# Blowing air through your urethra **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 2, 2009, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blowing-air-through-your-urethra/516040 "2009-11-02T12:30:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blowing-air-through-your-urethra/516040/21 "2009-11-02T23:38:54Z")
Well, the bladder itself is relatively impermeable. And I’ve been in many procedures where some type of contrast material (an iodine-based fluid) is injected _retrograde_ into the ureters in order to visualize them as well as the kidneys, but from the patients’ reactions (those not under anesthesia), it certainly doesn’t look to be much fun. I’m sure an M.D. or two will be along shortly, but it’s my layman’s guess that an embolism wouldn’t be the first concern. I’d tend to lean toward worrying about a rupture and subsequent infection. ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blowing-air-through-your-urethra/516040/22 "2009-11-02T23:54:51Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Sure, my vascular system is not directly plumbed to my urethra, but that’s under the specific, normal circumstances of _not having a sharp plastic object jammed in there, venting gases_. Well that’s why I’m making the difference there, if you’re willingly doing this to yourself, I’m assuming you’ve taken the time to insert the tube in properly- ie: you’ve not jammed it into the vasculature. That’s why I’m curious as to the emboli issue, I believe it’s a non-issue if the tube is still in the (relatively intact, maybe slightly inflamed) urethra. The actually high powered air/freezing issue itself is the more the damning issue than a risk of embolism. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blowing-air-through-your-urethra/516040/23 "2009-11-02T23:59:54Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > the necrosis from frostbite after freezing the very delicate tissue inside the urethra would ruin your day. But would provide an extremely satisfying response to the oft-asked question, “What crawled up inside you and died?” ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blowing-air-through-your-urethra/516040/24 "2009-11-03T00:05:48Z")
Now THIS is how you have a pissing contest SDMB style. Air emboli or frozen wanker ? These are the important issues of our times… ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blowing-air-through-your-urethra/516040/25 "2009-11-03T00:12:44Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > I have to think you could search Youtube and find someone doing it. This is the internet, after all. Yes, indeed. It’s called _‘sounding’_, but it generally involved using solid objects (dulled knitting needle, carriage bolt, etc.) rather than air. May sometimes be done with liquids, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blowing-air-through-your-urethra/516040/26 "2009-11-03T00:44:34Z")
These cans are high pressure air. Something will rupture and you’ll bleed out. The embolism or frozen necrotic wanker won’t even matter. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blowing-air-through-your-urethra/516040/27 "2009-11-03T00:48:32Z")
> [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > . The embolism or \*\*frozen necrotic wanker \*\*won’t even matter. Band Name ! I called it first all you..uhh..wankers… ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blowing-air-through-your-urethra/516040/28 "2009-11-03T01:14:28Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > Band Name ! > > I called it first all you..uhh..wankers… I actually worked on that phrase until it had the right verbal flow. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blowing-air-through-your-urethra/516040/29 "2009-11-03T01:27:14Z")
> [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > I actually worked on that phrase until it had the right verbal flow. I figured it just came to you 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blowing-air-through-your-urethra/516040/30 "2009-11-03T01:40:36Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > Now THIS is how you have a pissing contest SDMB style. > > Air emboli or frozen wanker ? > > These are the important issues of our times… Or peritonitis? IANAMD, but I think an intermediate possibility might be blowing out your bladder and causing peritonitis from the torn open bladder. What say the MDs in the audience? ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blowing-air-through-your-urethra/516040/31 "2009-11-03T01:49:40Z")
I wish **gabriela** was here to answer this thread. It’s the type she would have made a point to discuss fully in detail.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blowing-air-through-your-urethra/516040/32 "2009-11-03T02:04:42Z")
> [@Canadjun](#): > > Or peritonitis? IANAMD, but I think an intermediate possibility might be blowing out your bladder and causing peritonitis from the torn open bladder. > > What say the MDs in the audience? That’s what my thought was earlier, especially if you got the tube far enough in. It’d be easier in a woman though to get to that bladder, though there’s def. a greater chance of tissue damage and all though, if you held it down and kept going, I’d say you blow out the bladder and bam! Peritonitis. Not a doctor yet though so I’ll easily defer to any Doc that wants to take this one on. ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blowing-air-through-your-urethra/516040/33 "2009-11-03T02:13:20Z")
