# Will ''holding it'' REALLY burst your bladder? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 26, 2013, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-holding-it-really-burst-your-bladder/669713 "2013-09-26T10:17:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zeckz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/4491bb/32.png) [@Zeckz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeckz)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2013, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-holding-it-really-burst-your-bladder/669713/1 "2013-09-26T10:17:46Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2013, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-holding-it-really-burst-your-bladder/669713/2 "2013-09-26T10:19:04Z")
“It felt so good I named it!” ---
**Author:** ![Zeckz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/4491bb/32.png) [@Zeckz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeckz)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2013, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-holding-it-really-burst-your-bladder/669713/3 "2013-09-26T10:21:08Z")
That is not an answer.i came here and asked this because noone asked this before or got good answers to it . ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2013, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-holding-it-really-burst-your-bladder/669713/4 "2013-09-26T10:25:20Z")
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. 😉 ---
**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:** [September 26, 2013, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-holding-it-really-burst-your-bladder/669713/5 "2013-09-26T10:25:45Z")
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: ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2013, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-holding-it-really-burst-your-bladder/669713/6 "2013-09-26T10:34:00Z")
**Moderator Note** > [@the\_diego](#): > > “It felt so good I named it!” 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. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2013, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-holding-it-really-burst-your-bladder/669713/7 "2013-09-26T12:45:35Z")
It might not burst your bladder, but there’s always the possibility of [death by accute water intoxication](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KDND#Death_of_a_contestant_in_KDND_radio_contest) if you hold in your wee. ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Imp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58956e/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Imp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Imp)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2013, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-holding-it-really-burst-your-bladder/669713/8 "2013-09-26T13:49:30Z")
One of the site regulars reported he [damaged his bladder](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=12881062&postcount=6) by letting it get too full, but doesn’t actually say if it burst. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2013, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-holding-it-really-burst-your-bladder/669713/9 "2013-09-26T14:27:04Z")
So what’s the Straight Dope on Tycho Brahe, then? Is it plausible that holding it in contributed to his death? ---
**Author:** ![M.Constant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ab097/32.png) [@M.Constant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/M.Constant)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2013, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-holding-it-really-burst-your-bladder/669713/10 "2013-09-26T16:25:42Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2013, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-holding-it-really-burst-your-bladder/669713/11 "2013-09-26T16:35:43Z")
> [@Zeckz](#): > > That is not an answer.i came here and asked this because noone asked this before or got good answers to it . “noone” is not a word. Damnit. There will be consequences. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2013, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-holding-it-really-burst-your-bladder/669713/12 "2013-09-26T16:39:13Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > “noone” is not a word. Damnit. There will be consequences. > **[noone - Wiktionary, the free dictionary](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/noone)** Funny you complain then use “damnit.” ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2013, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-holding-it-really-burst-your-bladder/669713/13 "2013-09-26T16:41:43Z")
> [@M.Constant](#): > > 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. 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 ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2013, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-holding-it-really-burst-your-bladder/669713/14 "2013-09-26T16:46:55Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > … but not her. After she landed, urine was leaking from her belly button. Seriously. :eek: I’ve got to ask, how is that remotely possible? ---
**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:** [September 26, 2013, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-holding-it-really-burst-your-bladder/669713/15 "2013-09-26T17:16:12Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > 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](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2013, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-holding-it-really-burst-your-bladder/669713/16 "2013-09-26T18:05:32Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > “noone” is not a word. Damnit. There will be consequences. Tell that to Herman’s Hermits! ---
**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:** [September 26, 2013, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-holding-it-really-burst-your-bladder/669713/17 "2013-09-26T18:19:45Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Tell that to Herman’s Hermits! Well, their popularity has petered out considerably. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2013, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-holding-it-really-burst-your-bladder/669713/18 "2013-09-26T19:39:32Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > Well, their popularity has petered out considerably. The forgotten and the banned. So sad. Dammit. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2013, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-holding-it-really-burst-your-bladder/669713/19 "2013-09-27T13:31:45Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#): > > It might not burst your bladder, but there’s always the possibility of [death by accute water intoxication](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KDND#Death_of_a_contestant_in_KDND_radio_contest) if you hold in your wee. 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.