Categories: Urology

Holding in your urine for long is hazardous to health

Introduction

How many of you hate using public toilets in malls or amusements parks? Do you hold in your urine because you hate getting up in the middle of the night to urinate? How often do you feel like your bladder will burst as you rush to the bathroom when you get home? The number of times that you need to urinate differs from person to person, depends on how much you have had to drink and how strong your bladder control is. While it is good to have control over your urge to urinate, it is important to void when necessary. Here are some startling facts about the dangers of holding in urine for too long.

Incontinence

Holding urine in for long periods of time can weaken pelvic floor muscles. This can lead to incontinence which can be an irritating and embarrassing problem. Incontinence can cause a little bit of urine to leak when you sneeze or cough. An incontinent person continually feels the urge to go to the toilet.

Kidney stones

Kidney stones form when waste products in our body calcify and develop into crystals. This can be a very painful condition and you may need to have surgery to remove stones if they become too large. It can cause infection and blood in the urine. Drinking too little water and holding urine in are the common causes for this problem.

Stretched bladder

Holding urine in for long periods of time can cause the bladder to stretch and become weak. Usually when urine fills up the bladder, it stretches it and when you void, it bounces back to its original shape. Continuously stretching the bladder by holding in urine may eventually stop the bladder from bouncing back. In severe cases, a person may need a catheter to pass urine.

Urinary infections

The risk of a urinary tract infection is increased when you hold in your urine for a long time. Bacteria are present naturally in the urinary tract and are excreted with the urine. When the urine is held in the bladder, bacteria may build up and this can cause infection in any part of the urinary tract. UTIs are painful and once triggered can keep recurring.

Pain

The urge to pee is a familiar sensation, but when you hold in the urine for too long, it can cause pain too because the muscles have to work overtime and clench to keep in an ever increasing amount of urine.

Burst bladder

This is rare but it can happen. Your bladder can burst if you hold in your urine for too long. If the bladder bursts urine fills up the abdomen. Surgery may be required to fix it.

As important as it is to drink adequate water it is equally important to urinate often to make sure that your kidneys and urinary tract is healthy and functioning normally.


Kauvery Hospital is globally known for its multidisciplinary services at all its Centers of Excellence, and for its comprehensive, Avant-Grade technology, especially in diagnostics and remedial care in heart diseases, transplantation, vascular and neurosciences medicine. Located in the heart of Trichy (Tennur, Royal Road and Alexandria Road (Cantonment), Chennai, Hosur, Salem, Tirunelveli and Bengaluru, the hospital also renders adult and pediatric trauma care.

Chennai – 044 4000 6000 • Trichy – Cantonment – 0431 4077777 • Trichy – Heartcity – 0431 4003500 • Trichy – Tennur – 0431 4022555 • Hosur – 04344 272727 • Salem – 0427 2677777 • Tirunelveli – 0462 4006000 • Bengaluru – 080 6801 6801


Updated on 2nd Feb 2024

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