Since the bladder is kinda stretchy, do you think the ureters or part of the renal pelvis might blow before the bladder? Hm. I’ll run this past one of the urologists the next time I see 'em. They can’t think I’m any weirder than they already do. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blowing-air-through-your-urethra/516040/34 "2009-11-03T02:16:00Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > Yes, indeed. It’s called _‘sounding’_, but it generally involved using solid objects (dulled knitting needle, carriage bolt, etc.) rather than air. May sometimes be done with liquids, I think. I own a set of sounds, and believe me, the ends are very rounded and smooth. And even then you have to insert them very carefully, with sufficient lubrication, into a totally flaccid penis. And they need to be properly disinfected. Sounds also have a bend or knob on the non-inserting end, to prevent the whole thing from getting accidentally inserted. (Imagine what the ER will have to do, to fish that sucker out.) Do not insert anything sharp into your penis, with or without a burst of air. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blowing-air-through-your-urethra/516040/35 "2009-11-03T02:21:22Z")
By the way, the reason some guys do this is, if the sound is long enough and the penis is short enough, you can stimulate the prostate. There’s no reason to go all the way to the bladder, unless you’re a medical professional clearing an obstruction. ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blowing-air-through-your-urethra/516040/36 "2009-11-03T02:27:16Z")
On further consideration, we need to take male/female into account. And, are we just considering where the first blowout will occur? If male, would the first blowout occur in the vas deferens? ---
**Author:** ![Livardo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/43a26b/32.png) [@Livardo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Livardo)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blowing-air-through-your-urethra/516040/37 "2009-11-03T02:34:59Z")
I love this forum. I was using a can of “dust destroyer” this morning and the thought came to my head: “hey, what would happen if I stick this in my peenor? I think I’ll just post it at Straight Dope!”. I was also going to make a quip about how crappy a “blow job” this would be but I thought against it. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blowing-air-through-your-urethra/516040/38 "2009-11-03T03:35:20Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > (Imagine what the ER will have to do, to fish that sucker out.) Maybe one of those super-strong ceramic magnets? Still, _ouch!_ ---
**Author:** ![Waenara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@Waenara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waenara)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blowing-air-through-your-urethra/516040/39 "2009-11-03T04:03:48Z")
Assuming **Livardo** is male, the straw on the can probably wouldn’t reach the bladder. When inserting a catheter into the bladder, on a male the urethra is 17-23cm long (6.7-9"). It would be easier in a female, since their urethra is only about 4-4.5cm long (1.6-1.8"). So just my WAG, most of the damage in a male would be to the urethra and the bladder - I have no idea how far up the system the gas would travel. Urine travels from the kidneys to the bladder via the ureters; where the ureters join the bladder there are one-way valves to prevent backflow of urine into the kidneys (ureterovesical valves). Presumably these valves would fail when under pressure, but googling quickly I couldn’t get any information on how much pressure it would take. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blowing-air-through-your-urethra/516040/40 "2009-11-03T04:51:26Z")
You bet it can happen. Fatal air embolism from trauma to that area is well reported. [Here’s a brief case](http://www.anesthesia-analgesia.org/cgi/content/full/97/6/1833) just to illustrate that a rather small cut of the urethra (peeing tube) can lead to fatal air embolism. And that’s not even with the air being put in under pressure. Just cutting the urethra at the same time as the bladder neck (bottom part of bladder through which urethra passes) can cause it. [Here’s a similar case](http://www.anesthesia-analgesia.org/cgi/content/full/99/6/1864) which also happened during prostate surgery. In fact, there a good number of published cases of fatal air embolism in both human and animals (but not linked to - at least not readily). I think what may be causing some SDMB’ers doubts about the possibilty of this happening is that people may generally be unaware that much prostate and urethral and bladder surgery allows air to enter (and stay in) the bladder (as a result of having that great tube inserted into the urethra. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blowing-air-through-your-urethra/516040.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blowing-air-through-your-urethra/516040.md?page=3)