A health care professional has revealed the surprising reason why you always need to go to the bathroom before taking a long car ride.
Nicholas Romano, a physician assistant student at medical consulting firm Med Explained 2 You, posted a viral TikTok video on the topic last month.
He claims that peeing before a ride can give you a “better chance of survival” if you ever get into an accident.
“This is because your bladder is like a balloon. When you pee, it deflates the balloon, and when you hold it, it blows it up,” Romano said.
If you get into a car accident with a blown bladder, it’s more likely to rupture, he claims. Even wearing a seat belt can compress a full bladder.
Physician Assistant student Nicholas Romano shared on TikTok that peeing before getting in the car can reduce the chance of bladder rupture if you get into an accident
TikTok users were shocked by Mr Romano’s video and responded to the comments to share their own experience
If a ruptured bladder is left untreated, it can lead to serious complications, such as infection from urine leaking into the abdomen, sepsis, kidney failure, and death.
“This is devastating and can lead to a quick death,” Romano said.
However, if you empty your bladder before getting in the car, it will deflate, making it much harder to pop.
A ruptured bladder is relatively rare and is usually caused by trauma, such as a car accident.
Symptoms, according to the Urology Care Foundation, include blood in the urine, difficulty urinating, weak urine stream, painful urination, fever and severe lower back pain.
The foundation recommends wearing a seatbelt across the lab rather than around the abdomen to prevent tearing during a car accident.
“You’re much more likely to have an extra-peritoneal abdominal rupture, which is much less serious,” Romano said.
This is a tear at the bottom or side of the bladder, which causes urine to leak into the tissues around the bladder instead of into the abdomen. This is generally easier to treat.
Although bladder rupture is rare, several cases have been recorded.
A case in the Journal of Acute Medicinedescribes, for example, the injury of a 58-year-old man who got into a car accident while drunk. He was wearing his seatbelt at the time and was stable after emergency surgery.
In addition, in one 2014 case reporta 30-year-old woman who had been in a car accident five years earlier suffered bladder trauma from the crash.
TikTok users were shocked by Mr Romano’s video.
A user Cat Valencia said, “New fear unlocked.”
Another user wrote, “I’ve never felt so validated in my constant requests to go to the bathroom on road trips.”
Mariana Lopez added, “This happened to my husband, thank God the doctors saved his life.”
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