What exactly triggers the signal that you have to go to the restroom?
Is there some kind of nerve sensor at a certain location in the body that sounds the biological signal?
Would have thought it’s obvious, A full bladder
Yes…but what is the biological signal that that the bladder sends out? Is it just a muscle that expands, and what nerves pick up on that and tell your brain, “dude, time to go.”
Your bladder has stretch receptors in it. These send a signal to your brain when your bladder becomes distended.
I don’t remember what tissue they’re located in, but I suspect it’s the smooth muscle.
So, these “stretch receptors”…learned later in life from little kids who pee in bed, and lost later in life from adults who can’t control it?
For me, it’s “warm liquid soaking my slacks and underwear.”
No, the stretch receptors and the urge to urinate work fine - intentionally resisting that urge, and resisting while sleeping are matters of sphincter control, and that’s learned. The elderly’s loss of control is more due to loss of muscle tone, IIRC.
::snerk:::
Sorry to hijack this question but on a related note (and one that’s probably not deserving of its own thread) but to any women out there: how do you know when it’s time to put in a tampon/on a pad when you start your period?
All the women I’ve known know roughly the day they will start but that’s often not when they put on the protection… Is it a certain pending feeling that you’ll start bleeding soon and that’s when to strap up?
Related Straight Dope column: http://www.straightdope.com/columns/060901.html
Most of us start out slow, with just enough menstrual fluid to streak the toilet paper when we wipe after using the toilet, but not enough to stain the panties. And yes, you notice, even if you don’t regularly look at your tissue post-wipe. It feels slighty slick (although not as slick as when you’re most fertile just before ovulation.)
So most of us simply wait until we see a few red streaks and then grab a pad (or tampon.) Some people wear what are called “panty liners” (very thin pads marketed as providing “freshness”) all month long, and those will soak up a good bit of menstrual fluid when you’re not expecting your menses. Others start wearing pads a day or two before they’re due, just in case.
Putting tampons in when you’re not menstruating is highly dangerous, however, so I hope no one does that. Toxic Shock Syndrome happens when a tampon is sitting up against an essentially dry vaginal wall. That’s why you should not use a more absorbent tampon than you need - if it’s not slightly moist with menstrual fluid, it can be a dangerous breeding ground. Plus, putting tampons in and out while dry can cause tiny tears in the vagina, which increases the risk of a number of infections, including STD’s.
Those of us who track our monthly ovulation will know within a day when we 're going to menstruate, though. Regardless of how irregular your cycle is, you will virtually always menstruate the same number of days after you ovulate, unless you’re pregnant. That end of the cycle is remarkably consistent, even in women with irregular cycles. The only time it gets weird is if you don’t ovulate in the month - but if you are keeping track, you’ll know you’re going to have an unexpected visit.
Agreeing with WhyNot’s answer and adding to it, I’ve generally noticed a certain feeling that it’s going to start right before it does. There’s a feeling of heightened awareness about my abdominal area and a certain tightness I’ll notice, before actual cramps and menstruation begin.
But, most women I know do keep track of their cycles to one degree or another, and some of them will use panty liners a day or two before it’s expected, just to be safe. If you know something happens every X days and there are certain things that warn of the impending action before it actually occurs, it’s not too difficult to know when to expect it.
I’ll add, it doesn’t start out with a full blood gush. The heavier flow for me starts one or two days later. I get a “warning” and since I carry pads in my purse all the time anyway, I don’t get caught.
I get caught every time. :shrug:
I only bleed for about 6 hours every four or five months, though, so I’m less concerned about wearing protection most of the time.
Jeez, and we men moan if we cut ourselves shaving
i don’t, speak for yourself
Damn, honey. I can’t imagine not being regular. You have my sympathies.
Some women are very very regular too. I’ve always been, and being on the pill only reinforces that. I can tell you to within 4 hrs when I’m going to start.
Oh great now I’m gonna have another thing to think about? But this isn’t totally involuntary. You can make “SOME” people have to go by using auto suggestion. Like right now I’m off to the bathroom
Thanks
LOL
Best “User name/Post” combo of the month.