Have you ever had the urge to pee but couldn’t because there was no place for you to go?
Going to the bathroom is a necessity for everyone,
but that doesn’t mean a place “to go" is always available.
In most cases, holding it in for a short
time when you feel the urge to go is not going to be harmful.
However, holding pee for a long period of time and ignoring the urge
might increase the risk of certain problems which can be very bad for your body.
In today’s video, we will be talking about why
it is bad for your bladder and health to hold your urge to pee.
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So without further ado, let me tell you why you shouldn’t hold your pee for too long.
Bladder Burst
One of the worst things that could happen to your bladder when holding your pee for too long
is that it could burst and cause urine to leak into your abdomen.
This could result in death from peritonitis.
Although Bladder rupture is very rare and usually only occurs with trauma, it could
happen from something as trivial as bumping into a kitchen counter with an overdistended bladder.
Bladder Leakage
Think of your external sphincter muscles as the gatekeepers to your bladder.
They control when you empty your bladder and how much liquid exits when you urinate.
Clenching your external sphincter muscles will keep urine in,
while relaxing them allows urine to escape down the toilet.
Over time, sphincter muscles can become loose as a result of holding in pee too frequently,
which stretches the muscles.
Loose sphincter muscles can lead to a leaky bladder, which can be embarrassing at times.
Conversely, damaged sphincter muscles may have trouble relaxing,
leaving the bladder unable to release its contents.
Stretched Bladder
Your bladder can actually stretch if you don't pee often enough.
It makes sense when you think about it, your bladder becomes too
full and the liquid causes the muscles and membranes to stretch around it.
Think of it like water in a water balloon except when this happens it could make it more difficult
for you to pee in the future because the bladder doesn't bounce back to its original shape.
In severe cases a person may need a catheter to help them go to the bathroom.
Bladder Pain Syndrome
Bladder pain syndrome is a painful bladder syndrome
which causes inflammation and pain in the bladder which stores the urine.
People with BPS tend to urinate more often and
usually with smaller volumes of urine than most people.
It is usually caused by bacterial infection.
The common symptoms include a painful pelvis, persistent urge to urinate and in some cases,
urinating more than 60 times a day.
There is currently no cure for this condition but treatment is given to ease the symptoms.
Loss of Bladder Control
Loss of bladder control is something no one would want to experience.
This happens when your body struggles to control the urge to go to the toilet.
Something as simple as a sneeze or a cough could cause a leak.
Loss of bladder control is caused by the weakening of
the pelvic floor muscles which are located between your legs.
They are shaped like a sling and hold all your pelvic organs in place, including your bladder.
But the muscles can become weak if you frequently hold your pee.
In order to maintain your strength down there you should go to the
toilet whenever you need to and practice pelvic floor exercises.
Bladder Stones
Bladder stones are hard masses of minerals in your bladder.
They develop when the minerals in concentrated urine crystallize and form stones.
This often happens when you have trouble completely emptying your
bladder or you hold your pee for too long.
Small bladder stones may pass without treatment,
but sometimes bladder stones need medication or surgery.
Damage to Kidney Function
The first order of damage when you hold in your pee—voluntarily or
involuntarily—is to the bladder.
It can over-distend and cause injury to the bladder wall.
If that goes on long enough, the pressure inside the bladder can build, and that pressure gets
transmitted up to the upper tracts of the kidney, which are then damaged as well.
If that goes on long enough, it will start to damage kidney function.
Abdominal Pain
Another consequence for holding your pee is abdominal pain.
You know that painful feeling when you need to go, then finally do and it disappears?
Well, holding on for too long can mean that the awful pain in your lower abdomen continues.
Once the pain signals have been triggered in the lower abdomen, the pain may stick around.
Your muscles are clenching and are almost in a spasm, so they're not able to relax.
It can be quite some time before the pain subsides, maybe even days.
Kidney stones
You've definitely heard of this painful condition before.
Kidney stones are formed when waste products in the blood form crystals and develop over time.
They are more common if you don't drink enough liquids and if you hold in your pee too often.
Most kidney stones are small enough to be passed painfully in your pee,
but some may require surgery to be removed.
If you have kidney stones you may experience a persistent ache in your lower back,
nausea, pain and blood when you pee.
Infection
One potential risk of holding pee in too long is getting a urinary tract infection.
Whether you are busy at work, running around doing errands, or driving long distances,
it’s important to remember not to hold urine in.
Urine that remains in the bladder for longer periods of time places you at
greater risk of an infection in the urinary tract.
So if you are a bathroom procrastinator in the middle of finishing an important email
or your favourite Netflix show, just get up and go to the restroom to empty your bladder
and save yourself from a lot of bladder troubles.
Have you ever been in a situation when you had to hold your pee for too long?
Let us know in the comments section below!