What Are The Symptoms
After age 3, your child will urinate about 12 times a day. As they get older and their bladder grows, theyll urinate anywhere from four to six times a day.
The most telling symptom of pollakiuria is that your child will suddenly feel the urge to urinate during the day a lot more than is considered typical, but will not actually wet themselves. For example, your child may go to the bathroom once every half hour or less. In some cases, they may need to go up to 40 times in a single day. They may find that only a little bit of urine comes out each time they go.
Can Kidney Stones Cause A Uti
Any blockage in the urinary tract like a kidney stone, a bladder stone, or even an enlarged prostate gland in men can lead to a UTI. If you have a small kidney stone that quickly passes through, it likely wont cause a UTI. But a lingering blockage can cause urine to back up and become a breeding ground for any bacteria present.
Kidney stones and UTIs can cause similar symptoms, like pain when urinating, bloody or cloudy urine, and fever. If you experience any of these symptoms, its important that you see a provider to get diagnosed so you can get the appropriate treatment.
Damage To Pelvic Floor Muscles
Frequently retaining urine may harm the pelvic floor muscles.
One of these muscles is the urethral sphincter, which keeps the urethra closed to prevent urine from leaking out. Damaging this muscle could lead to urinary incontinence.
Doing pelvic floor exercises, such as Kegels, may help strengthen these muscles and repair muscle loss or prevent leakage.
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What Else Causes Bladder Control Problems In Women
Certain life events and health problems can lead to stress incontinence in women by weakening the pelvic floor muscles
- pregnancy and childbirth
- menopause
Weak pelvic floor muscles can make it hard for your bladder to hold urine in during stress incontinence. Stress incontinence occurs when an actioncoughing, sneezing, laughing, or physical activityputs pressure on your bladder and causes urine to leak. A weak pelvic floor can also cause fecal incontinence, or bowel control problems.
Theres Not A Restroom In Sight And You Have To Go Is It Dangerous To Hold It In For An Extended Length Of Time
Should you go every time you feel the twinge? In most cases, the only consequence that arises from holding in your urine is the discomfort you feel.
Depending on how hydrated you are, you should go to the bathroom every three to six hours. This varies based on the actual size of your bladder, your sensitivity, hydration habits and age.
Likewise, if you stay hydrated, which is the best way to flush out your kidneys, your trips to the bathroom will increase. But if you make multiple bathroom trips in a short span of time, or experience pain or unusual discomfort when holding in your urine or after you go to the bathroom, something else might be going on.
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Training The Body To Pee Less Often
In some cases, doctors may recommend retraining the bladder to urinate less frequently. This involves resisting the urge to pee.
The goal is to increase the amount of fluid the bladder can hold before it triggers the urge to pee. If successful, this will extend the amount of time between trips to the bathroom.
A doctor will often develop a personalized retraining schedule, and they will typically oversee the training.
The following tips may help a person ease into the retraining process:
- staying warm, because being cold may trigger the urge to pee
- listening to music or watching television for distraction
- actively engaging the brain with a game, puzzle, or problem to solve
- reading a book or newspaper article
- staying seated or walking around, whichever resolves the urge
- making a telephone call or writing an email
The key is to engage the brain and direct attention away from the urge to urinate.
Although it is best to pee whenever the bladder is full, a person may not have immediate access to a bathroom.
The following tips can help an individual make it to the toilet in time:
How Do I Do Kegel Exercises
Kegel exercises are a simple way to build strength in your pelvic floor muscles. These exercises are done by lifting, holding and then relaxing your pelvic floor muscles. You can find these muscles by stopping the flow of urine mid-stream while youre urinating. Only do this until you learn how to find the muscles stopping the flow of urine mid-stream isnt healthy over a long period of time.
When youre doing Kegel exercises, start small. Only hold it for a few second. Over time you can slowly work your way up to longer and longer stretches of holding the muscles tight.
Unlike other types of workouts, no one can tell when youre doing Kegel exercises. Aim to do several sets of Kegel exercises twice a day.
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How Your Bladder Works
The bladder is a muscle that sits in the pelvis. Its connected to your kidneys by two small tubes, called ureters. The kidneys filter waste out of your blood and pass the leftover liquid through the ureters into your bladder. From there, waste is expelled as urine from your body through a tube called the urethra. Theres an internal sphincter, or valve, between your bladder and urethra to prevent leakage and backflow. When your brain gives the signal to urinate, the sphincter opens and you pee.
How Is This Condition Diagnosed
If your child starts urinating frequently, see their pediatrician to rule out any other conditions that might be causing them to do so.
