Do pelvic floor muscle exercises. Pelvic floor exercises, also known as Kegel exercises, help hold urine in the bladder. Daily exercises can strengthen these muscles, which can help keep urine from leaking when you sneeze, cough, lift, laugh, or have a sudden urge to urinate.
A healthy bladder can hold about 2 cups of urine before it's considered full. It takes your body 9 to 10 hours to produce 2 cups of urine. That's about as long as you can wait and still be in the safe zone without the possibility of damaging your organs.
Bladder training, a program of urinating on schedule, enables you to gradually increase the amount of urine you can comfortably hold. Bladder training is a mainstay of treatment for urinary frequency and overactive bladder in both women and men, alone or in conjunction with medications or other techniques.
A urinary tract infection (UTI)
Besides frequent urination, signs of a UTI include fever, a burning feeling when you pee, discolored urine and constantly feeling like you need to pee (even after peeing). You may also feel bladder pressure or discomfort in your back or around your pelvis.
People who are prone to UTIs should avoid holding their pee whenever possible. How much fluid can the human bladder hold? The human bladder can hold between 1.5 cups and 2 cups of fluid. Most people go between three to four hours between emptying their bladder.
In some cases, holding in pee for too long can cause bacteria to multiply. This may lead to a urinary tract infection (UTI). Many doctors recommend avoiding holding in pee for extended periods of time, as it can increase the risk of UTIs, especially if a person has a history of frequent UTIs.
Sex therapist, Janet Brito, PhD, further explained this sensation by pointing out that the urethra is “an erogenous zone” and a full bladder against a sensitive structure can cause a pleasurable sensation.
Holding your urine for too long can weaken the bladder muscles over time. This can lead to problems such as incontinence and not being able to fully empty your bladder. Holding your urine for extremely long periods of time can also cause urinary tract infections due to bacteria build-up.
Urinary incontinence is usually caused by problems with the muscles and nerves that help the bladder hold or pass urine. Certain health events unique to women, such as pregnancy, childbirth, and menopause, can cause problems with these muscles and nerves. Other causes of urinary incontinence include: Overweight.
In children under age 3, it's normal to not have full bladder control. As children get older, they become more able to control their bladder. When wetting happens in a child who is old enough to control his or her bladder, it's known as enuresis.
Bending forward while sitting on the toilet puts additional pressure on the bladder, which can encourage urination. Placing a hand in warm water can trigger the urge to pee. A person should do this while sitting on the toilet.
There's no doubt that going to the bathroom after holding it for a long time is an enjoyable relief, but for some women it offers something even more pleasurable. They're called “peegasms,” a kind of full-body orgasmic feeling that some say they experience if they've been waiting a long time to go to the bathroom.
Holding it in for too long gives bacteria the chance to multiply and settle in the bladder, leading to infection. Holding urine can overstretch the bladder and lead to voiding dysfunction, which is a lack of coordination between the bladder muscle and the urethra.
Urinary bladder and urethra
The urinary bladder can store up to 500 ml of urine in women and 700 ml in men. People already feel the need to urinate (pee) when their bladder has between 200 and 350 ml of urine in it.
Is clear urine always a good thing? In most cases, clear urine is a sign that you're well hydrated. And that's a positive thing because good hydration helps your body function at its best. But, in some cases, clear pee may mean that you're drinking too much water and you're too hydrated.
“A healthy urine color range is from pale yellow to amber-colored urine,” Dr. Newton says. “A lot depends on your hydration level. Pale yellow urine means you are more hydrated. Dark amber urine is at the other end of the spectrum, which means the urine is more concentrated, and therefore you're more dehydrated.”
Normal urine color ranges from pale yellow to deep amber — the result of a pigment called urochrome and how diluted or concentrated the urine is. Pigments and other compounds in certain foods and medications can change your urine color. Beets, berries and fava beans are among the foods most likely to affect the color.