A pelvic floor specialist talked about why it’s forbidden to pee in the shower, and not just because it’s disgusting.
Dr. Alicia Jeffrey-Thomas turned to TikTok to ask women to stop the controversial habit of urinating when they shower, arguing that it could have "serious consequences" in the future - or even sooner.
In the video she also warned of other bad habits that damage the bladder, all of which will lead to a constant urge to run to the bathroom.
According to Dr. Jeffrey-Thomas, urinating in the shower is a bad habit for the pelvic floor.
She explained to BuzzFeed: Urine signals when it needs to be released from the body. We want to avoid training our bladder to link certain signals with the urge to urinate. In this case, the habit of peeing in the shower links the sound of running water to urination.
"It can often make you feel the need to urinate when you hear running water, like when you turn on the tap to wash your hands or dishes, or when you are near water reservoirs,” she said.
Dr. Jeffrey-Thomas noted other bad habits that may harm the pelvic floor, such as pushing to release urine or feces, hovering over a toilet and doing pelvic floor exercises without consulting a fitness expert or trainer. She also talked about our habit of "peeing anyway" when we leave the house. She claims it's a mistake to pee every time we leave the house or a place of entertainment just in case we need to go again on our way, but said there are exceptional cases.
“It's okay to ‘pee just in case’ when it comes to urinating before bed, before and after sex or before a long drive in a car, of an hour or more,” she said. "The correct frequency to urinate is every three to four hours, or at a minimum two hours - and don’t wake up at night.”
Other experts have previously warned against the "urinate just in case" habit.
Prof. Stargios Domochatis, a leading expert in urogynecology, told the Sun, “Sometimes it’s okay to do it. If you pee ‘in case’ infrequently, it won’t harm you. However, it may cause problems if you pee ‘in case’ often.
“For example, if you teach elementary school and pee between lessons ‘in case’ just so you won’t need to leave during class time, this can cause changes in bladder function."
He added that “basically, you make your bladder more sensitive. The bladder learns to give you signals that it is 'full' when it’s not, and often in lower volumes. The bladder’s urination function may be harmed. The bladder won’t really be smaller anatomically, but functionally it will definitely be affected. The bladder becomes more sensitive quite quickly, even within two weeks."
The good news is that there are different bladder training techniques that will repair the damage in just a few weeks, with the main thing-apart from changing the habits we mentioned, is to make sure you don’t drink too much or too little water.
Prof. Domochatis recommends 1.5 to two liters of water per day, or about three liters if it is a particularly hot day or you’re doing physical training.