Children with urinary retention, what to do?

The article is professionally consulted by Specialist Doctor II Le Thanh Cam - Pediatrician - Pediatrics - Neonatology - Vinmec Danang International General Hospital

Urinary retention reflects the difficulty of urinating, the urge to urinate but the inability to urinate. This phenomenon of urinary retention is a disease that can happen to anyone, of any age, and of any gender. Children are the most susceptible to urinary retention, children in this situation are often irritable, uncomfortable, crying, making family members extremely worried and insecure. So what to do when a child has urinary retention?

Normally when a child's bladder holds a volume of urine of about 60-300ml (varies depending on age), it will stimulate the signal to cause the need to urinate and urinate. Urinary retention is defined when a child shows signs of needing to urinate but is unable to urinate and this condition persists for more than 12 hours. Although acute urinary retention is not common in children, it is a condition that requires prompt emergency treatment.

Some of the signs that the child has urinary retention are:
The child is irritable, uncomfortable; Children with abdominal pain below the navel; Abdomen below umbilicus painful, tight, palpable a round mass; The child reported feeling the need to urinate; Small amount of urine, few drops; Weak urine stream.

There are many causes of urinary retention. For children, the causes of urinary retention in children are:
Neurological disorders are the most common cause and can cause recurrent urinary retention. Injuries to the lumbar region, spinal cord inflammation, encephalitis, sacral surgery... cause bladder nerve disorders; Constipation can also be the cause of urinary retention in children: not having a bowel movement for a long time makes stools in the intestinal tract stagnate too much, causing pressure on the urinary tract in children; Children with cellulitis; Boys with narrow foreskin ; The baby girl has a deformity of the large lip; Children with birth defects such as posterior urethral stenosis, polyps,... After surgery; Children with stones in the bladder; The prostate gland is infected and swollen, so it compresses the urethra; Children taking drugs with side effects of urinary retention such as antihistamines, antidepressants, ...

There are many methods to cure urinary retention in children:
Care at home: If parents cannot find the cause of urinary retention in their child as mentioned above, they can monitor and care for the child at home with the following methods: the following way: Let the child sit in a warm bath: Warm water will help the pelvic floor muscles relax, making it easier for the urethra to drain; Using a warm towel, apply to the abdomen below the baby's navel; Put the child in the toilet, open the faucet to create visual and psychological effects in the child. Then pee for the child to stimulate the child to urinate; Encourage your child to walk lightly around the house to make urination easier; If the child has tried the above methods and still cannot urinate, the parents need to take the child to the hospital so that the doctor can catheterize the child as well as diagnose and treat the cause of urinary retention in the child. Bladder catheterization: A procedure to release urine from the body using a urinary catheter, also known as a bladder catheter. Medications: Taking diuretics will make it easier for your child to urinate. Besides taking medicine, the doctor will give advice and guide parents to take care of children at home such as: Give the child enough water to drink; Encourage children to walk more to make excretory activity easier; Let children eat a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables, help provide fiber, limit constipation; Let your child urinate as soon as he or she has a need to urinate.

In case the child does not feel the need to urinate and cannot urinate during the day, parents need to closely monitor the child's symptoms. If the child is still happy, does not have abdominal pain or discomfort, and is tight in the abdomen below the navel, it is likely that the child is just dehydrated, not drinking enough water during the day, so the bladder does not have urine. The solution in this case is to let the child drink enough water and eat a lot of green vegetables. If your child's urination returns to normal, he or she is healthy.
If the child does not urinate for a long time, the lower abdomen also does not have a tight tumor, but the child's limbs are edematous, headache, irritability ... most likely the child is suffering from kidney failure. In this case, parents need to take the child to the hospital, see a doctor for timely treatment.
Urinary retention in newborns is a phenomenon in which a child has the urge to urinate but cannot urinate or the amount of urine excreted is too small. There are many causes of urinary retention in children, so it is necessary to take your child to see a doctor to be examined, determine the cause of urinary retention for timely emergency treatment, the longer the urinary retention will last. affect the urinary system.
Vinmec International General Hospital is one of the very few hospitals in Vietnam that has pediatric urologists right at the Pediatric Department to help children receive intensive treatment right from the start, bring better results and withdraw short treatment time. The doctors are all highly qualified, experienced and highly trained in Pediatrics. The system of modern, multi-functional ultrasound equipment makes diagnosis faster and more accurate.