No, sometimes you can, of course: for example, you are stuck in a traffic jam, and the nearest gas station is still a couple of kilometers away, or, as often happens, there is a line as long as the Great Wall of China in the women’s toilet. There’s nothing to be done. But if you endure the urge often (now, I’ll finish the job and go right away …) this can lead to sad consequences. We tell you how.
Pelvic floor muscle dysfunction may occur
When you endure the urge to urinate for an hour, the pelvic floor muscles begin to lose strength and eventually become dysfunctional. Where it leads? Alas, in the long run, you may lose control over the functions of the bladder. Muscles atrophy, “forget how” to contract, and, accordingly, to retain urine, incontinence will develop. Sometimes the opposite effect occurs: if you endure the toilet for a very long time, 8-10 hours, the spasmodic muscles will not be able to contract in time. The danger is that reflux (reflux) of already more concentrated and non-sterile urine can occur back into the kidneys, damaging them. Of course, this will not happen from a couple of sessions of “forbearance”, but the risk increases if you practice this regularly.
Or infections will develop
If you constantly endure and do not go to the toilet, the urethra may involuntarily open slightly from the pressure of accumulated urine, and there is a risk of infection “from the street” entering the genitourinary system. And the urine itself contains unhealthy waste products: ammonia, bacteria, and acids. Infections from the outside and corrosive substances from the inside can cause cystitis (inflammation of the bladder), which sooner or later becomes chronic, goes further to the kidneys, and triggers pyelonephritis.
There will be constant pain
If you endure it for too long, a characteristic pain will appear in the lower abdomen – familiar? So, it may not pass, even when you get to the cherished place. The fact is that the muscles were so tense while you were holding back that now they cannot relax, and the pain is caused by their spasm. Over time, these pains can become chronic. In addition, persistent urinary retention will cause bloating, a feeling of excess fluid in the body, or even chills due to intoxication with harmful substances in the urine.
The bladder will expand
The bladder is a hollow, elastic organ whose walls can stretch and contract many times. But not huge! The limit of its filling in an adult is 500-700 milliliters (two or three glasses), it takes six to eight hours. However, the first urge to go to the toilet begins when 200-300 milliliters of urine has accumulated, and the brain receives a signal to open the sphincters. That’s when you feel it’s time to visit the restroom. But if you endure, the bladder will continue to stretch. Of course, it will not burst (this can happen in principle, but usually due to an injury to the abdomen), but the walls will stretch too much. Over time, the bladder will stop shrinking to normal size. What does it threaten? You stop responding to the signals that the brain sends to the body, it will begin to ignore you in the same way, and will stop reporting that it is necessary to empty the bladder. You understand the result of this, don’t you?