Urine is a waste product of the human body that should be released from our body after it has been fully processed by the kidneys and stored in the bladder for later elimination. But sometimes, this does not happen, leading to urine retention (UR). UR can either be transient or permanent.
The latter type is called urinary incontinence. It includes stress incontinence and urges incontinence. Urinary incontinence affects an estimated 20% of women and 3-7 % of men worldwide.
Possible Side Effects
Pain
Urinary tract infections can cause pain in the region where urination occurs. This may result from the irritation of the tissue lining the urethra. Painful symptoms also happen due to other reasons, such as injury of the prostate gland or ureteral stones; oxalate stones are the most common cause of urinary tract infections.
In some cases, when you hold urine, involuntary leakage happens over time, especially at night. While there are many different types of urinary incontinence, urge incontinence is typically characterized by sudden urges to pass urine followed by actual loss of urine.
Stress incontinence refers to urine leaking while coughing, sneezing, laughing, exercising, jumping, lifting heavy objects, etc. The burning sensation can last for hours or even days when you try to get rid of the urine that has built up in the bladder. If this becomes severe, it might require hospitalization.
Kidney Stones
A stone forms inside the kidney when crystalline deposits form around calcium salts within the tubules of the renal pelvis. These can be passed out through the ureters, or they can grow large enough to block one of the tubes.
Sometimes, these stones cannot pass out independently and need medical help to remove them. When you hold urine, your body tends to retain more water, which causes hardening of the tissues of the bladder and urethra, leading to the formation of stones.
Urinary Tract Infections
UTIs are caused by bacteria entering the urinary system. When the body holds urine, the bacteria multiply. They then start to attack the cells lining the urinary tract. This process eventually results in fever, backache, and flank pain. In addition, the bladder wall thickens, causing inflammation, fibrosis, and scarring.
Finally, the urinary tract loses its ability to drain properly and becomes infected. Some people have multiple episodes of UTI each year. If left untreated, UTI can lead to kidney damage and possibly death. Fortunately, treatment with antibiotics usually results in successful outcomes.
Frequent urination: If frequent urination occurs, men often feel discomfort during urination and experience problems like weak erections to disorders affecting the brain.
Because a man’s need to go to the bathroom is determined primarily by his hormones, how he feels about urinating, and what kind of control he exercises over it, the term “urinary frequency” describes the condition.
There are ways to treat the underlying conditions, but it will take patience and persistence. For example, if you’re overweight, losing weight could reduce your risk of developing frequent urination in men.
Other diseases like prostatic hyperplasia, diabetes, and hypertension can also be the reason. The causes of frequent urination in men vary, and the most important thing is to get to the cause of this problem soon because it requires treatment. In many cases, however, the underlying cause is prostate enlargement.
Dealing with frequent urination depends on whether this symptom is due to a urinary tract infection, kidney stones, or other conditions. If you are experiencing frequent urination, it is essential to seek medical advice.
Frequent Urination Can Be Caused By:
- Age: Frequent urination affects millions of men 50+ years old, including those who consider their health good. Aging impacts us all physically, not just our bodies, and the bladder and the urinary tract are no exception.
To enable us to live an active, healthy, and fulfilling lifestyle into old age, we must recognize that we can’t neglect the health needs of our entire body. That means taking a holistic and proactive approach toward caring for our whole body, including our bladder.
- Growth hormone deficiency: Men experience several health problems associated with old age because their hormones go out of whack. Growth hormone deficiency in men brings common conditions such as an enlarged prostate gland, frequent urination, and difficulty passing urine.
Growth hormone is enough for most men to prevent and help them resolve any problems they may have with urine flow. But not everyone can take hormone therapy safely without side effects. Talk with your doctor about what treatment plan will work best for you.
Tips For Getting To The Toilet On Time
- Practice Bladder Retraining: should you find yourself already in a position whereby you need to visit the restroom frequently, along with not much pee emerging out every time, you might want to think about bladder retraining. You must wait before going to the bathroom, progressing until you can stay for more extended periods.
- Exercise daily: You can increase your chances of stopping frequent urination if you exercise regularly. Exercising helps maintain muscle tone and increases blood flow to the genitals. It also improves overall health.
- Keep track of fluid intake: Many people don’t drink enough water. Drinking plenty of water keeps your tissues hydrated, which reduces pressure on the pelvic floor muscles. Include at least eight glasses of water per day. Try to avoid drinking beverages that contain caffeine or alcohol.
- Get off the couch: Sitting all day long doesn’t do anyone any good. Even though sitting may seem comfortable and relaxing, it puts unnecessary strain on your pelvic floor muscles. Get up every hour, walk around, stretch, and move your feet. Standing for extended periods isn’t recommended either.
- Try Kegels: The kegel exercise can strengthen your pelvic floor muscles. To perform Kegels, tighten and relax your pubococcygeus muscles (PC muscles) as if you were trying to stop urine from exiting. The PC muscles contract to squeeze urine into the urethra and relax to empty the urine.
When performing this exercise, remember to breathe through the contraction and exhale while relaxing. Doing so promotes better circulation in the area. As an added benefit, Kegels also help prevent incontinence. Try doing them several times throughout the day.
- Avoid caffeine and sugar whenever possible: The caffeine in coffee and caffeinated beverages can make you more likely to pee frequently.
HP Thoughts: Know the truth behind UTI — Suffering from UTIs.
In Conclusion
Holding urine in our bodies in humans is not suitable; we are not to hold urine very long, which creates serious problems like urinary tract infections and kidney stones. So be careful when holding urine and try to release it quickly; if the bladder has been filled too full, there is a risk that contents could back up into the tubes that carry urine away from the bladder.
In addition, the constant back pressure that builds up inside the bladder causes inflammation and swelling of the bladder itself, leading to infection and sometimes painful enlargement of the kidneys.
