What is the cause of urethral stricture?
The causes are divided into 4 main areas: congenital urethral strictures, such as urethral valves, spermatogonial hypertrophy, congenital narrowing of the urethral canal; traumatic urethral strictures, with the most ball urethral strictures, trauma including penetrating injuries (gunshot wounds, stab wounds), blunt injuries (straddling injuries, penile contusion) and crush injuries (pelvic fractures); medical injuries, due to intraurethral instrumentation or urethral compression necrosis or chemical irritation of retained urethral tubes Inflammatory, inflammatory urethral strictures caused by specific or non-specific urethral infections.
Early symptoms
1. Difficulty in urination
Difficulty in urination is the main symptom of urethral stricture, which can be mild or severe, and is related to the degree of stricture, manifested as thin urine line, prolonged urination time, nocturia, frequent urination, urine dripping, or even inability to urinate.
2.Bladder irritation and bladder loss of compensation
Bladder irritation such as urinary urgency, frequency, incomplete urination, urine loss, etc. If the compensatory function of the bladder is lost, residual urine, urinary retention, and overflow incontinence may occur.
3.Complication symptoms
It can be complicated by periurethral infection, upper urinary tract infection and genital tract infection. In the acute phase, there may be generalized chills, high fever, and a significant increase in white blood cell count. The periurethral cellulitis is characterized by redness, swelling and pain in the perineum, and the formation of an abscess may lead to urinary fistula, which is located at the distal end of the external sphincter and overflows only during urination. In case of acute testicular and epididymitis, the scrotum is red, swollen and painful with systemic symptoms, and long-term difficulty in urination can be complicated by inguinal hernia and anorectal prolapse.
Diagnosis & Examination
(A) Physical examination
1.Urethral palpation and external scrotal examination
2.Anorectal examination
(II) Auxiliary examination
1.Urethral probe examination
2.Urethrography
3.B ultrasound
4.Urethral palpation and vulvar scrotal examination
5.Anal rectal examination
6.Other examinations: endoscopy can clarify the lesion under direct vision and perform the necessary intracavitary surgery, and intravenous urography should be performed for suspected upper urinary tract lesions. For traumatic posterior urethral strictures, MRI has also been performed to show the length of the stricture and the displacement of the prostate more clearly.
Prevention and prognosis
1) Pay attention to physical exercise to improve the body’s resistance, even if a small amount of pathogenic bacteria invade the urethra, the body’s immune protection barrier can kill them and not cause disease.
2) Good drinking habits are the easiest way to prevent urinary tract infections. Drink more water, urinate more to the urinary tract to play a flushing role, so that from time to time invade the urinary tract of trace bacteria with the urine and out of the body. Generally, it is better to urinate once every 2 to 3 hours.
3) Pay attention to the hygiene of the perineum on a regular basis and wash it regularly. Do not use alkaline solutions such as soap and soda to avoid damage to the barrier effect of the acidic fluid secreted by the urethra.
Diet: it is advisable to eat a light, easy to digest diet, it is advisable to eat food rich in water, nutrition and vitamins; it is advisable to eat more fresh vegetables and fruits, such as green vegetables, watermelon, pear, fresh lotus root, loquat, etc.; it is advisable to drink more water and soup, which can be diuretic; it is advisable to have more meals with clearing heat and detoxifying, diuretic and laxative effect: chrysanthemum brain soup, shepherd’s purse soup, marjoram, winter melon soup, corn beard, white fruit, hawthorn, celery, lettuce, mung beans, adzuki beans, etc. .