Where does the held urine go?

Audit expert: Zeng Ling

Deputy Chief Physician of Department of Gynecology, Tianyou Hospital Affiliated to Wuhan University of Science and Technology

Some time ago, a piece of news that was trending on Weibo caused heated discussion among the public - "A 23-year-old woman stayed in bed and held her urine, causing the corpus luteum to rupture."

Source: Weibo screenshot

The luteal phase is the second half of the menstrual cycle for women of childbearing age. Although the girl in the news report did not engage in strenuous exercise, she held her urine for too long, causing the pressure in her bladder to drop sharply after urination, which induced a rupture of the corpus luteum. As soon as this news came out, a discussion about the behavior of "holding urine" was sparked in the comment section, and many people said that they would never dare to hold urine again.

Where does the held urine go? The bladder is one of the important organs of the human urinary system as the "storage" of urine. When a certain amount of urine is reached, this message will be transmitted to the brain through nerve reflexes. After the brain issues an order, a series of muscles work together to complete a normal urination.

Generally speaking, the bladder capacity of a normal adult is between 350 and 500 ml. The bladder capacity of a woman is smaller than that of a man, and the bladder capacity of a newborn is only 1/10 of that of an adult. When the urine stored in the bladder is between 150 and 250 ml, the human body will begin to feel the urge to urinate. Once this range exceeds 500 ml, pain will occur due to excessive bladder tension. When the human body actively holds back urine, the urine in the bladder cannot be discharged normally, and the bladder will swell like a balloon. The held urine will still remain in the bladder. Even when the urine accumulates excessively, it will flow back into the kidneys, causing terrible consequences such as kidney water accumulation and kidney function damage.

Source: Tencent

Holding urine is a dangerous action. In addition to the "easy rupture of the corpus luteum" reported in the news, the first and foremost danger of holding urine is damage to the urinary system. If a person develops the habit of holding urine, the probability of him or her suffering from the following urinary system diseases will be greatly increased.

The mucous membrane in the bladder has a certain antibacterial effect. If the urine that should have been discharged stays here for too long, bacteria will also be retained in the bladder, thereby reducing the resistance of the bladder mucosa and causing urinary tract infection and acute cystitis. In addition, holding urine increases the pressure in the bladder, and some bacteria in the urine will flow back into the prostate, causing prostatitis.

Source: See watermark

Holding urine also increases the risk of bladder rupture. The thinned bladder wall after expansion is easily ruptured when it is impacted by external force or sudden pressure difference changes. A large amount of urine has nowhere to go and enters the abdominal cavity, causing a series of terrible consequences such as abdominal infection and peritonitis, which can even be life-threatening in severe cases.

Urinary retention caused by holding urine, which makes it difficult to urinate and even a little bit difficult to urinate, is also an "unspeakable secret". Long-term overfilling brings unbearable pressure to the bladder wall, and the nerves and detrusor muscles that control bladder contraction are easily damaged. The consequences are more serious for the elderly.

Source: Internet

In addition to causing many dangers to the urinary system, holding urine also hurts the "heart". When people hold urine, they will gradually become irritable, and the sharp increase in abdominal pressure will also bring symptoms such as increased blood pressure and increased heart rate. The combination of physiological changes and psychological tension is a signal of danger. Patients with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases may experience angina pectoris, arrhythmia, and even induce cerebral hemorrhage or large-area cerebral infarction. Severe cases can also lead to sudden death.

If you hold your urine for a long time and then urinate, the full bladder will be emptied quickly, which will cause excitement of the vagus nerve, bradycardia, low blood pressure, cerebral hypoxia and even brief coma, and fatal cerebral hemorrhage.

Source: Internet

For many gout patients, holding urine is a bad habit. Uric acid in urine leaves the body through normal urination, which is also the main way to excrete uric acid. When the uric acid in the body is high and retained for a long time, the uric acid in the urine will quickly become saturated. In this case, it is easy to form tophi and accumulate in joints and other parts. Not only that, holding urine for a long time can also induce many problems such as poor and slow urination and mental enuresis.

Why do we need to hold urine during physical examinations when there are so many harmful effects of holding urine? After talking about the harmful effects of holding urine, some people may ask: Why do doctors ask us to drink more water and hold urine during many examinations at the hospital?

In fact, when you hold your urine, the bladder is full and the bladder wall will be clearer under medical examination equipment. However, organs such as the uterine appendages and prostate are located in the lower and deeper parts of the pelvic cavity below and behind the bladder, with a large number of intestinal tracts covering them. It is difficult for ultrasound to overcome the interference of intestinal gas and reach these organs directly.

A bladder filled with urine can solve this problem. The bladder can push away the intestines occupying the pelvic cavity and lift the position of these organs to make them visible. At the same time, the behavior of holding urine during a physical examination is only occasional and does not last long, so it will not cause great harm to the human body.

Source: Internet

If you need to hold your urine, you can drink 6 to 7 cups of water, coffee, tea, etc. half an hour before the examination while walking slowly. For female gynecological B-ultrasound examination, when you hold your urine to the point where your lower abdomen is slightly raised and in a shallow arc shape when you lie flat, and it sinks when you press your hand, and you can tolerate it.

If you want to have a healthier body, you must first develop healthy living habits, take good care of your bladder, maintain daily hygiene habits, and prevent bacteria from invading the urinary system; change the bad habits of sitting for a long time and not drinking water; don’t think that holding urine can exercise the bladder, just listen to your brain when you feel the urge to urinate.