That’s the thing about all the things we decide to keep inside. If they stay in your system for too long, you’re ultimately going to burst or break down. Anger, pain, extra energy, and well— even urine! Yes, you read that right.

Holding your pee is suggested to women suffering from an overactive bladder or in some cases to women who want to strengthen their Kegel muscles. However, this practice has a terrible downside–which is exactly why you should NOT hold your pee unless advised to do so by a doc.

Check out all the reasons here:

1. You’re basically defying your body’s signals
Urination is a rather complex process. On the surface level, though, it involves the nerves of your urinary bladder generating and sending signals to the brain once it is half full. These signals further generate your urge to pee. Now, by holding it in, you’re basically defying these signals and not flushing out the toxins from your body through urine. You see, it’s called ‘attending to nature’s call’ for a reason.

2. You don’t have that kind of capacity
According to the Kidney & Urology Foundation of America (KUFA), a healthy adult bladder can hold up to two cups of urine at a time.

Now, if you’re not pregnant, diabetic, and are not suffering from any underlying health condition such as an UTI or any kidney disorder–holding this amount of urine might just be manageable for you. But think of the times when you’ve had more than two cups of coffee or half a litre water at once or simply a big glass of juice or coconut water. In this case, holding the urine formed can make you feel utterly uncomfortable.

3. You can end up worsening your case of an UTI
According to a study published in the Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal, holding your pee can increase your risk of getting a urinary tract infection and can even worsen an existing/underlying UTI problem. This is because by holding your pee in you are allowing the bacteria present in the urine more time to multiply inside your urinary tract and cause an infection.

4. You can get urinary incontinence
A study conducted at the Harvard Medical School, points out that your pelvic muscles can get weaker as a result of holding your pee unnecessarily and very often. This can further lead to incontinence, a condition in which your ability to keep your urine from leaking can get impaired, as a result of which, you might end up leaking with the slightest movement/while coughing/sneezing/running etc.

5. It can put your kidneys in danger
According to a study published in the journal Annals of Translational Medicine, holding your pee can lead to formation of kidney stones—especially in people, who have a history of this condition. This is because the urine contains high amounts of minerals such as calcium oxalate and uric acid, which can lead to the formation of stones.

That’s not it. There’s also a possibility of the urine passing back into the kidney if not passed out on time and leading to a fatal kidney infection—rare, but possible.

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6. Your bladder can burst
Another rare-but-possible consequence of holding your pee can be a bladder burst. If your bladder reaches its maximum capacity of holding urine and you still refuse to let it out, you could face this deadly problem, which can only be solved via an emergency surgery.