5 Reasons you should not hold your urine
Source: lifealth, continence.
It often happens that you have had a lot of water to drink or any other fluid and you want to relieve yourself. However, it is not always possible to find a hygienic restroom to pee. In such situation, it is perfectly normal and natural to hold the pee till you find a place. However, some people have a habit of doing so. It is important to remember that the adult bladder can hold almost 500 milliliters of fluid that is 2 cups of urine in general. If your bladder is functioning in a healthy manner, then it is okay that you aren’t able to answer nature’s call at once. However, the problem begins when you make it a habit. There are many harms of that. (Also read: What are the causes of burning sensation while peeing)
This is what happens when you hold your Pee regularly for long time
- Weak pelvic floor muscles
Pelvic floor muscles are the layer of muscles that support the pelvic organs and span the bottom of the pelvis. The pelvic organs are the bladder and bowel in men, and bladder, bowel and uterus in women. The diagram below shows the pelvic organs and pelvic floor muscles in women (right) and men (left).
The pelvic floor muscles stretch like a muscular trampoline from the tailbone (coccyx) to the pubic bone (front to back) and from one sitting bone to the other sitting bone (side to side). These muscles are normally firm and thick.
Imagine the pelvic floor muscles as a round mini-trampoline made of firm muscle. Just like a trampoline, the pelvic floor is able to move down and up. The bladder, uterus (for women) and bowel lie on the pelvic floor muscle layer.
The pelvic floor muscle layer has hole for passages to pass through. There are two passages in men (the urethra and anus) and three passages in women (the urethra, vagina and anus). The pelvic floor muscles normally wrap quite firmly around these holes to help keep the passages shut. There is also an extra circular muscle around the anus (the anal sphincter) and around the urethra (the urethral sphincter).
Although the pelvic floor is hidden from view, it can be consciously controlled and therefore trained, much like our arm, leg or abdominal muscles.
What is the function of pelvic floor muscles do?
Pelvic floor muscles provide support to the organs that lie on it. The sphincters give us conscious control over the bladder and bowel so that we can control the release of urine, faeces (poo) and flatus (wind) and allow us to delay emptying until it is convenient. When the pelvic floor muscles are contracted, the internal organs are lifted and the sphincters tighten the openings of the vagina, anus and urethra. Relaxing the pelvic floor allows passage of urine and faeces.
Pelvic floor muscles are also important for sexual function in both men and women. In men, it is important for erectile function and ejaculation. In women, voluntary contractions (squeezing) of the pelvic floor contribute to sexual sensation and arousal.
The pelvic floor muscles in women also provide support for the baby during pregnancy and assist in the birthing process.
The muscles of the pelvic floor work with the abdominal and back muscles to stabilise and support the spine.
Your pelvic floor muscles are important to contract and relax which depends on the fact if you want to pee or hold it. However, when you hold your pee for too long regularly it impacts your pelvic floor muscles and they turn weak. This that lead to the loss of bladder control in the long run.
- Bladder Stretching
The urinary bladder simply called Bladder, is a hollow muscular organ in all human beings and animals that collects and stores urine from the kidneys before it is been disposed via urination. People do not know that they do stretch the bladder by holding your urine for long time. It is just like you trying to see from a long distance or literally when you are trying to read in a dark place by so doing starching the eye lens.
Many people think that bladder stretching is healthy, but in fact, the bladder stretching means that your bladder is getting weak. This happens when you hold your pee for too long regular. (Also read: Why do you want to pee all the time)
- Weak bladder muscles
webmd defines the urinary bladder as a muscular sac in the pelvis, just above and behind the pubic bone. When empty, the bladder is about the size and shape of a pear.
Urine is made in the kidneys, and travels down two tubes called ureters to the bladder. The bladder stores urine, allowing urination to be infrequent and voluntary. The bladder is lined by layers of muscle tissue that stretch to accommodate urine. The normal capacity of the bladder is 400 to 600 ML.
How it affects the bladder,
During urination, the bladder muscles contract, and two sphincters (valves) open to allow urine to flow out. Urine exits the bladder into the urethra, which carries urine out of the body. Because it passes through the penis, the urethra is longer in men (8 inches) than in women (1.5 inches).
The bladder muscles stop the pee from leaking. However, when you hold the pee for long on a regular basis then it makes the bladder muscles weak. It can lead to pee leak and other health problems.
- Kidney infection
When you hold your pee for too long then there is a chance that you will end up with a kidney infection. This happens because hold your pee for long can lead to blabber problems which also affect the kidneys.
- Growth of bacteria
According to Live Science,
Bacteria are microscopic single-celled organisms that thrive in diverse environments. They can live within soil, in the ocean and inside the human gut. Humans’ relationship with bacteria is complex. Sometimes they lend a helping hand, by curdling milk into yogurt, or helping with our digestion. At other times they are destructive, causing diseases like pneumonia and MRSA.
When you hold your pee, it means the urine just stays inside you. It means the bacteria inside it also stay in. This can lead to the growth of bacteria.
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