Can your bladder explode from holding it too long?

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QUESTION: Can your bladder explode from holding it too long?

ANSWER: Your bladder is a very strong organ, and the likelihood that it will rupture because you hold it is low. Much more likely is that you’ll grow increasingly uncomfortable until you finally give in to the urge to urinate. There are times, however, when bladders have been known to burst.

These include major trauma (your pelvic region is powerfully impacted by something), complications from surgery, tumors on the bladder wall which weaken it and damage from radiation. The larger risk of holding your urine for too long is that bacteria can multiply, leading to a urinary tract infection (UTI), especially if you’ve had a UTI before.

It’s also possible that holding it may lead to a stretched bladder and kidney stones, neither of which is a good thing. There have been instances in which people have held 2 or more liters of urine for a week or longer, whose bladders have ruptured under the stress. Urine floods the abdominal cavity, resulting in infection and the need for immediate medical intervention. But these cases are extremely rare.

Expelling urine is a natural way of ridding the body of toxins and impurities. Retaining these things inside your bladder, when your own nerves are signaling that you need to get rid of them, is never a good idea.