urine from the bladder and then treat the cause. (See also Control of Urination.)

Treatments are available to relieve both acute and chronic urinary retention. In both cases the goal of care is to alleviate the urinary retention and to identify and treat the underlying cause of the condition.