Holding urine for extremely long periods of time can cause urinary tract infections due to bacteria build-up.
It can also put one at risk of kidney diseases and strain the bladder to bursting.
How long can a person go without urinating.
According to health line, doctors recommend emptying the bladder regularly, about once every three hours.
However, people often find themselves in situations where they have to hold in the urine, especially while travelling.
A healthy bladder can hold about two cups of urine before it’s considered full.
It takes your body nine to 10 hours to produce two cups of urine. That’s about as long as you can wait without the possibility of damaging your organs.
In the worst of circumstances, your bladder may stretch to hold up to more than two cups of fluid.
Bladder
Research says the bladder has a direct line of communication with the brain. The bladder is full of receptors that tell the brain how full your bladder is.
When your urine reaches that point, your brain receives a signal that indicates you need to urinate. This happens when your bladder is only quarter way.
When you first feel the urge to urinate, your bladder probably has quite some time to go before it’s completely filled up.
When the bladder becomes full, muscles around it contract to keep urine from leaking out until you’re ready to release it.
Complications and other health problems with your bladder can lead to conditions like incontinence, overactive bladder and urinary retention.
These conditions are more common in persons above 50 years.
Dangers of holding urine
In an exclusive interview with doctor Evans Kamanja, he said the dangers of holding urine are mostly cumulative.
"Holding urine for six hours during that one memorable road trip probably won’t hurt you long-term," he said.
"But if you’re constantly ignoring the urge to urinate, you may develop complications. In general, you should go when you feel the need to go."
Here are some of the dangers of holding urine:
- If you don’t empty your bladder often enough, or go a couple of days without emptying it all the way, it can result in a urinary tract infection.
- If you hold your urine as a matter of habit, your bladder can start to atrophy. Over time, you may develop incontinence.
- When you hold your urine for 10 hours or more, you may develop urinary retention, meaning the muscles in your bladder can’t relax and let you relieve yourself, even when you want to.
- In rare cases, holding urine can cause your bladder to burst.
Kamanja however said chances of dying from holding urine are very low.
"In general, your bladder will release involuntarily, long before you’re in physical danger," he said.
The medic further said normal urination frequency varies widely from person to person. It also depends on daily fluid intake.
"Infants and children have smaller bladders, so they need to empty them more often. Infants typically produce six to eight wet diapers a day, but can urinate much more than that," he said.
Toddlers may seem like they go even more, especially during toilet training, when they may need to empty their bladders 10 or more times.
Kamanja said the average times an adult should visit the bathroom is six to seven times a day.
"Going as few as four times and as many as 10 times is still within the scope of what’s considered normal," he said.
The medic however said certain medications, such as diuretics for high blood pressure, can cause one to urinate more frequently.
He added that medical conditions, such as diabetes, pregnancy, and sickle cell anemia, can also result in having to go more often.
Kamanja said if one has trouble urinating, one should prioritise seeing a doctor.
"If your bladder function has been compromised in any way, it could be a symptom of another underlying health problem," he said.
"Don’t wait a long time to address difficulty in urinating. After 36 to 48 hours of symptoms, it’s time to seek a professional diagnosis."
