Is It Bad To Hold Back The Urge To Go To The Bathroom?
You have probably heard more than once that resisting the urge to go to the bathroom can be harmful. Well, it’s not that far from reality. Holding back the urge to go to the bathroom can have consequences for your health, beyond the typical discomfort it causes.
Most of the time it is not convenient to go to the toilet. Thus, the mistake many make is to make this a daily habit. For the most part, everyone who works or studies is uncomfortable going to the bathroom. Because of this, they often see the act of keeping the urge as harmless. How can it be so bad?
Is it bad to keep the urge to go to the bathroom?
Digestion is the way your body absorbs nutrients. However, this process leaves some waste it needs to get rid of. Your body does this with feces. When it sends the signal that it needs to go to the bathroom, the worst thing you can do is ignore it because this is when your body needs to get rid of the waste.
It is of utmost importance to eliminate all residues. Aside from feeling bad and heavy, stool that is held back affects bowel functions.
As a result of this change, you digest food poorly. This issue causes:
- Indigestion
- Gas
- Flatulence
- Abdominal pain
- Even vomiting
You should only combat the urge to go to the toilet in extreme emergencies. If you feel the need to have a bowel movement, it is important that you do not ignore this urge. Your body tells you that it needs to get rid of this waste in order to digest the nutrients you just ate.
The consequences of ignoring the urge to go to the bathroom
As we have told you before, if you often ignore the urge to use the toilet, the way your intestines work will change. As a result, your body will not absorb nutrients properly. You may think that not going to the bathroom when you feel the need is harmless, but that thought could not be further from the truth.
- In addition to causing major problems for the intestinal and digestive process in general, not emptying the bowel when you feel the urge can affect your entire body.
- Remember: You get rid of thousands of toxins through feces. By procrastinating, these will begin to poison your body.
Pain
By suppressing the urge to go to the toilet for a long time, you make the stool accumulate and create a kind of “plug”. When you try to get rid of the waste, this becomes torture. This is because the stool is very hard. Therefore, it can be painful to get rid of it.
Bad smells
The same thing happens with gas. By holding it in, you create an odor bomb. In other words, the stool and gas will smell much worse than normal. By suppressing the urge, you also increase the gas development in the stomach. These can make you feel much heavier and bloated.
Hemorrhoids
Hemorrhoids are enlarged veins found in your rectum. Their inflammation causes pain, discomfort and, in severe cases, heavy bleeding.
- Not getting rid of feces dries out the entire rectum. As a result, the stool becomes harder and harder to get rid of. As a result, it can make the hemorrhoids inflamed.
- In other words, a consequence of holding the stool in when you have to go to the toilet can be very painful, and you may even start to see blood.
Hemorrhoids are not very common in childhood or adolescence. They occur in 40% of people over the age of 50.
5. Constipation
If you hold the stool for a long time, this system will fail. This will cause you to lose control of your gut or make your stools hard and very difficult to get rid of.
In conclusion, do not fight against the urge to go to the bathroom. Wherever you are, if you need to go, then go. Furthermore, do not feel embarrassed: something normal is happening to everyone. Think about your health first, and take care of yourself.
