Is It Safe To Take A Bathroom Break “Just In Case?”

As we begin the heavy travel season of the summer months and start making plans for road trips, this is some useful information for the whole family regarding taking a bathroom break. We’re talking about taking one before you hit the road even if you don’t think you need to go.

If we’re being honest, every family is familiar with either mom or dad telling everybody to go to the bathroom even if they don’t feel the need before hitting the road. We could call it a safety pee we suppose. The idea is we don’t want to stop, so why don’t you take a bathroom break now so when we are driving, you won’t say you need to go as soon as we leave the house.

A newspaper as prestigious as the New York Times thought it was a very important question that needed to be answered by qualified doctors. They wanted to know is pro active voiding a good idea or not.

They talked to a urologist at the University of Penn who said doing it every once in a while is okay.  But if you do it a lot, your bladder starts telling your brain you need to pee when you don't really need to.

Here’s a fun fact. The average adult's bladder can hold about two to three cups of urine . . . two for women, and three for men.  But we generally feel the urge to go when it's less than half that full.

Going when you don't need to can also cause straining, which can weaken your pelvic floor muscles.  The end result of being too frequently means that it will become more than just a habit, but a necessity. And that will surely make any road trip longer.

The good news is that if it does ever happen, you can retrain your brain.  Keep in mind what another expert calls the ability to train your brain to go only as needed, he calls it mind over bladder. A joke that surely originated from a urologist.

If you think "just in case" pees have trained you to pee too often, they suggest dealing with it by distracting yourself . . . doing some deep breathing . . . or talking yourself up, like, "I'm in control of when I pee." 
Another way to look at holding your pee until you have to go is akin to the adage that when it comes to holding your beer, once you break the seal you can’t stop going. If you’ve ever been to a party especially a keg party, then you know what we’re talking about

(NY Times)