How many of you hate using public restrooms? Do you hold your urine because you despise having to get up in the middle of the night to urinate? When you get home, how often do you feel like your bladder is going to burst as you rush to the washroom? The number of times you need to urinate varies from person to person and is determined by how much you have consumed and how strong your bladder control is. While it is beneficial to be able to control your urge to urinate, it is also necessary to urinate when required. Here are some facts about the dangers of holding urine for an extended period of time.
5 Health Effects of Holding Urine For Too Long:
Kidney Stones: Kidney stones form when waste products in our bodies calcifies. This can be a very painful condition, and if the stones become too large, you may require a surgery to remove them. It has the potential to cause infection and blood in the urine. The most common causes of this problem are drinking too little water and holding urine in.
Urine Infection: When you hold in your urine for an extended period of time, you increase your chances of getting a urinary tract infection. Bacteria are naturally present in the urinary tract and excreted with the urine. When urine held in the bladder, bacteria can grow and cause infection in any part of the urinary tract. UTIs are excruciatingly painful, and once triggered, they can reoccur.
Burst Bladder: This is rare, but it can happen. If you hold your urine in for an extended period of time, your bladder may burst. Urine fills the abdomen if the bladder bursts. Holding urine for extended periods of time can cause the bladder to stretch and weaken.
Painful: The desire to pee is a common sensation, but holding in the urine for too long can cause pain because the muscles have to work overtime and squeeze to keep an increasing amount of urine in. When urine fills the bladder, it stretches it, and when you void, it returns to its original shape. Holding in urine and continuously stretching the bladder may eventually stop the bladder from bouncing back.
Incontinence: Holding urine for an extended period of time can weaken the pelvic floor muscles. This can result in incontinence, which can be a bothersome and embarrassing problem.
