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Don't hold on too long for the bathroom: urologist

It is not always convenient to find a bathroom when one is on the road. However, a urologist warned yesterday that holding in your urine for too long can be bad for your health.

Chou Ku (周固) yesterday related the case of a 76-year-old patient who was rushed to the clinic for emergency care upon returning to Taiwan from a five-day trip abroad. The man could not find a suitable bathroom during his travels and had been holding in his urine until he damaged his bladder to the extent that he can no longer urinate properly.

When the excess urine was removed from his bladder via a catheter, more than a liter was discovered, Chou said.

"There are many reasons for having difficulty passing water, such as bladder stones, a narrow urethra or an enlarged prostate," Chou said.

"However, in some instances, the reason is simply holding in the urine for too long," he said.

The average person feels the need to go to the bathroom when the bladder is filled with more than 150cc of urine. When the amount of urine accumulates to more than 400cc, the average person will begin to feel discomfort, Chou said.

In another case, a 54-year-old male avoided going to the bathroom because of the recent cold temperatures and an illness. Upon finding that he was developing difficulties when urinating, the man went to Chou and found that his inability to pass urine had already caused a urinary tract infection.

Chou said that if an individual persists in holding in urine when the bladder is very full, the inelastic nerves attached to the bladder walls could break, causing the patient to lose control of their bladder. After that happens they may then have difficulty urinating.

Long periods of catheterization and medication, from three to six months, are necessary for the patient recover. If the problem is not caught in time, serious complications such as urinary tract infections and vesicoureteric reflux can occur. The latter, if untreated, can lead to kidney damage, he said.
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