Let’s be honest: this is one of those stories that makes you wince, laugh nervously, and then feel a strange pang of sympathy all at once. A 41-year-old man in Iran had been dealing with incontinence for about a month. That means he was leaking urine, struggling to control his bladder, and probably feeling embarrassed, frustrated, and desperate for a solution. Instead of going to a doctor, he decided to take matters into his own hands. Over the course of two weeks, he dropped superglue into his urethra—the tube that carries urine out of the body—hoping to seal things up and stop the leaking. At first, it seemed to work. But as you might imagine, superglue is not a medical device. Within days, his body started reacting badly. He felt a burning pain when he tried to pee, and the flow became weaker and weaker. By the time he finally sought medical help, he couldn’t urinate at all. That is not just uncomfortable; it is a genuine medical emergency. Doctors were shocked to discover that the cause of his agony was a solid block of hardened superglue that had essentially sealed his urethra shut. They ended up removing a 10-centimeter—almost four-inch—rod-shaped piece of glue from his penis. It was, to put it mildly, a piss-poor DIY job.
To understand how someone ends up in this situation, you have to appreciate how miserable incontinence can be. It’s not just a physical problem; it’s an emotional and social one. People who struggle with bladder control often feel ashamed, isolated, and anxious about leaving the house. They worry about smells, stains, and the constant need to be near a bathroom. It can affect relationships, work, and self-esteem. The man in this case had no history of psychiatric disorders, according to the doctors who treated him. He wasn’t acting out of confusion or a mental health crisis. He was just a regular guy who was tired of leaking urine and wanted to fix it himself. Maybe he didn’t have easy access to a doctor. Maybe he was too embarrassed to ask for help. Maybe he thought, “Superglue is strong and waterproof—why wouldn’t it work?” So he started applying it to his urethra over a two-week period. And for a little while, it seemed to help. That initial sense of relief probably reinforced his decision. But after about four days, the trouble began. The glue was hardening inside his body, sticking to the delicate lining of his urethra, and blocking the flow of urine. The burning pain and reduced output should have been a warning sign, but by then he was likely in too deep—literally and figuratively—to know what to do.
When he finally got to doctors, he was in complete urinary retention, which means his bladder was full but he couldn’t empty it. Anyone who has ever had a urinary tract infection or a blocked catheter knows that the feeling of needing to pee and not being able to is excruciating. It causes intense pressure, cramping, and a deep, unrelenting ache in the lower abdomen. But the danger goes far beyond pain. If urine is trapped in the body for too long, it can back up into the kidneys, causing irreversible damage. It can also lead to severe infections in the blood, which can be life-threatening. So this man was in serious trouble. When the doctors examined him, they noticed something odd: his penis was erect. It’s possible that the hardened glue, acting as a foreign body, caused irritation and swelling that led to an erection, or perhaps the blockage itself created a kind of pressure that kept blood trapped in the area. They could feel the hardened glue inside the penis, and they saw brittle fragments of it at the opening of the penis head. It must have been a surreal and alarming sight, even for experienced medical professionals. The doctors noted that foreign objects in the penis are actually not that rare. People stick all sorts of things into their bodies—tweezers, wires, pencils, fishhooks, needles, thermometers, even hot wax. Often, it’s related to sexual gratification, or to disinhibited behavior caused by drugs, alcohol, or mental illness. Sometimes it’s just curious kids exploring. But this man was different. He wasn’t seeking pleasure or acting irrationally. He was trying to treat a medical condition and made a catastrophic error in judgment.
The surgical team had to figure out how to remove the glue without causing even more damage. They first tried a cystoscopy, a procedure in which a thin tube with a light and camera is inserted into the urethra and bladder to see what’s going on. But the passage was completely blocked by the hardened superglue, so the scope couldn’t get through. They had to take a different approach. The surgeons made a careful incision in the head of the penis to access the blockage. Then they flushed the urethra with saline solution for about fifteen minutes. The goal was to loosen the glue from the delicate walls of the urethra without tearing the tissue. It worked. The solid block of superglue unstuck itself, and the doctors were able to pull it out with forceps. Imagine the scene: a four-inch, rod-shaped piece of dried glue, once liquid, now solid, coming out of a man’s body. It’s hard to wrap your mind around. After the glue was removed, the man was stitched back up. Shortly after surgery, his urine was flowing normally again. Within six weeks, he had returned to full health. It’s a remarkable outcome, and a testament to the skill of the medical team. But it also raises a question: why did it have to get this far? Why didn’t he see a doctor sooner? The answer, likely, is shame. He was embarrassed about his incontinence, and then he was even more embarrassed about what he had done to himself. He probably hoped the problem would just go away. Instead, he ended up on an operating table with a block of superglue inside his penis.
There is a medical lesson here, and it’s worth taking seriously. Superglue is one of those substances that seems to end up in strange places. It’s not uncommon for people to get it stuck in their ears or noses, especially children. In those cases, doctors sometimes use solvents like acetone to dissolve the glue. But the authors of this case report are very clear: do not do that when the glue is in the urethra. The urethra and bladder are lined with delicate mucous membranes, and solvents can burn, irritate, or permanently damage them. In this man’s case, the superglue was firmly stuck to the urethral wall, and surgery was the safest and most effective way to remove it. The doctors who wrote the report wanted to share this story not to embarrass the patient, but to warn others. If you ever find yourself in a situation where something is stuck in a sensitive part of your body, do not try to dissolve it with household chemicals. Do not try to pull it out with tools. Do not wait days or weeks to see if it will pass on its own. Go to a doctor. Yes, it will be awkward. Yes, you might feel foolish. But doctors have seen it all, and their job is to help you, not to judge you. The longer you wait, the worse the damage can be. This man was lucky—he recovered fully. But he could have lost a kidney, developed a life-threatening infection, or suffered permanent damage to his urinary tract.
In the end, this story is about more than superglue and a bad decision. It’s about what happens when people don’t have access to compassionate, nonjudgmental healthcare. Incontinence is common, especially as people get older, but it’s rarely discussed openly. Many people suffer in silence, trying home remedies and desperate fixes because they’re too ashamed to ask for help. This man’s solution was extreme, but the underlying feeling is universal: the desire to fix a problem on your own, quietly, without having to expose your vulnerability to someone else. We can laugh at the absurdity of a grown man supergluing his urethra shut, and we probably will. But we should also feel a little bit of compassion. He was in pain, he was embarrassed, and he made a terrible choice. The good news is that he survived, and his story can serve as a warning. If you’re struggling with bladder control, please know that there are safe, effective treatments. Pelvic floor exercises, medications, lifestyle changes, and surgical options can all help. You don’t have to live with incontinence, and you definitely don’t have to resort to superglue. Talk to a doctor. Bring up the problem. Let them help you. Your body is resilient, but it’s not invincible. And as this case proves, sometimes the most dangerous thing you can do is try to fix a medical problem with a trip to the hardware store. So let this be the strangest public service announcement you’ll ever read: don’t put superglue in your urethra. If you’re already past that point, put down the solvent, pick up the phone, and get to a hospital. The doctors will sort it out—and they’ll probably have a story to tell at dinner parties for years to come.