First, your childs doctor will do a full physical examination to make sure there arent any other symptoms of other conditions. Theyll ask you for a full history of your childs health leading up to the time when they started urinating frequently to see if any major changes indicate a possible health condition. Theyll also ask if your child recently started taking any new medications.
Your childs doctor will also check their body for signs that may suggest issues with the kidneys, genitals, or bowels, as these can all affect how often your child urinates.
They will also run tests to rule out any other conditions causing your child to urinate a lot. This includes:
Urinalysis. Your child will be asked to urinate into a cup or onto a dipstick. The urine may be sent to a lab for testing or checked in the doctors office. This test can make sure your child doesnt have diabetes, kidney conditions like nephrotic syndrome, or a bladder infection.
Blood tests. These are only occasionally necessary. Your childs doctor will use a small needle to take some of their blood and send it to a lab for testing. This test can also rule out diabetes, kidney, and bladder conditions.
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Are You Dealing With A Uti These Tips Will Help
If youve ever had a urinary tract infection , you know how painful and uncomfortable they are. A UTI is an infection that targets your urinary system, so it can affect your ureters, kidneys, bladder, and urethra. A UTI can potentially cause serious health problems if left untreated. A severe UTI can even cause permanent kidney damage.
When patients throughout the West Covina and Santa Clarita, California, area have a UTI, they visit SmartClinic Urgent Care. Our team of medical experts specializes in treating and managing UTIs.
If youre dealing with a UTI, these tips can help improve your symptoms until your antibiotics kick in.
When You Hold Your Pee What Happens To Your Body
The explanation for wanting to empty your bladder isnt always as simple as your bladder filling up with liquid. Its a complicated procedure that involves your brain and its connection to your urinary sphincter and your bladder all working together to notify you its time to go to the bathroom.
When your bladder is empty or is starting to fill, the bladder is relaxed and the urinary sphincter, or the muscle near the opening of the bladder into the pee tube, or urethra is contracted. This holds the urethra closed, preventing urine from leaking before youre ready to use the restroom.
When your bladder fills up, nerve signals in your brain alert you. Then you have a strong desire to urinate. The brain instructs the bladder muscles to contract . The sphincter opens and then urine is pushed out through the urethra, the tube that moves urine from your body.
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Can Holding In Your Pee Really Kill You
Can holding in your pee really kill you?
We have all experienced the urgent need to pee when we are nowhere near a bathroom. But did you know that holding it in could be hazardous to your health? While occasionally holding it shouldn’t do any damage, consistently avoiding going to the bathroom could cause serious problems such as a burst bladder, urinary tract infection, incontinence and even kidney stones.
We’ve all had that desperate urge to pee but not been in the most convenient place to go.
But turns out holding it in is actually quite bad for your health.
Now, we aren’t suggesting you just relieve yourself the instant you feel the need to go – occasionally holding it shouldn’t do any damage.
It’s when you’re consistently avoiding going to the bathroom when your body tells you to that you could cause yourself problems.
You might not feel like it, but your bladder holds up to half a litre of urine.
There are tiny receptors on the bladder wall that can detect how much is in there and send a message to your brain when it’s full.
Thankfully, your brain also sends a signal back telling your bladder to hold on – otherwise things could get really messy.
But if you decide to ignore those signals from your body and hold on for too long it could have some serious consequences.
Worst-case scenario, urine could back up into your kidneys and could cause them to fail, which could be fatal.
Here are some of the more likely reasons to never hold in your pee…
How Can You Reduce The Risk Of Developing A Bladder Infection
There are several things you can do to minimize your risk of developing a bladder infection:
- Wipe from front to back after having a bowel motion so your urethra is not contaminated
- Urinate as soon as possible after sexual intercourse
- Make sure your genital area is clean before and after sexual intercourse or activity
- Take your medications for diabetes as directed
- Eat a healthy diet and limiting sugar.
UTIs are not contagious nor sexually transmitted that is you cannot catch them from another person.
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The Dangers Of Holding Your Pee
Holding your urine for extremely long periods of time can weaken the bladder muscles over time and lead to problems such as urinary incontinence, which is the involuntary leakage of urine. It can also cause bacteria to multiply, which may lead to urinary tract infections .
If you don’t empty your bladder well or if you don’t pass urine at regular intervals, it can increase your risk of kidney disease. The kidneys filter waste and toxins out of the blood and form urine. The urine passes through the ureters, collects in the bladder, and is then excreted through the urethra. If you’re retaining urine, it can cause metabolic abnormalities and electrolyte issues, which can lead to long term renal failure.
