What is urinary tract obstruction?
Your urinary tract is the path that urine follows from your kidneys to your bladder and out of your body. Obstruction means your urinary tract is blocked somewhere along that path.
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Urinary tract obstruction can happen in your kidneys, the tubes that connect each kidney to your bladder (ureters), your bladder, or the tube your pee comes out (urethra)
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Many things can cause urinary tract obstruction, including scar tissue, tumors, or kidney stones
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A urinary tract obstruction can cause pain and infection
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If it goes on long enough, a urinary tract obstruction can cause kidney damage
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Doctors remove the blockage with medicine or surgery depending on what caused it
What causes urinary tract obstruction?
Common causes of urinary tract obstruction include:
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In children: an abnormality the child was born with, such as a narrow urethra
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In adults: kidney stones
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In older men: an enlarged prostate (benign prostatic hyperplasia)
Other causes of urinary tract obstruction include:
What are the symptoms of urinary tract obstruction?
Symptoms of urinary tract obstruction depend on where the obstruction is, how quickly it happens, and how severe the blockage is.
Symptoms include:
You may have a fever and pus or blood in your urine, if the obstruction causes a urinary tract infection.
How can doctors tell if I have urinary tract obstruction?
How do doctors treat urinary tract obstruction?
Doctors will remove the blockage from your urinary tract.
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If you have a kidney stone, doctors usually wait for it to pass on its own
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If a kidney stone doesn't pass on its own, doctors try to break it up using powerful sound waves (shock wave lithotripsy) or remove the stone using a scope
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For an enlarged prostate , doctors give you medicines or hormones to reduce the size of your prostate
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If they can’t remove the blockage, doctors insert a tube through your kidney to drain urine
Doctors will also treat any problems your urinary tract obstruction caused, such as a urinary tract infection or kidney problem.
