Bladder Myths and Misconceptions

Bladder Myths and Misconceptions

            When we evaluate a patient on their first day, we ask a lot of questions about bladder habits. For example, how often do you go during the day, how often at night, what is your stream like, what is your fluid intake like, and more. Based on many years of responses to these questions, I thought I’d go over a few things I hear most often that we want you to avoid. There are many myths and misconceptions out there in regards to bladder health, and you might be doing something in order to try to HELP yourself, but in reality, it might be causing harm. Check out these four common misconceptions…

1)     Pushing when you pee

SO many patients tell us they push to urinate. They either push the whole time or they push at the end to try to get additional urine out. Please stop doing this today! In order to have proper urination, you need to RELAX the pelvic floor muscles so that the muscle attached to the bladder can contract and the urine can flow out without any restriction. Appropriate emptying can be achieved with muscle relaxation, and pushing is NOT required. If you feel like you are not emptying fully, try the following strategies instead. Sit and relax on the toilet, wipe, stand up, then sit and relax again (we call this double voiding). Another option is to sit and urinate, then rock your hips side to side on the toilet to release any further urine. No pushing allowed!

2)     Holding your urine too long

Holding your urine for five or six hours is too long! If you are adequately hydrating, you should be urinating every 2-3 hours during your waking hours. If you find you frequently get involved in projects and lose track of time, set yourself a timer (watch, phone, kitchen timer) for 2-3 hours, and if that timer goes off, STOP and go the bathroom. This is also a great trick to use for kids and teens who struggle with bladder leakage.

3)     Going too often (and going just in case)

We also see patients who do the opposite – going all the time “just in case.” This can lead to your bladder getting used to emptying at the first urge which can increase bladder urgency and frequency. You should not have to urinate at the very first, slight bladder urge. Our bladders are designed to give us multiple urges before we really need to stop and go. As mentioned above, with good hydration, it’s normal to urinate every 2-3 hours (more if you just consumed a bladder irritant, such as coffee). Exceptions include getting ready to exercise, right before a pelvic exam, or right before a long car ride!

4)     Decreasing water to avoid leakage

This is one of the most common ones I hear. If someone comes in with incontinence, often they are limiting their water intake to decrease the leakage. I see the thought process, but here is the reality – if you limit your water intake, your urine can become more concentrated (you know this is happening if your urine is a darker yellow in the toilet). More concentrated urine can actually irritate the bladder and increase leakage! Aim to drink half your body weight in ounces of water (so a 200 pound person would consume 100 ounces of water).