In rare cases, urine can back up into the kidneys and lead to an infection. Holding your urine for too long can even lead to bladder bursting a condition that can be deadly. However, this is a very uncommon occurrence.
Health Effects Of Holding Urine For Too Long:
Kidney Stones: Kidney stones form when waste products in our bodies calcifies. This can be a very painful condition, and if the stones become too large, you may require a surgery to remove them. It has the potential to cause infection and blood in the urine. The most common causes of this problem are drinking too little water and holding urine in. Also Read – Why do Kidney Stones Increase During the Summers? Doctor Responds
Urine Infection: When you hold in your urine for an extended period of time, you increase your chances of getting a urinary tract infection. Bacteria are naturally present in the urinary tract and excreted with the urine. When urine held in the bladder, bacteria can grow and cause infection in any part of the urinary tract. UTIs are excruciatingly painful, and once triggered, they can reoccur. Also Read – What is Urinary Incontinence? Know The Symptoms, Causes And Treatment
Burst Bladder: This is rare, but it can happen. If you hold your urine in for an extended period of time, your bladder may burst. Urine fills the abdomen if the bladder bursts. Holding urine for extended periods of time can cause the bladder to stretch and weaken.
Incontinence: Holding urine for an extended period of time can weaken the pelvic floor muscles. This can result in incontinence, which can be a bothersome and embarrassing problem.
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The Consequences Of Holding It In
If you frequently wait to use the bathroom, you are more likely to develop severe urinary tract infections . UTIs occur when bacteria is present in your urine.
The following symptoms signal an infection:
- Burning sensation when you urinate
- Strong, frequent urges to urinate
- Blood in your urine
Holding it in because your urges to go to the bathroom have increased could also be a sign of overactive bladder syndrome . Affecting millions of Americans, OAB is a sudden urge to urinate that you cant control. Some people might leak urine, while others will go to the bathroom and not have any urine at all.
Mike M. Nguyen, MD, a urologist at Keck Medicine of USC and associate professor of clinical urology at Keck School of Medicine of USC, explains that overactive bladder syndrome could be caused by heightened sensation in the bladder. Your bladder is more sensitive because of overactivity of the bladder muscles, Nguyen says.
Proper Peeing Is A Learned Skill
As your bladder fills, nerve fibers in the bladder sense the level of liquid and send signals back to the spinal cord which travels up to the brain. When it senses that your bladder is one-quarter to one-third full , your brain will give you that familiar urge to urinate.
Once you hit about 20 ounces, youll start to get that I have to go right now, its an emergency feeling, says Austin DeRosa, MD, urologist with UCHealth Cancer Center in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, and chair of robotic surgery at the University of Colorado Medicine. However, peeing is a voluntary motor response, meaning that you can train it and even override the signals, says Dr. Ingber.
Infants and young children simply let go of their urine whenever their brain signals, but part of potty training is learning when to listen to that urge and when to override it. Over time, they learn to inhibit this reflex with the frontal cortex in the brain and only let go when its appropriate.
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Everything You Need To Know About Holding Your Pee
Sometimes, you dont have a choice you just gotta hold it. But is holding your pee regularly okay? And is it harmful to hold urine for a long time?
If youre having any type of bladder symptoms, then the answers to these questions become especially important. After all, you dont want to cause more damage or stress to your bladder. So whats normal, and when should you be concerned?
Whether your bladder is already unhappy, or you want to be proactive about bladder health, its a good idea to be clued-in to healthy urinary habits.
What Are The Risk Factors For Abnormal Urine Color
Your age and your sex may raise your risk for conditions that can affect the color of your urine. For example, tumors in the kidney or bladder are common in older adults. Urinary tract bleeding is commonly associated with problems of the kidney or bladder.
More serious conditions such as cancer can also cause bleeding and pink or red urine. Tell your doctor right away if you notice blood in your urine so that they can determine the cause.
Up to 60 percent of women will experience a UTI at least once in their lives. This infection may be accompanied by urinary tract bleeding, which can change the color of urine. Men may also experience urinary blood as a result of an enlarged prostate gland
Urinary tract bleeding is much less common in children, though certain rare disorders may cause blood in the urine. These disorders include Henoch-Schonlein purpura, hemolytic uremic syndrome, and Wilms tumor
As with adults, any urinary tract bleeding in children is considered abnormal and should prompt immediate medical attention.
If you notice any abnormalities in your urine color, you should see your doctor. After scheduling your appointment, jot down any details that can help your doctor determine whether theres a problem.
Consider the following:
When you meet with your doctor, theyll discuss your health history and perform a physical exam. Depending on their assessment, your doctor may request a urinalysis or blood test.
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