It is common for people, especially women, to want to urinate before stepping out of the house even they don’t feel the immediate urge to. Many do this to avoid having to use a public restroom; some when they are unsure what the bathroom situation is like where they’re going. Whatever the reason might be, forcing yourself to urinate is not a healthy practice.
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Peeing ‘just in case’
The average person has bladder capacity of 10–15 ounces of urine, although factors such as pregnancy and constipation can reduce your bladder’s capacity, according to Aeroflow Urology. Urinating between 6 and 8 times a day is a sign of a healthy bladder.
However, you could be damaging your bladder if you are constantly forcing yourself to urinate when it is not full. Elizabeth Farrell, gynaecologist and medical director at Jean Hailes for Women's Health. She explains to ABC News why peeing ‘just in case’ is a bad idea.
If you keep going 'just in case' too often, the bladder never fills up properly, then it shrinks a bit. So then you do tend to have the feeling that you're going to have to go more frequently.
Read more:
⋙ Shy bladder syndrome: The reason you can’t urinate when others are close by
⋙ Overactive bladder: pill to treat the condition may be introduced, but what is it?
⋙ The fatal reason why you should not strain to poo
Risk of pelvic organ prolapse
The key word here is ‘often’. Some urologists agree that it’s okay to try to empty your bladder ahead of long road trip for instance. It only becomes a problem when you do it all the time.
Dr. Neil Resnick, a Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Geriatrics at the University of Pittsburgh tells Business Insider, straining to urinate every time over several years could cause pelvic organ prolapse. He explains that this is where the muscles stretch or even break, and the organs actually sag or droop outward.
Some women will get a bulge down there, and that can sometimes cause blockage. It can be irritating, it can make sexual relations more difficult, it can make defecating more difficult.
Sources used:
ABC News: Should you pee 'just in case' before leaving home?
Aeroflow Urology: Stop peeing ‘just in case’
Business Insider: Sarah Silverman Tweeted A Weird Question About Peeing, And We Found The Answer
