Avoiding Voiding: Danger

The fact that women develop unexplained infections of the urinary tract more often than men has long been observed but not understood. Now, Urologist Jack Lapides of the University of Michigan finds that the answer lies in toilet habits: most women urinate less frequently than men. The reasons, says Lapides, are social and cultural rather than physiological.

A baby has no inhibitions and urinates whenever the nerve centers of the bladder react to internal pressure. The trouble begins, says Lapides, with toilet training. A child, especially a girl, is rewarded with approval when it wakes up with dry diapers; boys are expected to be more undisciplined.

In grade school, girls seem more sensitive to their teachers' annoyance at requests to leave the room; they ask to be excused less often than they should. When they do get to the lavatories, they are likely to find stalls with no doors. Toilet seats may be broken or dirty. So many girls decide to "hold it" until they go home. Boys, more conveniently equipped and usually less shy, are under no such restraint.

In college, a girl is likely to be holding it for as long as four hours in classes or on dates. By then she may be deluding herself with the idea that her restraint strengthens her bladder. On the contrary, says Lapides, it causes the bladder to become distended, with its walls taut and blood circulation diminished. This in turn reduces the resistance to infection. Urinary-tract infections may manifest themselves by a burning pain during urination. Eventually, they can involve not only the urethra and bladder, but extend up to the kidneys. They are among the most stubborn and hard to treat of common infections. Penicillin is usually ineffective, and urologists have to rely on other antibiotics or other drugs such as the sulfas.

Foundation Trouble. The older a woman gets, says Lapides, the greater her tendency to delay. There is embarrassment at leaving the table or asking for the bathroom at a party. More mature women who still wear all-encompassing foundation garments may reason that the undressing involved is too much trouble, so they wait until they get home.

As many as 30% of girls up to age 16 are "infrequent voiders," Lapides says. Beyond that age, they begin paying for their restraint in medical disorders. One of his studies showed that 60% of women with urinary-tract infections had enlarged, infrequently voided bladders. Another disclosed that 67% of 250 infected women had bad bladder habits. Dr. Lapides' prescription: the bladder should be emptied about every two hours. Teachers and supervisors should recognize this and stop acting annoyed when pupils or employees regularly respond to the urge.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.