Link to column: What causes “piss shiver”?
I just wanted to add in my additional comments in regards to a post that was made way back on the 22nd of July 1994 where there was discussion of what causes this to happen. One thing that I noticed that wasn’t mentioned was the fact that these shivers ALSO happen BEFORE urination; not just after it. I was just standing out in my garage and had to urinate badly. As I held the urine in not wanting to have to rush off to the bathroom immediately because I was busy doing something else, (And as has happened MANY times in my life in the past as I’m sure it has to other people as well), I experienced the shivery effects after the pressure of my bladder subsided, and went on with my work. (It was this incident, by the way, that motivated me to go searching about this subject on the net, and thus finding it in the archive section of “The Straight Dope” web site). I, too, have long pondered the cause of this reaction associated with urination and, based on the sensations the shiver gives me, and the strong similarity to that of the reactions I have gotten from pleasurefull mental stimulation, (I.e. The familiar “chills up and down my spine” exclamation when listening to a song that generates a strong emotional response causing that sensation to be felt, etc), I have long supported the possibility that the sensation felt that causes the shiver effect is a release of adrenaline by the body. My theory is that because there is a significant amount of blood loss to the brain and other areas of the body caused by the need for the body to “shift into high gear” and begin immediately re-filling the bladder with fresh urine as well as performing other directly related bodily functions and processes caused by same said recent urination, (I.e. The increased need for blood in the digestive system and other specific, individual areas of the body respectfully), and as an end result of this, causes the secretion of adrenaline to help the brain, muscles in the body, etc, to compensate for the loss of blood that these other areas of the body must endure during the re-balancing process that the body itself must undergo while it recovers from the loss of urine passed off by the urination process. A sort of “richening of the mixture” type of activity. The fact that these shivers ocurr before urination, (E.g. While “holding it in”), is simply happening because the brain is apparently not designed to be completely accurate in it’s internal detection processes concerning whether or not a person has actually urinated or not, and is in a sense “guessing” or “estimating” that urination HAS actually happened simply because the sensation of needing to urinate has subsided at that time, and as such, has created a sort of “false positive” as perceived by the brain itself). Another aspect of the situation that I saw wasn’t mentioned, was the fact that similar sensations, though not as severe in intensity to the ones associated with urination, neccessarily, are also felt during the “holding in” of… Well… You know… “Number 2” 8v) These sensations also happen after the passing off of that bodily waste as well; perhaps for the same reason as the one concerning urination…
Again, it’s just my theory. 8v) Anyone else have any other ideas, or perhaps an actual, medicly proven answer to this question?
Could these sensations possible come from having these organs which collect waste materials at high capacities. At high capacities these organs would generate more pressure on the prostate and generate a low level pleasure. This plus the excitation of the nerve endings at the base of the penis and the sphincter from the act of holding might set up a sort of chain reaction.
Not that it matters all that much, but what else am I gonna think about.
Welcome to the Straight Dope Message Boards, Rawcore, glad to have you with us.
When you start a thread, it’s helpful to other readers if you provide a link to the column you’re discussing. Saves lots of search time, and helps everyone to be on the same page (so to speak.) I’ve thus edited a link into your post. No biggie, you’ll know for next time. And, again, welcome!
I have had a theory about this for ages, but have never gotten around to posting it for critique. Today is the day
Observations:
My ex-wife is an RN. She was taught that when inserting a urinary catheter into a full bladder, one must be careful not to drain more than one liter at a time or else the patient will faint. The justification for this is that the full bladder presses on large blood vessels into/out of the legs (femoral arteries?), and suddenly reducing the size of the bladder will result in a rapid outflow of blood to the legs, producing a lowering of blood pressure and thus fainting. [Can any of you folks with medical experience verify that this type of fainting occurs? I have seen a couple of contrary assertions on the web, but no real evidence one way or the other.]
Piss shiver seems to occur mainly in males and most frequently when emptying a very full bladder. My own experience would indicate that the shiver comes when the bladder is nearly empty.
Men often urinate while standing up, but women rarely do so.
Discussion:
If fainting from rapid removal of urine does occur, then men (who urinate standing up) would seem to be at greater risk of injury than women (who sit to urinate) for two reasons. First, a lowering of blood pressure would seem more likely to cause fainting in a standing person than in a sitting person. I think many of us have experienced or seen this: if you feel lightheaded, or that you are about to faint, crouching or lying down will often relieve the sensation. Second, a standing person who faints is more likely to hurt themselves than a sitting person who faints. In fact, a sitting person may well do themselves no injury at all. This risk of injury may have provided a slight selection bias in favor of men who did not pass out when urinating, either because a tiger ate those who were unconscious, or because the fainters tended to fall into holes (drowned in the latrine ), onto rocks, etc.
Perhaps the piss shiver is a mechanism for keeping the blood pressure at a safe level during the critical moments when the bladder is emptying. One can envision that the general muscular contractions and movements that occur during piss shiver would elevate the blood pressure. I don’t have the equipment at hand to test it, but if I imitate a piss shiver, I can imagine that the components of it would increase blood pressure.
Conclusion:
Piss shiver evolved to prevent men from fainting when they empty a very full bladder while standing.
Do sufferers of the phenomenon report it on every micturition event?
Is it possible that, given a wide enough variation in the pHs of the urine and the semen, an exothermic reaction could be taking place within the urethra, resulting in the convulsive response described above?
Nor do I; it was just an idea I was throwing out. Still, the very idea of a violent (relatively) chemical reaction taking place in my urethra gives me a somewhat visceral case of the heebie-jeebies.
I am a female, and this rarely happens to me. Does that help with your theory about it evolving to stop men fainting? This thread, however, is making me need to “go”…
Girl here too, despite my brother’s assertions that I’m an uncute tomboy.
Anyway, when I was in elementary school I was in the bad habit of holding it in too long and thus wetting my pants. (Sigh, the deep, dark secrets I share for the enlightenment of the masses. :rolleyes: ) Anyway, I noticed that the longer I held it in, the longer the resultant shiver. I found it rather unpleasant, and thus now I’m in the habit of running to the bathroom even when I might not need to because I’m paranoid about an accident.
I even have nightmares about going to the bathroom. It always scares me awake because I think I’ve soiled my sheets.
On the “Loveline” radio show, Dr. Drew said that it’s actually a mini-seizure. He said it very authoritatively, but unfortunately didn’t mention how he knew that. I occasionally have little “shivers” that seem to fit the description, but they don’t only occur when I urinate - sometimes just at seemingly random times.
), onto rocks, etc.
