People often take urination for granted until they develop an ailment that makes it harder or painful to urinate. One such ailment is a urethral stricture. This is a narrowing of the urethra, which is the tube that carries urine from your bladder to the outside of your body. A urethral stricture often causes symptoms that start out mild, but become more serious with time. Keep reading to learn how to recognize a urethral stricture and how your doctor is likely to treat it.
Symptoms of a Urethral Stricture
The key symptom of a urethral stricture is a decrease in the pressure or width of your urine stream. You may feel like you cannot urinate with as much force as you used to, or you may notice that your urine stream looks significantly narrower than it used to look.
As the stricture worsens, it's common for people to notice spraying and splattering as they urinate. You may also feel the urge to urinate even after you have fully emptied your bladder. Some people with urethral strictures are also at a high risk of urinary tract infections. You might have a UTI, treat it, and have another UTI pop up just weeks later.
Treating a Urethral Stricture
The treatment for urethral stricture is usually a procedure called urethral dilation. This treatment seeks to widen the urethra and break down scar tissue that is currently narrowing the urethra. Your doctor will insert a small catheter into your urethra. This will be left in place for a few days before being replaced with a larger catheter. A few days after that, you'll have an even wider catheter inserted. After a few weeks, your urethra should be wider, and the final catheter can be removed.
Part of treating urethral strictures is also addressing any underlying conditions that led to the stricture. If you have an STD like chlamydia, your doctor may prescribe antibiotics to treat it. If your prostate is enlarged and putting pressure on your urethra, your doctor may recommend a prostatectomy. And if your stricture is caused by an injury, you may need an additional surgical procedure to remove scar tissue.
Most urethral strictures are treatable, so there is no need to go on suffering. This condition can be a little embarrassing to talk about, but your doctor needs to have a clear picture of what's going on in order to treat you.
Share20 June 2023
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