Will ''holding it'' REALLY burst your bladder?

asked this due to an article on Tycho Brahe, who was said to have died of a burst bladder after holding it for too long to be polite at a dinner. i recall the mercury theory being refuted because the concentration of mercury wasnt sufficient to poison and scientists think he died of a burst bladder instead of mercury for holding it too long.

“It felt so good I named it!”

That is not an answer.i came here and asked this because noone asked this before or got good answers to it .

I can’t imagine how a burst bladder can kill you, except maybe the resulting infection. As to the likelihood of it bursting, It’s a tough organ. Just a guess, but the resulting pressure will overwhelm the sphincter (considering one’s weakening control over the latter.)

PS: I didn’t think you needed an answer fast. :wink:

No, it won’t burst your bladder.

Old men, in particular, not infrequently get their urethras (peeing tubes) blocked of by their enlarged prostates. They don’t burst their bladders but it can cause the tubes connecting the bladder to the kidneys (the ureters) and even the kidneys themselves to dilate. Not a good thing.

That said, if the bladder has previously been operated on, or had received radiation for cancer in the area, THEN the bladder can burst if “you hold it in”. I remember once caring for a shy elderly woman who was on a long flight over the Pacific. Turbulence all the way meant she couldn’t use the facilities on the flight. Some passengers ignored the order she said later, but not her. After she landed, urine was leaking from her belly button. Seriously. :eek:

Moderator Note

While we don’t mind a bit of humor and fun in GQ, we do ask that you wait until there have been some serious answers before making posts like this.

No warning issued. Just a friendly reminder.

It might not burst your bladder, but there’s always the possibility of death by accute water intoxication if you hold in your wee.

One of the site regulars reported he damaged his bladder by letting it get too full, but doesn’t actually say if it burst.

So what’s the Straight Dope on Tycho Brahe, then? Is it plausible that holding it in contributed to his death?

Is it polite/permissible to ask why Zeckz got banned? From the posts I can see, it looks like he/she was reasonably well behaved.

“noone” is not a word. Damnit. There will be consequences.

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/noone

Funny you complain then use “damnit.”

We prefer you email a mod or admin. Gives less attention to the departed.

Usually a sock/returnee when post appear somewhat normal.

samclem, moderator

I’ve got to ask, how is that remotely possible?

Well, the woman I mentioned above had received radiation to her pelvis in the past for a tumour in the area (not in the bladder. Regardless, the bladder would have received radiation). The day after her flight, she noticed fluid leaking out of her umbilicus (belly button). Indeed, it was urine. Her bladder had ruptured and the urine that it contained tracked up and out through a passage that runs from the bladder to the umbilicus (this passage is called the urachus). We all have this potential passage-way, but it usually remains shut. However, urine released inside of us as a result of a ruptured/burst bladder will track along it, in much the same way that spilled liquid might track up and along a thin tube placed in it.

Tell that to Herman’s Hermits!

Well, their popularity has petered out considerably.

The forgotten and the banned. So sad. Dammit.

Water intoxication is not from holding it, it’s from ingesting so much water as to upset the balance of electrolytes and cause cellular swelling, which is a pretty big problem when it occurs in the brain.

She would have had water intoxication even if she had peed.