Post-void dribbling, also known as post-micturition dribbling (PMD), occurs when

urine Urine is a liquid by-product of metabolism in humans and many other animals. In placental mammals, urine flows from the Kidney (vertebrates), kidneys through the ureters to the urinary bladder and exits the urethra through the penile meatus (mal ...

remaining in the

urethra The urethra (: urethras or urethrae) is the tube that connects the urinary bladder to the urinary meatus, through which Placentalia, placental mammals Urination, urinate and Ejaculation, ejaculate. The external urethral sphincter is a striated ...

after voiding the

bladder The bladder () is a hollow organ in humans and other vertebrates that stores urine from the kidneys. In placental mammals, urine enters the bladder via the ureters and exits via the urethra during urination. In humans, the bladder is a distens ...

dribbles out after urination has completed. A common and usually

benign Malignancy () is the tendency of a medical condition to become progressively worse; the term is most familiar as a characterization of cancer. A ''malignant'' tumor contrasts with a non-cancerous benign tumor, ''benign'' tumor in that a malig ...

complaint, it may be a

symptom Signs and symptoms are diagnostic indications of an illness, injury, or condition. Signs are objective and externally observable; symptoms are a person's reported subjective experiences. A sign for example may be a higher or lower temperature ...

of urethral diverticulum,

prostatitis Prostatitis is an umbrella term for a variety of medical conditions that incorporate bacterial and non-bacterial origin illnesses in the pelvic region. In contrast with the plain meaning of the word (which means "inflammation of the prostate"), the ...

and other medical problems. A distinction has been made between PMD and urine residue in the urethra that can be waited out or shaken off manually from the penis. A study had found that all males, even those without PMD, pass some volume of urine after micturition. It has thus been suggested that PMD should be regarded as a normal occurrence in men, due to the inherent anatomy of the male urinary system resulting in some urine residue being retained, rather than a disease. It is a result of the accumulation of urine residue in either the bulbar or prostatic urethra, for various reasons. One common cause is the failure of the bulbocavernosus muscle in pushing out urine that pools after micturition. It may also be caused by urine being trapped when the external sphincter closes before the urine exits the prostatic urethra. This is subsequently released once the muscles relax. Some men who experience dribbling, especially after prostate cancer surgery, will choose to wear incontinence pads to stay dry. Also known as guards for men, these incontinence pads conform to the male body. Some of the most popular male guards are from TENA, Depend, and Prevail. Simple ways to prevent dribbling include: strengthening pelvic muscles with

Kegel exercise Kegel exercise, also known as pelvic floor exercise, involves repeatedly contracting and relaxing the muscles that form part of the pelvic floor, now sometimes colloquially referred to as the "Kegel muscles". The exercise can be performed many ti ...

s, changing position while urinating, or pressing on the

perineum The perineum (: perineums or perinea) in placentalia, placental mammals is the space between the anus and the genitals. The human perineum is between the anus and scrotum in the male or between the anus and vulva in the female. The perineum is ...

to evacuate the remaining urine from the urethra. Sitting down while urinating is also shown to alleviate complaints: a

meta-analysis Meta-analysis is a method of synthesis of quantitative data from multiple independent studies addressing a common research question. An important part of this method involves computing a combined effect size across all of the studies. As such, th ...

on the effects of voiding position in elderly males with

benign prostate hyperplasia Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), also called prostate enlargement, is a noncancerous increase in size of the prostate gland. Symptoms may include frequent urination, trouble starting to urinate, weak stream, urinary retention, inability t ...

found an improvement of urologic parameters in this position, while in healthy males no such influence was found.

References

External links

eMedicine
Symptoms and signs: Urinary system {{Symptom-stub