When we hold our urine by contracting the sphincter against an already strained bladder, the bladder wall can thicken and break down the normal one-way mechanism of urine flow from the kidneys into the bladder. This can increase the risk of infection and lead to long-term kidney and bladder issues.
Holding your urine for too long can weaken the bladder muscles over time. This can lead to problems such as incontinence and not being able to fully empty your bladder. Holding your urine for extremely long periods of time can also cause urinary tract infections due to bacteria build-up.
In rare and serious situations, holding urine for too long can lead to a bladder rupture. “We have seen patients who haven't urinated in about a week, and they'll have over 2 liters of urine in their bladder,” Dr. Bandukwala says. “If too much pressure builds up in the bladder, it can rupture.
A healthy bladder can hold about 2 cups of urine before it's considered full. It takes your body 9 to 10 hours to produce 2 cups of urine. That's about as long as you can wait and still be in the safe zone without the possibility of damaging your organs.
In the long term, regularly holding in pee can cause the bladder to stretch. This may make it difficult or impossible for the bladder to contract and release pee normally.
This gives the physiological capacity of the adult male and female as 500 ml, and notes that there is probably no inherent difference between male and female.
Holding urine can overstretch the bladder and lead to voiding dysfunction, which is a lack of coordination between the bladder muscle and the urethra.
Urinary bladder and urethra
The urinary bladder can store up to 500 ml of urine in women and 700 ml in men. People already feel the need to urinate (pee) when their bladder has between 200 and 350 ml of urine in it.
There's currently no official record set for the longest someone has gone without peeing, but holding it in is not advised. According to msn.com, no serious health problems have been linked to holding urine too long.
In most cases, patients with bladder rupture have gross hematuria (77% to 100%). Other symptoms of bladder rupture include pelvic pain, lower abdominal pain, and difficulty voiding.
Your body's physical capacity to keep in urine is based on a few things: "Most of the time women can hold urine for three to six hours, but this will vary," says Brucker.
Bladder training is an important form of behavior therapy that can be effective in treating urinary incontinence. The goals are to increase the amount of time between emptying your bladder and the amount of fluids your bladder can hold. It also can diminish leakage and the sense of urgency associated with the problem.
Drink at least 4 cups of water per day, gradually increasing to 8 cups of water per day. 3. When you get the urge to go, try to hold it for 5 extra minutes before going to the bathroom. Each week, add 5 minutes to the length of time you hold the urine after you have the urge.
Sex therapist, Janet Brito, PhD, further explained this sensation by pointing out that the urethra is “an erogenous zone” and a full bladder against a sensitive structure can cause a pleasurable sensation.
A urinary tract infection (UTI)
Besides frequent urination, signs of a UTI include fever, a burning feeling when you pee, discolored urine and constantly feeling like you need to pee (even after peeing). You may also feel bladder pressure or discomfort in your back or around your pelvis.
What is double voiding? Double voiding refers to spending extra time on the toilet to try to empty your bladder completely. Many women rush to get off the toilet and leave urine inside the bladder. Over months and years of doing this, it may become harder for the bladder to fully empty.
The symptoms of urinary retention can range from severe abdominal pain and the inability to urinate, to few or no symptoms at all. Urinary retention results from either a blockage that partially or fully prevents the flow of urine, or your bladder not being able to maintain a strong enough force to expel all the urine.
Normal urine color ranges from pale yellow to deep amber — the result of a pigment called urochrome and how diluted or concentrated the urine is. Pigments and other compounds in certain foods and medications can change your urine color. Beets, berries and fava beans are among the foods most likely to affect the color.
Water waste removed through urination
It generally takes your body 9 to 10 hours to produce 2 cups of urine.
What are normal bladder habits? A healthy bladder can hold one and a half to two cups (300-400mls) of urine (wee) during the day and about four cups (800mls) at night. It is normal to pass urine five or six times a day if you drink between 6-8 glasses of fluid.
Pelvic floor exercises, also known as Kegel exercises, help hold urine in the bladder. Daily exercises can strengthen these muscles, which can help keep urine from leaking when you sneeze, cough, lift, laugh, or have a sudden urge to urinate.
The truth is, there are a number of reasons why men might opt to sit down—and research suggests that more guys do it than might be expected. Data—admittedly, data from 2007, but hey, this isn't studied too often—shows that 42 percent of married men sit down to urinate, presumably due to spousal pressure.