What happens when you hold urine for too long? The consequences can be serious

Withholding urine for too long happens to almost everyone. During exhaustive shopping, when there is no toilet nearby, at a business meeting or during school lessons. It is worth remembering, however, that straining the bladder in this way can have serious health consequences. How often should you empty your bladder during the day? What happens to your body when you don’t pee often enough? What can you find out by looking at the color of your urine?

1. Urine can take various colors – from yellow to brown and green, signaling various diseases
2. A healthy adult should urinate light yellow or straw colored about seven to eight times a day. The norm for pregnant women and children is higher
3. Bladder training will help you control your urine intervals
4. Withholding voiding for too long can lead to infection, inflammation, the formation of kidney crystals and stones, bladder reflux, or damage to the tissue that lines the urinary tract.
5. More information can be found on the TvoiLokony home page

Structure of the urinary bladder

The urinary bladder is an organ that accumulates liquid that is constantly flowing through the urinary tract from the kidneys. The urine is then excreted through the urethra. The empty bladder has a completely different shape than the full bladder – the empty one takes a spherical, slightly flattened form.

In women, the bladder is lower than in men, and their urethra is only three to four cm (the male is about 20 cm long). Its position also changes slightly during pregnancy. In turn, the bladder capacity in an adult is from 250 to 500 ml, and in extreme cases it can be even a liter. Some diseases cause it to significantly increase in volume and can hold up to three or four liters of urine.

Composition of primary and final urine

Forming urine first takes the form of primary urine (it contains not only harmful substances, but also minerals, sugars, water, amino acids and vitamins needed by the body), to be later converted into final urine.

The correct final urine composition is:

1. water
2. sodium, potassium and hydrogen ions
3. urea and uric acid
4. urobilinogen
5. waste products of metabolism
6. drug toxins and metabolites
7. substances with levels in the blood above the kidney threshold.

What does the color of the urine tell us about?

The color of urine often depends on the degree of hydration of the body – it fades and loses an intense yellow shade as the concentration of fluid in the body increases. The correct color of urine is defined by laboratory technicians as straw-colored or simply yellow. It should not be cloudy or dense. A transparent or even white liquid informs us that there is too much water in the body. Dark yellow urine, on the other hand, signals dehydration.

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Doctors distinguish many unusual shades of urine that can occur for a variety of reasons. Some of them occur as a result of eating foods that contain intense dyes or individual vegetables (e.g. beetroot). Others may be a symptom of an infection or the beginning of a chronic illness. If, along with a color other than shades of yellow, an intense smell and mucus appear, and the urine looks foamed, it is a signal that you should visit a doctor.

The unusual shades of urine include:

bright yellow urine – even if it turns neon in color, it is not a cause for concern, it appears in people who regularly take B vitamins (especially B12)

colorless urine – is a symptom of pollakiuria, a condition that forces a person to frequently empty their bladder (the cause may be, for example, excessive fluid intake, water loss through the kidneys, urinary tract infection, kidney stones or pregnancy)

orange urine – this color of urine can most often be observed by people who regularly eat large amounts of raw carrots or drink carrot juice (due to the large amounts of beta-carotene ingested into their body), another factor that turns the color of urine orange is taking laxatives, as well as from excess bilirubin secretion

blue urine – appears in people with hypercalcemia, which causes high levels of calcium in the blood

green urine – this color of the urine can be caused by eating a lot of spinach or asparagus, as well as inflammation of the prostate gland, kidney problems, inflammation or an infection of the urinary tract

red urine – this color may be caused by eating beetroot, chard or large amounts of blackberries or food products containing betacyanin. Another reason for this phenomenon is taking sex hormones and pain medications; if the red color lasts a few days and there are blood clots in the urine, it may mean a serious disease of the bladder or kidneys

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brown urine – can occur after eating a large amount of rhubarb, but unfortunately also in the case of dehydration and kidney disease. Another reason for the brown color is porphyria.

1. What changes in the body does the color of urine signal?

How often should the bladder be emptied during the day?

Depending on age, overall body size, and genetics, each person has a slightly different bladder capacity. In order to be able to estimate this value, a mathematical formula was created. The constant in the equation is that a two-year-old’s bladder holds approximately 120 ml of urine (four ounces). Before starting the calculations, it is useful to know that one ounce is equivalent to 30 milliliters. When calculating the size of this organ in an eight-year-old child, it is enough to divide his age by two and then add 6. The result is 10 ounces, or 300 ml.

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There is also no fixed length of time for which you can stop peeing. It is known, however, that an adult should urinate about seven to eight times a day. Children’s blisters are smaller, so you don’t have to panic if they go to the toilet up to 10 times a day. However, it is worth monitoring whether they drink the right amount of fluids (e.g. during physical activity). The norm is also different for pregnant women, as the developing fetus can put pressure on this organ and thus reduce its volume.

Is urine retention good for humans?

If the human bladder is healthy, emergency urination is not harmful. However, it is worth remembering not to make it your own habit and get your brain used to it. The moment the organ becomes full, the body sends an impulse that tells the person to go to the toilet. If you wait frequently and for a long time before having a bowel movement, the nervous system becomes insensitive to bladder signals.

1. What does frequent urination show?

Not donating urine can be part of training for people struggling with an overactive bladder. Thanks to exercise, such people strengthen the muscles that control its emptying and gain control over their everyday life. However, it is worth remembering that Pausing urine frequently may increase the risk of bladder or urinary tract infections or kidney disease in people who:

1. struggle with the neurogenic bladder
2. have an enlarged prostate
3. suffer from kidney disorders
4. have a problem urinating
5. during pregnancy.

What can I do to distract my thoughts from the need to urinate?

Everyone should know several ways in case they have to hold their urine. Whether it’s a doctor-prescribed form of bladder training or an unpleasant situation where you need to defecate and there is no toilet nearby.

Good ways to distract from this problem include:

1. turning on your favorite music
2. being warm (the cold makes you need to urinate)
3. active occupation of the mind and distraction from physiological needs.

What happens to your body when you hold your urine for too long?

The first of the many serious consequences of holding urine is that the bladder’s walls become stretched and widened. This often results in serious infections or damage to them. When peeing, the urinary tract is cleared of bacteria that have collected there, and if the body does not excrete them through the urine, infection can result. In addition, the accumulated urine contains unnecessary and harmful substances for the body that can have a toxic effect on the walls of the urinary system if it is in contact with them for too long.

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Another unpleasant effect of avoiding urination for a long time is the formation of urinary crystals from the precipitated chemical compounds (magnesium, ammonium and calcium). They can block the flow of fluids and cause great pain. Vesicoureteral reflux is another possible sequelae. Urine, which has not been released for too long, begins to flow back into the kidneys and even the ureters, causing them to become infected.

Regularly emptying your bladder is an extremely important activity. People who do not hold back their urine have a healthier urinary system and are not at risk of developing disease and infection. Although the bladder can stretch and hold up to one liter of fluid, it should not be exposed too often to the effects of overfilling. However, if necessary, remember to engage your mind in creative work that can distract your thoughts from the urgent need. It is worth regularly examining your bladder and urinary tract, and in case of any abnormalities, see a doctor.