If you haven't peed in a week, you need urgent medical attention as this is a dangerous condition called urinary retention or anuria, indicating your kidneys aren't working or your bladder is blocked, requiring immediate hospital care to empty your bladder via a catheter and find the underlying cause, such as a blockage, infection, or kidney failure. Do not wait; go to an emergency department now for immediate assessment and treatment to prevent severe complications like kidney damage or shock.
If your urine stream stops entirely, a condition called urinary retention, you'll need emergency medical attention, since this can become a serious problem without immediate treatment.
Lack of urine
It is vital that your kidneys and bladder are working together all of the time to ensure that the toxins are gone or they can lead to more serious conditions. If you or a loved one has gone more than 24 hours without urination, it is important to go directly to the emergency room.
Apply heat to your lower abdomen (below your belly button and above the pubic bone). This is where the bladder sits. The heat relaxes muscles and aids urination. Massage or apply light pressure over your bladder to help the bladder empty.
This is a dangerous condition. You should seek emergency care if you can't urinate and have pain in your lower abdomen. If you are experiencing chronic urinary retention, you may have a weak or slow urine stream or urinate in frequent, small amounts.
Draining the bladder
With acute urinary retention, a health care professional will immediately drain the urine from your bladder using a catheter. Removing the urine from the bladder eases your pain and helps prevent your bladder and kidneys from being damaged.
A: Most adults can safely hold their pee for about 3 to 5 hours, but it's best not to wait that long. Holding it too often can irritate your bladder and increase your risk of infection. The average bladder holds 400–600 mL of urine. “Go” when you first feel the urge, especially on long trips.
As a result, some individuals drink water and pee more quickly, while others require more time. Healthy individuals will typically absorb water and produce urine in two hours. Therefore, there is no set duration for when water turns into urine; instead, the answer really depends on you.
It's generally okay to go without peeing for about 3 to 6 hours, but individual factors such as hydration levels and medical conditions can influence this timeframe. While managing 3-6 hours without peeing is usually fine, making it a habit can lead to certain health conditions that may need medical intervention.
Infrequent urination might be a sign of a blockage in or inflammation of the urethra, kidney problems, neurologic conditions, or a weak bladder. Some people, in contrast, normally pee less than others. Low urine output may be normal for you if you are hydrated and urinate at least once per day.
Signs and symptoms might include:
If your kidneys aren't working properly, you may notice one or more of the following signs:
See your doctor immediately if your bladder feels full but you cannot urinate at all. If your doctor is not available, go to the emergency department. Acute urinary retention needs treatment straight away.
Acute urinary retention can cause severe pain and be life threatening. If you are suddenly unable to urinate, it's important that you seek emergency medical treatment right away.
It's important to see a doctor if you can't pee or empty your bladder completely. Head to urgent care if your bladder feels full and you can't urinate at all. If you have symptoms of chronic urinary retention, make an appointment with one of our primary care doctors.
You should drink fluids if your urine output is low because you haven't been taking in enough fluids. Plain water and rehydration solutions that contain electrolytes are good options.
See a health care professional if you have symptoms of a bladder problem, such as trouble urinating, a loss of bladder control, waking to use the bathroom, pelvic pain, or leaking urine.