Doctor Reveals Why Women Should Avoid Peeing in the Shower

The debate over peeing in the shower continues, with many advocating for the practice due to its water-saving benefits. However, Dr. Alicia Jeffrey-Thomas, a pelvic health specialist, warns that for those assigned female at birth, this habit could have unintended health consequences.

The Water Conservation Argument

One of the strongest arguments for urinating in the shower is its potential to save water. By eliminating the need for a separate toilet flush, a person could save approximately 2,190 liters (579 gallons) of water per year. If the entire U.S. population adopted this practice, it could lead to an annual water savings of 699 billion liters (185 billion gallons). This significant reduction in water consumption highlights the environmental advantages of shower urination.

Potential Health Risks: The Pelvic Floor Connection

Despite the environmental benefits, the potential health consequences of this habit must be considered. Dr. Jeffrey-Thomas explains in a TikTok video that regularly peeing in the shower may lead to pelvic floor and bladder control issues.

The Pavlovian Response

Dr. Jeffrey-Thomas likens this habit to Pavlov’s classical conditioning experiment, where dogs learned to associate the sound of a bell with food. Similarly, repeatedly urinating in the shower can train the brain to link the sound of running water with the urge to pee. This association may result in involuntary urination triggered by running water sounds, such as a faucet, toilet flush, or even rain.

Pelvic Floor Dysfunction Risks

For individuals with existing pelvic floor dysfunction, this learned association can exacerbate bladder control problems. Dr. Jeffrey-Thomas explains that urinating while standing in the shower does not allow the pelvic floor muscles to fully relax, potentially leading to incomplete bladder emptying. Over time, this can contribute to urinary retention and increase the risk of urinary tract infections (UTIs).

Some argue that squatting while urinating in the shower might alleviate pelvic floor strain. Dr. Jeffrey-Thomas acknowledges that a full squat position allows for better pelvic floor relaxation, but she still advises against making shower urination a habit. If one must urinate in the shower, a proper squatting position is preferable to standing.

Why Doesn’t Toilet Flushing Trigger the Same Response?

A common question is why flushing the toilet doesn’t condition the brain in the same way. Dr. Jeffrey-Thomas clarifies that by the time a person flushes the toilet, they have already urinated, so no association is formed. However, individuals who struggle to resist the urge to urinate when exposed to running water may already have underlying bladder control issues.

Understanding Pelvic Floor Dysfunction

Pelvic floor dysfunction is a common condition, particularly among women. The pelvic floor is a group of muscles that support the bladder, uterus, rectum, and other organs. Dysfunction occurs when these muscles become too weak or too tight, leading to symptoms such as:

  • Urinary and bowel incontinence
  • Lower back pain
  • Pain during intercourse
  • Increased urgency or frequency of urination

Factors such as childbirth, surgery, aging, obesity, and high-impact activities can contribute to pelvic floor dysfunction. Given that urinating in the shower might worsen symptoms, individuals should be aware of these risks before adopting the habit.

The Biological Factor: Why Female Anatomy Matters

Dr. Jeffrey-Thomas emphasizes that those with female anatomy are not designed to urinate while standing. Unlike male anatomy, where the positioning allows for better bladder emptying while standing, females may struggle to fully relax the pelvic floor in this position. This can lead to incomplete bladder emptying, increasing the risk of UTIs and other urinary complications.

Pros and Cons of Peeing in the Shower

Pros:

  • Water conservation: Reduces toilet water usage significantly.
  • Convenience: Saves time, particularly during a rushed morning routine.

Cons:

  • Pelvic floor health risks: May contribute to bladder control issues and pelvic dysfunction.
  • Conditioned response: Can create an involuntary urge to urinate when exposed to running water.
  • Sanitation concerns: While urine is mostly sterile, it can still contain bacteria that may pose hygiene risks.

The Bottom Line

While peeing in the shower may seem like an eco-friendly and convenient habit, it is important to weigh the potential health risks. Dr. Alicia Jeffrey-Thomas’s insights serve as a reminder to consider the long-term effects of our daily routines. Striving for sustainability should not come at the cost of personal health. Ultimately, making an informed decision based on both environmental and health factors is key to maintaining overall well-being.

This GIrl Left Her Family at 14 to Pursue Music in Another Country — Now She’s World-Famous with Guinness Records

This young girl was born into a large, ethnically Albanian family. Her parents moved to London from Albania three years before she was born. She grew up in London for much of her formative years.

However, when she turned 11, her parents told her they would no longer live in London. Instead, they were moving back to their native country. It was the end of primary school for the girl, and all her friends were also going to different schools, but none were in a foreign country.

Despite the significant change, the girl was excited to go to Kosovo and see her cousins who lived there. However, three years later, at 14, she told her parents she didn’t want to live there anymore. She moved away and went on to break Guinness World Records.

The Girl’s Childhood

The girl was born to a Bosnian mother and a Kosovan father. In the 90s, her parents experienced war in their home country. Her mother and father were living with her paternal grandfather, the head of the Kosovo Institute of History.

