With many bladder ailments, people have a natural tendency to avoid drinking water in an effort to avoid the situation causing them discomfort; urination. Unfortunately, this habit can cause you to win the bathroom battle but lose the war. Deliberately causing mild dehydration will actually almost always make your bladder problems worse.
The reason many people have this frequent, urgent need to use the bathroom is actually due to an irritated or stressed bladder, and the muscles surrounding it. This irritation or stress causes the bladder and muscles to be especially sensitive and prone to aggravation, which causes you to feel the need to urinate more often.
Avoiding water to reduce your trips to the bathroom only worsens this irritation because now your urine is more concentrated. Concentrated urine is more acidic and full of the toxins and irritants that your body is trying to filter out. When this stronger urine fills the bladder, or worse, is held in the bladder over time, the root of the problem has only been aggravated.
The best thing to do in this circumstance is to attempt to drink more water. The trick is to be strategic about when and how you drink more water. Sipping your water in small amounts will keep from overfilling your bladder suddenly and causing spasms that lead to urgency and incontinence. Try drinking an additional two to four cups of water a day, but space out your sips in small increments so that your hydration levels are constantly being replenished.
You should certainly be considerate of your routine, and avoid increasing water intake when you know you won’t have access to a bathroom. However, over time your healthier hydration levels should help alleviate your frequency and urgency issues, giving you more freedom to go and do as you please instead of being trapped near restrooms. If you have never spoken to a urologist about your frequency or urgency concerns, now is the time. These signs can often be symptoms of a much more serious illness that should be addressed right away. If you would like to make an appointment or speak to one of our staff members about any urological concern, give us a call at 1-877-321-8452.
