How to Stop Urinating When You Can’t Use the Toilet

We all know the pain of having to pee in a place where there is no toilet. Fortunately, there are ways to make it a little less uncomfortable to hold your pee. You can try distracting yourself and focusing your mind on something else and adjusting your body to reduce discomfort. In the long run, you can train your bladder to hold urine better for longer. However, even with bladder training, you shouldn’t try to hold back if you really need to – this can damage your bladder and kidneys. ^{[1] X Research Source}

Table of Contents

Adjust the body

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Hold still to avoid collision or body shake. Too much movement can put pressure on the bladder and cause discomfort. This is not the time to play around or practice dance moves! ^{[2] X Research Source}

Sit still if you are sitting. If you find yourself in a comfortable position, stay there until you start to feel uncomfortable and have to change positions.
Avoid changing positions or making sudden movements.
Try to be as smooth and fluid as possible when walking or doing other things.

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Limit the amount of water you drink when you feel the urge to urinate. Drink only enough to maintain a normal amount of water in the body and avoid unnecessary drinking; otherwise you will only add to the burden on your bladder! ^{[3] X Research Sources}

The average adult bladder can only hold about 350-470 ml of urine without discomfort.
Don’t go without water to try to prevent your bladder from filling up in the first place. Dehydration is a possible and very dangerous condition.

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Change positions so that the bladder is not compressed. You can make multiple adjustments while holding your urine. Different positions can reduce pressure on the bladder and make it easier for the bladder to hold urine. Try the following: ^{[4] X Research Sources}

Sit up straight or lean on the back of a chair. Leaning forward, especially when wearing tight pants, puts extra pressure on the bladder.
Cross your legs when standing. This position helps you feel like you are closing your urethra.
Alternately cross your legs and then return to the original position when sitting. These posture changes can reduce pressure on the bladder.
Lift your upper body so that your back forms a curve, but remember not to stretch your abdomen so as not to put pressure on your bladder. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

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Fart if needed. Gas buildup in the intestinal tract can put extra pressure on the bladder. You can relieve pressure by farting for more comfort and holding urine longer.

However, you may experience temporary loss of bladder control from farting, so don’t try this if you’re not sure you can hold your bladder while you pass!

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Warm the body and avoid entering the water. Stay as warm as you can by wrapping yourself in a blanket, turning on the heater, or cuddling your partner. Although the exact reason is not completely known, many people seem to feel the need to urinate more when cold. ^{[6] X Research Source}

This phenomenon is called “cold-season diuresis,” similar to “cold-water diuresis,” a term that describes the sensation of needing to urinate when soaked in cool or cold water. ^{[7] X Research Sources}
While cold water is the top culprit, taking a warm bath or jumping into a hot tub can also stimulate diuresis, so stay out of the water completely!

Distract or focus on something else

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Practice mindfulness by focusing on other aspects of the present moment. Instead of sitting there thinking about how much you need to pee, focus on your breath, or feel the sun on your face or the ground beneath your feet. Focus your mind on the sound of children playing in the next room or the sight and sound of bees buzzing around the spring flowers. ^{[8] X Research Sources}

Meditate, chant mantras, or practice deep breathing exercises.
Some people find it helpful to focus on the sensation of squeezing the muscles around the urethra, the passage through which urine leaves the body. For others, this focus backfires!

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Distract yourself by thinking about things that have nothing to do with urination. Do anything to dispel the thought of urinating or going to the toilet! Simple, even trivial distractions can help. Try these tips: ^{[9] X Research Sources}

Countdown from 99 repeats many times.
Read poetry or hum a familiar song from childhood.
Read the full names of all the people in the room you know and name the others.
Show yourself the way home, to the office, to the supermarket, etc.

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Avoid thinking about water, waterfalls, or rain. These images are not the right choice to distract you when you feel the need to pee! Unless you are extremely skilled at focusing your mind on images like dripping faucets, it will be very difficult for you to stop the thoughts from wandering about how much you want to empty your bladder. ^{[10] X Research Source}

Your friends may find it hilarious to describe waterfalls, rivers, and flushing toilets when they know you’re in the mood to pee. Try saying, “Okay guys, that’s fun,” and move on. If they continue to joke around, leave the place quietly.

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Don’t think of jokes that make you laugh. When you laugh, your muscles contract and put extra pressure on your bladder. On the other hand, the muscles can also loosen and release urine when you laugh.

Avoid people and situations that make you laugh. Watch drama instead of comedy on TV!
Talk to your doctor if you frequently leak urine when you laugh, even if your bladder isn’t full. You may have a condition called “laughing incontinence.” ^{[11] X Trusted Source PubMed Central Go to Source}

Bladder training

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Keep a “urinary diary” for about a week to chart your peeing habits. Monitor for 3-7 days on types of water intake, time taken, water intake as well as time and urine output. After a few days, you will know your peeing habits. ^{[12] X Research Source}

Ideally, you should use a measuring cup to record the amount of urine each time you urinate, but you can also just estimate levels like “many”, “medium” and “little.”

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Schedule a pee. Once you’ve tracked how often you pee, make a schedule based on that data. For starters, try scheduling your pee every 2-2.5 hours during the day. ^{[13] X Research Source}

For example, you could set a “pee time” when you wake up (6:30 a.m.), arrive at work (9 a.m.), and right before your lunch break (11:30 p.m.), etc.
Try to stick to the scheduled time. A 5-15 minute delay in urinating can help dilate the bladder to gradually hold more urine. ^{[14] X Research Source}

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Slowly extend the time between urinations. If the initial schedule is every 2 hours, next week you can extend it to 2 hours and 15 minutes, then progress to 2 and a half hours. Your ultimate goal should be to urinate every three to four hours. ^{[15] X Research Source}

While the average adult pees every three to four hours, this may not be an easy goal for you to achieve. Slowly extend the time between urinations and stop when you feel you’ve reached your limit. ^{[16] X Research Source}

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Do Kegel exercises to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles. To exercise, start urinating, then stop the flow by contracting your muscles. These muscles are the pelvic floor muscles. Once you know what a pelvic floor spasm feels like, you can do Kegel exercises at other times of the day. ^{[17] X Trusted Source Mayo Clinic Go to Source}

Try doing Kegels during commercials when you’re watching your favorite show on TV, sitting at your desk, lying down, or refueling – you can actually do it almost any time.
Try to practice this exercise at least 3 times per day, 3-4 days a week.

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Talk to your doctor about bladder control problems. If you continue to have a frequent urge to urinate despite trying to exercise your bladder, see your doctor for a checkup. If you have a constant need to urinate and urge to urinate, you may have overactive bladder, a condition that is difficult to identify and needs to be diagnosed by a doctor. ^{[18] X Trusted Source PubMed Central Go to Source}

Overactive bladder can be treated with lifestyle modifications – such as improved diet, regular exercise, weight loss, smoking cessation, and possibly medication. ^{[19] X Trusted Source Mayo Clinic Go to Source}
You should also talk to your doctor if you have any problems with urinary incontinence, which is urine that comes out when you’re not actively urinating.

Warning

If you have a frequent urge to urinate or have urinary incontinence, see your doctor. There are many measures you can take to control your bladder such as meditation, practicing exercises, and making lifestyle changes.
Holding in urine can cause reflux (urine backing up into the kidneys). This condition can cause urinary tract infections and kidney damage.

Steps

Adjust the body

Distract or focus on something else

Bladder training

Warning

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