Although the girl’s grandfather took pride in his career, it ended when the war broke out. She shared:

“Once the Serbians came in, they wanted a lot of the historians to rewrite the history of Kosovo. To change it – that Kosovo was always part of Serbia and never part of Yugoslavia. And my grandfather was one of those people who wouldn’t, so he lost his job because he didn’t want to write a history that he didn’t believe to be true.”

The girl and her mother | Source: facebook.com/DuaLipa

In 1992, the girl’s parents moved from Albania to London to seek refuge from the war. However, their parents stayed behind in Bosnia and Kosovo. The girl’s father never got to say goodbye to his father as he died of a heart attack the year the war ended when the borders were still closed. Despite all the heartache the couple had experienced, they welcomed their daughter in northwest London in 1995.

The girl said that she watched her parents work every day of her life. Her father was working toward becoming a dentist and her mother a lawyer when they were forced to flee their home country. Being in London forced them to take jobs in cafés and bars. They also went back to school.

The girl and her mother | Source: facebook.com/DuaLipa

Although she was proud of her parents growing up, the girl was not always proud of her name, which means “love” in Albanian. Although she is proud of it now, she wanted a more common name growing up. Her name made her feel different from everyone else.

Another thing that embarrassed her growing up was the fact that her parents looked different from others. In school, the boys would tell her how attractive her mother was, and the girls would say the same about her father, which she didn’t enjoy.

As a young girl, she was strong-willed and ambitious. She knew she wanted to be a star and figured she wouldn’t be able to make it happen living in Kosovo.

One day, she sat her parents down and told them she wanted to return to London. She explained that she wanted to be a superstar and knew she would never be able to do it without being in a city like London. She planned to go to the Sylvia Young Theatre School on Saturdays and wanted to be where a lot was happening. She admitted:

“I didn’t think I’d be able to do this on a global scale, living in Kosovo.”

The girl and her father | Source: facebook.com/DuaLipa

She tricked her parents into letting her go by telling them she wanted to attend an excellent British university and said she would need to do her GCSEs and A-levels in English to get there.

Her parents relented, and when she got back to London, she went to the Sylvia Young Theatre School and began recording demo tapes, which she uploaded to YouTube and Soundcloud.

The girl and her mother and father | Source: facebook.com/DuaLipa

Although she could have run wild in London without much parental supervision, the girl knew that her parents trusted her, and she needed to uphold her end of the deal. The only parental supervision she had was from the family friends she was staying with while in London. She joked that she was the mom of her friend group and always responsible.

With this responsibility came ambition. The girl knew she wanted to be a star and started contacting producers. When one offered a publishing deal, she found a lawyer who told her not to accept it. He then found her her current manager, leading to her being discovered.

Her love for music, singing, and dancing started when she was very young, putting on performances for her friends and family all the time. She knew she had a natural talent when her singing teacher in London moved her into a class with teenagers when she was nine.

The first concert she attended in Kosovo was Redman and Method Man, as hip-hop was massive in Kosovo then. She also wished to see performers like Nelly Furtado and Pink in her hometown, but they had yet to come.

When she finally became successful, she returned to Kosovo with the Sunny Hill Festival, which brings international artists to Kosovo. She hopes that this festival is something that the people in her hometown can enjoy for many years.

Her younger brother and sister are also interested in the entertainment industry. Her little sister graduated from drama school, and her brother started producing music when he was seventeen. The girl is incredibly proud of her family, especially her parents. She once gushed:

“Everything I speak about comes from my upbringing. Seeing my parents adapt to any situation, raise a family, work many jobs, go to university in the evening… I watched them sacrifice, yet I understand how lucky I am to have a British passport and to have come back to London for my career.”

Her parents’ relationship also challenged the girl because, as she told it, her mother married her first love and first boyfriend. She felt pressure and thought that people saw something was wrong with her because she was single in her mid-20s.

However, she realized that it’s okay to be selfish and work on yourself before getting into a serious relationship and certainly before bringing any children into the world.

Who Is the Girl?

Dua Lipa is the girl with the name she couldn’t stand when she was a little girl. Despite all the adversity she faced growing up, she has now become a world-famous pop star and has broken many records.

In March last year, her song “Levitating” became the longest-charting Billboard Hot 100 hit ever. Her 2020 Thanksgiving weekend Studio 2054 livestream also broke records, amassing over 5 million views, and breaking the Guinness World Record for most tickets sold for a live-streamed concert by a solo female artist. She enjoyed the experience so much that even when she was allowed to tour, she would livestream again.

In 2021, she also became the most listened-to female artist on Spotify, for which she landed another Guinness World Record. However, she remains humble and does not take too much note of the awards she has won, even though she has been nominated for 10 Grammys and has won three.

Lipa’s professional life is going well, and her personal life is on the up, too. She recently gained Albanian citizenship. A video shows her signing the papers and beaming from ear to ear as she is granted citizenship.

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