By Asmau Ahmad
A Consultant Urologist on Monday cautioned people against holding urine for long periods to prevent the risk of developing cancer of the bladder.Dr Celsus Undie, Consultant with the Kelina Hospital, Gwarinpa, FCT, gave the warning during an interview with the newsmen in Abuja. He explained that the urine was a waste product, which should not remain in the body longer than necessary.
The urologist said that if urine was left in the bladder for a long time, the person could contact urinary tract infection.
“For an average individual, if the bladder is full and you do not pass the urine, it will come out by itself.
“Urine, if left in the body, will go back to the kidney and most times it damages the kidney.
“For persons who cannot pass urine normally, there is a problem of obstruction to the passage of urine.
“For men, who have enlarged prostate, when they fail to pass urine as soon as they have the urge, it may become impossible for them to pass the urine.
“This can lead to emergency situations, where they have to visit hospital.
“Tubes have to be passed through the urethra into the bladder in order to drain the urine and this is an emergency procedure.
“It is very important that people learn to pass urine as soon as they can,’’ he advised.
Undie said that individuals, who have difficulty passing urine when their bladder is full, may have already developed a health condition. According to him, infection may occur or there could be stones in the bladder or even in the kidney, as a result of the obstruction to the flow of urine. He said that such persons might have also contracted the diverticular disease; a pocketing in the bladder which makes urine move into the pocket rather than coming out of the bladder. Undie said that persons with such condition would no longer be able to empty the bladder normally.
“If an individual does not know when the bladder needs to be emptied and when it becomes painful to pass urine, then urethra problems have most likely set in.
“Anything that is unnatural is likely to cause problem.
“Persons in such situations may be suffering from infection in the urine, bladder stones, and cancer of the bladder or in the kidney caused by an obstruction to the flow of urine,’’ he added. He explained further that such infection could be caused by use of condom for contraception. “Some of these condoms contain chemicals. “It is, therefore, important for such person to see an urologist when such situations occur, to evaluate the symptoms,’’ Undie said.
