Determine whether your bladder output is considered normal with our handy guide.
If you've noticed a change in your ability to hold urine lately, you may be wondering if your bladder capacity is considered normal for your age. When evaluating bladder capacity by age there are a few things to consider.
Bladder Capacity by Age: Children vs. Adults
If you’d like to calculate your child’s bladder capacity, you can do so by taking the child’s age and multiplying it by two, then add another two ounces. For example, for a three-year-old, you’d multiply 3 x 2 plus 2, for a total of an eight ounce bladder capacity.
In general, a healthy adult bladder holds about two cups of urine on average. The urge to urinate is triggered when urine hits about a quarter of its capacity.
However, as a person ages, their bladder grows and changes, too. The tissue that makes up the bladder usually becomes less elastic. That means it won’t hold as much urine and, as a result, will cause the person to urinate more frequently. Additionally, the bladder wall and pelvic muscles can weaken over time, so it is more difficult for the bladder to fully empty. This is one reason one might experience leakage.
How Often Should You Pee?
For most people, the normal number of times to urinate per day is between 6 – 7 in a 24-hour period. Between 4 and 10 times a day can also be considered normal.
Normal urinary frequency depends on how much fluid you drink in a day and the types of fluid that you drink. It also depends on if you’re taking medication known as diuretics that can cause you to go more often. How healthy and active you are can also have an influence, and to some extent, your age.
Over two-thirds of women over 70 urinate at least once per night, and up to 60 percent go twice or more each night. It’s very common for most people to wake up once a night, and it becomes more common as you get older.
How Long Does it Take to Pee After Drinking Water?
A healthy bladder can hold about 2 cups of urine before it's considered full - it takes your body around 9 to 10 hours to produce 2 cups of urine.
Liquids typically leave your stomach quickly. For example, after you drink a glass of water, it's estimated that only 50 percent of it will be left in your stomach after 10 minutes.
How long it’ll be from drinking to peeing depends upon how well your body is hydrated. If you’re dehydrated, a glass or two of water will quench your thirst but you may not need to pee for hours after.
When you are well hydrated, the kidneys will efficiently expel urine, which may happen after drinking just one glass of water, meaning you may have to rush to pee after ten or fifteen minutes.
You can plan for about 15 minutes after drinking as a guide to access bathrooms throughout the day.
How to Measure How Much Urine You Are Passing
You may need or want to measure the amount of urine you’re passing to gage whether it’s a healthy and appropriate amount.
To measure the amount of urine you pass, you will need to:
- Put a container (like an ice cream container) in the toilet bowl
- Sit on the toilet and pass urine into the container
- When you have finished, measure the urine by tipping it into a measuring jug
The Risks of Holding in Urine:
Urinary Tract Infections
Holding your urine for too long can weaken the bladder muscles over time, which can lead to problems such as incontinence and not being able to fully empty your bladder. Additionally, holding your urine for extremely long periods of time can also cause urinary tract infections due to bacteria build-up.
Kidney and Bladder Issues
When we hold our urine by contracting the sphincter against an already strained bladder, the bladder wall can thicken and break down the normal one-way mechanism of urine flow from the kidneys into the bladder. This can increase the risk of infection and lead to long-term kidney and bladder issues.
When should you head to the bathroom
Your bladder is full of receptors that tell your brain how full your bladder is. Essentially, there's an invisible “fill line” in your bladder.
When your urine reaches that point, your brain receives a signal that you need to pee. This actually happens when your bladder is only a quarter of the way full.
You should go to the bathroom as soon as you feel the need to go. If you have the urge to pee and you think you’ve put at least two cups of liquid into your system, it’s definitely time to go.
If you have the urge to go to the restroom and it has been at least three hours since your last trip, it’s also probably time to go. Don’t go just because you think you should, but really learn to listen to your body.
If you find that you can’t make it to the bathroom in time, you might want to gage what you’re drinking and how much of it. You could be overstimulating it in other ways; caffeine, fizzy drinks, artificial sweeteners, alcohol, tomatoes and citrus can all trigger an overwhelming urge to go.
Tips for Maintaining a Healthy Bladder:
Maintain a healthy intake of fluids
Try to drink at least 1.5 – 2 liters (6-8 glasses) of fluid each day. When you are not drinking enough, the bladder gets used to holding smaller amounts of urine and can become sensitive.
Keep a bladder diary
Over the course of a few days, write down when you have to go and when your bladder loses control. Then look for connections. You may find patterns you can change easily, like that urge that always hits when you’ve drank your after-lunch coffee.
Exercise your pelvic floor
Working your pelvic floor can help with bladder control by strengthening the pelvic floor muscles that are responsible for closing your urethra and keeping urine safely in your bladder until it’s time to go.
Manual pelvic floor exercises are effective, but it can be difficult to know if you’re doing them correctly and results can take a while to show.
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