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Is holding your pee for too long a good idea?

Oct 23, 2019, 05:00 IST

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We all have been in those situations where we are compelled to hold our pee. But is it a good idea? Every once in a while, 'sit's okay. However, if you make a habit of it, boy, you might end up inviting some serious problems your way. Now is your movie actually worth that risk? 'sLet's find out.

  • Bladder Expansion
Did you know that an adult bladder can hold up to half a litre of pee before we feel that urgency to ''go''? But when you hold in your pee for a long duration, your bladder gets stretched to hold even more. That is our body's way of adjusting according to our requirements. However, the more it expands, the more problematic scenarios you tend to face.


  • Stretched Sphincter Muscles
These muscles are like the gat-keepers of your bladder that hold your urine. Relaxing these muscles result in releasing the urine flow. When you hold in your pee out of habit, you tend to overstretch them. Over time, if these sphincter muscles are overstretched too much, one might end up losing control over them. Now when the gate-keepers don't function properly, awkward & dangerous situations can arise.

  • Leakage
When your Sphincter muscles lose control, you risk leaking urine when your bladder is full. Not only that, when you finally do visit the washroom, it won't empty fully. This increases your need to pee more often as well as can lead to severe disorders like urinary retention.

  • A UTI
Since your bladder is a warm, wet bag of body waste; it is the PERFECT breeding ground of harmful bacteria that can cause urinary tract infection (UTI) and several other diseases.
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  • Bladder Rupture
This is one of the rare scenarios that are likely to happen. Still, it is worth remembering. Bladder rupture usually occurs in people with prior bladder injury, scarring from surgery or past inflammation. Therefore, if you've had these conditions previously, think again before holding your pee for long.


  • Kidney Failure
Another rare case that can happen if you hold onto your pee is kidney failure. How? If you're unlucky and retain too much urine, your sphincter muscles might not relax, and urine may back up into your kidneys. This can cause kidney failure and ultimately, death.

Well, we get that sometimes the situations don't permit us to go release ourselves in time. As long as it doesn't get habitual, you're good to go.
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