environment | May 15, 2026

Why do antihistamines cause urinary retention?

The problem can also be caused by using drugs such as antihistamines (like Benadryl®), antispasmodics (like Detrol®), and tricyclic antidepressants (like Elavil®) that can change the way the bladder muscle works. This squeezes urine from the bladder. The brain then tells the sphincter muscles to relax.

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Consequently, do antihistamines cause urinary retention?

Over-the-counter cold and allergy medications that contain decongestants, such as pseudoephedrine, and antihistamines, such as diphenhydramine, can increase symptoms of urinary retention in men with prostate enlargement.

Subsequently, question is, what causes urinary retention? Causes of urinary retention include an obstruction in the urinary tract such as an enlarged prostate or bladder stones, infections that cause swelling or irritation, nerve problems that interfere with signals between the brain and the bladder, medications, constipation, urethral stricture, or a weak bladder muscle.

Besides, what drugs can cause urinary retention?

Urinary retention has been described with the use of drugs with anticholinergic activity (e.g. antipsychotic drugs, antidepressant agents and anticholinergic respiratory agents), opioids and anaesthetics, alpha-adrenoceptor agonists, benzodiazepines, NSAIDs, detrusor relaxants and calcium channel antagonists.

Does Benadryl cause urinary retention?

Certain medications can cause urinary retention, especially in men with prostate enlargement. Antihistamines such as diphenhydramine (Benadryl, Compoz, Nytol, Sominex) and chlorpheniramine (Chlor-Trimeton, Allergy 8 Hr), as well as some older antidepressants, can relax the bladder too much and cause urination problems.

Related Question Answers

How do you reverse urinary retention?

For that reason, a popular form of urinary retention treatment is prostate medications such as:
  1. alpha blockers, including alfuzosin (Uroxatral), doxazosin (Cardura), silodosin (Rapaflo) and tamsulosin (Flomax)
  2. 5-alpha reductase inhibitors, including finasteride (Proscar) and dutasteride (Avodart)

What foods cause urinary retention?

Bladder irritants
  • Coffee, tea and carbonated drinks, even without caffeine.
  • Alcohol.
  • Certain acidic fruits — oranges, grapefruits, lemons and limes — and fruit juices.
  • Spicy foods.
  • Tomato-based products.
  • Carbonated drinks.
  • Chocolate.

Do antihistamines cause bladder problems?

It can happen when something blocks the free flow of urine through the bladder and urethra. The problem can also be caused by using drugs such as antihistamines (like Benadryl®), antispasmodics (like Detrol®), and tricyclic antidepressants (like Elavil®) that can change the way the bladder muscle works.

Does Claritin cause urinary retention?

Loratadine (loratidine) is an antihistamine. It works by blocking a substance in the body called histamine. The most common loratadine (loratidine) side-effects are drowsiness, headache, psychomotor impairment, urinary retention, dry mouth, blurred vision, and gastrointestinal disturbances.

Can cetirizine cause urinary retention?

If you have predisposition factors of urinary retention (eg: spinal cord lesion, prostatic hyperplasia) as cetirizine increases the risk of urinary retention, please ask your doctor for advice. Food does not noticeably affect the absorption of cetirizine.

What are the signs and symptoms of urinary retention?

Symptoms of urinary retention may include:
  • Difficulty starting to urinate.
  • Difficulty fully emptying the bladder.
  • Weak dribble or stream of urine.
  • Loss of small amounts of urine during the day.
  • Inability to feel when bladder is full.
  • Increased abdominal pressure.
  • Lack of urge to urinate.

What drugs can cause overactive bladder?

Pharmacologic agents including oral estrogens, alpha-blockers, sedative-hypnotics, antidepressants, antipsychotics, ACE inhibitors, loop diuretics, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and calcium channel blockers have been implicated to some degree in the onset or exacerbation of urinary incontinence.

How do I relax my urinary muscles?

To do Kegel exercises:
  1. Try stopping your urine mid-stream when going. The muscles you use are pelvic floor muscles.
  2. Focus on tightening those muscles when you have an empty bladder.
  3. Breathe normally when doing these exercises.
  4. Avoid squeezing your stomach, thighs, or buttocks instead of your pelvic floor muscles.

Will urinary retention go away?

A person should schedule an appointment with a doctor for urinary retention that lasts longer than a few days or that goes away and then returns. People who experience temporary urinary retention due to medication or anesthesia may not need medical treatment if the symptoms disappear and do not return.

How can I relieve urinary retention?

There are several medications that your doctor might prescribe to help your urinary retention:
  1. antibiotics or other medications for urinary tract infection, prostatitis, or cystitis.
  2. medications that make your urethral sphincter and prostate relax so urine can flow through the urethra better.

Can medications cause urinary retention?

Medications with anticholinergic properties, such as tricyclic antidepressants, cause urinary retention by decreasing bladder detrusor muscle contraction. 12 Sympathomimetic drugs (e.g., oral decongestants) cause urinary retention by increasing alpha-adrenergic tone in the prostate and bladder neck.

Can painkillers cause urinary retention?

Opioids causing urinary retention has long been recognized, and is most studied in post-operative adult patients where its incidence is approximately 25% (6). All opioids can cause urinary retention due to mu-opioid receptor agonism.

How can I increase my urine flow naturally?

Go with the Flow
  1. Keep yourself active. Lack of physical activity can make you retain urine.
  2. Do Kegel exercises. Stand at or sit on the toilet and contract the muscle that allows you to stop and start the flow of pee.
  3. Meditate. Nervousness and tension cause some men to urinate more often.
  4. Try double voiding.

How much urinary retention is normal?

In those who can void, incomplete bladder emptying is diagnosed by postvoid catheterization or ultrasonography showing an elevated residual urine volume. A volume < 50 mL is normal; < 100 mL is usually acceptable in patients > 65 but abnormal in younger patients.

Can constipation cause urinary problems?

Constipation can affect bladder control and urinary continence. An over-full bowel (due to constipation) can press on the bladder, reducing the amount of urine it can hold or making you feel like to need to pass urine urgently. Constipation can also affect your pelvic floor muscles.

Does ibuprofen cause urinary retention?

Urinary retention involves the abnormal holding of urine within the bladder, often due to bladder muscle failure. The new finding, which involves ibuprofen, naproxen (Aleve) and the cox-2 inhibitor Celebrex, adds to highly publicized cardiovascular issues surrounding the use of these popular medications.

What happens if urine backs up into the kidneys?

A blocked ureter can cause urine to go back up into the kidney, which causes swelling. This backflow of urine is known as vesicoureteral reflux (VUR). Other potential causes of a blockage include: a kink in the ureteropelvic junction, which is where the ureter meets the pelvis of the kidney.

How do you check for urinary retention?

The amount of urine that stays in your bladder after going may be measured by doing an ultrasound test of the bladder. Cystoscopy is a test in which a thin tube with a tiny camera on one end is put into the urethra. This lets the doctor look at pictures of the lining of your urethra and bladder.

What's wrong when you urinate a lot?

Frequent urination can also develop as a habit. However, it can be a sign of kidney or ureter problems, urinary bladder problems, or another medical condition, such as diabetes mellitus, diabetes insipidus, pregnancy, or prostate gland problems. Other causes or related factors include: bladder cancer.