How to prevent urethral stricture recurrence?

Urethral stricture is one such problem in men that has high chances of recurrence. The condition of urethral stricture arises when a part of urethra narrows. This narrowing of the urethra is the result of the scarring of the tissues. It majorly affects the flow of urine and hence does not allow the bladder to be absolutely empty of urine.

As urethral stricture reduces the flow of urine, it ultimately causes a lot of troubles related to the urinary tract. A person suffering from urethral stricture is more prone to urinary infections and inflammation of the urethra. The longer the urethra, the higher are the chances of infections, inflammation or scarring that may result in stricture.

According to doctors, once a person deals with urethral stricture, there are high chances that he might face it again. Hence, doctors highly recommend proper assessment and effective treatment for long-lasting effects. So, let’s know about the treatments that can minimize the risk of urethral stricture recurring.

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Treatments to prevent the recurrence of urethral stricture

There are various medicines and treatments available to cure and prevent urethral stricture. But, most of the treatments cannot assure that the problem of urethral won’t reappear. So far, the most effective treatment for urethral stricture is urethroplasty.

Urethroplasty

Urethroplasty is the surgical process of removing the stricture or the narrowed portion of the urethra. It also effectively repairs the urethra to allow the easy flow of the urine. Usually, a graft is used to replace the stricture with healthy tissues. It helps in widening the affected urethral part and is much better than performing total replacement of urethra.

Urethroplasty is a high precision treatment that only the experienced, skilled surgeons perform. It has quite a high success rate in terms of long-lasting impacts as compared to other treatments for urethral stricture.

There are different kinds of urethroplasty:

- Excision urethroplasty
- Graft urethroplasty

It only depends upon the size of the stricture to decide which of these urethroplasty surgeries is suitable for the patient. Doctors perform excision urethroplasty only in the cases of small strictures. After carrying out excision, the loose ends of the urethra are then joined.

Graft urethroplasty mostly uses the tissues of the mouth to repair urethral stricture. This makes graft urethroplasty much more durable and it minimizes the chances of recurrence.

Catheterization

Catheterization is a treatment process in which the doctor uses a small tube-like device (called catheter) to let the urine drain out of the bladder. The doctor inserts the catheter through urethra only. This treatment is necessary to ensure that the bladder is empty so that harmful bacteria can longer grow in there. The muscles of the bladder tend to get weaker and distended when it is constantly filled with urine. So, catheterization is a modern yet simple procedure that allows the muscles of the bladder to feel relaxed.

Endoscopic urethrotomy

It is yet another treatment option for urethral stricture that prevents its recurrence to a great extent. In endoscopic urethrotomy, the doctor uses an optical device inside the urethra to clear the stricture. The device used is called a cystoscope, it is quite a modern technique to treat urethral stricture. Hence, the procedure enables the patient to recover faster as there is only minimal scarring. And, the chances of the infection returning are a bare minimum.

These are some effective medical treatments used for treating the troublesome condition of urethral stricture.

But, that’s not all, there are more tips, which if you follow, can majorly reduce the recurrence of urethral stricture.

Some tips you must follow that can prevent urethral stricture from recurring:

Bring healthy changes in your diet. There are various food items that promote the good health of the entire gut. Hence, a healthy diet ensures the healthy functioning of the urinary tract. You should have more fiber-rich foods and fruits to keep many harmful bacteria from growing inside the body. Oats, barley, rye are the fibrous whole grains that are rich in dietary fibers. (Also Read: What Should Be The Diet For Urethral Stricture Patients? )
Foods rich in vitamin C and antioxidants are the best to prevent urethral stricture from recurring. So, have lots of oranges, mangoes, peaches, berries, broccoli, cauliflower, prunes, etc.
Probiotics products such as yogurt encourage the growth of good bacteria in the gut. Probiotics also help in reducing the infection or inflammation of the urethra.
Too much-caffeinated beverages can cause dehydration/ dryness in the body, switch to healthy fluids. You can drink coconut water, fruit juices, smoothies (without artificial sweeteners).
Limit the consumption of spicy foods and meat as they can aggravate the urethral stricture.
Make exercising and yoga an integral part of your healthy lifestyle. Kegel exercises that emphasize the pelvic floor are quite beneficial in improving the symptoms of urethral stricture. Also, there are yoga exercises as well that impart immediate relief to the symptoms of urethral stricture. Some of those effective yoga exercises are Vajrasana, Padmasana, Mandukasana, etc.
You can even take ayurvedic medicines by consulting an ayurvedic doctor. Ayurvedic Medicines For Urethral Stricture directly work on the doshas (imbalances) so that the stricture does not surface again.
Make sure that you are careful enough to not cause any injury to the urethra. It is important to know because the strictures develop due to injuries also.
If you are dealing with the early stage of urethral stricture, you can try homeopathic remedies as well. But, just ensure that you do not take any medicine without the proper diagnosis by your homeopath. Although homeopathic medicines take a little longer to show effects, they definitely have strong relieving impacts.

Now that you know about the treatment options along with other helpful tips, make sure you do not suffer any longer. Get timely treatment before the condition starts getting worse. And when no tip or remedy helps to permanently cure urethral stricture, you should choose the modern surgical option, urethroplasty. It is an entirely safe procedure and has a nil rate of complications after the surgery.

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