this post was submitted on 06 Jul 2025
29 points (91.4% liked)

Ask Science

11765 readers
90 users here now

Ask a science question, get a science answer.


Community Rules


Rule 1: Be respectful and inclusive.Treat others with respect, and maintain a positive atmosphere.


Rule 2: No harassment, hate speech, bigotry, or trolling.Avoid any form of harassment, hate speech, bigotry, or offensive behavior.


Rule 3: Engage in constructive discussions.Contribute to meaningful and constructive discussions that enhance scientific understanding.


Rule 4: No AI-generated answers.Strictly prohibit the use of AI-generated answers. Providing answers generated by AI systems is not allowed and may result in a ban.


Rule 5: Follow guidelines and moderators' instructions.Adhere to community guidelines and comply with instructions given by moderators.


Rule 6: Use appropriate language and tone.Communicate using suitable language and maintain a professional and respectful tone.


Rule 7: Report violations.Report any violations of the community rules to the moderators for appropriate action.


Rule 8: Foster a continuous learning environment.Encourage a continuous learning environment where members can share knowledge and engage in scientific discussions.


Rule 9: Source required for answers.Provide credible sources for answers. Failure to include a source may result in the removal of the answer to ensure information reliability.


By adhering to these rules, we create a welcoming and informative environment where science-related questions receive accurate and credible answers. Thank you for your cooperation in making the Ask Science community a valuable resource for scientific knowledge.

We retain the discretion to modify the rules as we deem necessary.


founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Asking this since I've always been told the former and that your bladder rupturing from not going to the toilet is a myth and the story of Tycho Brahe is too old to be reliable. But in recent years, I've seen articles about people drinking alcohol and passing out and their bladders bursting because the sensations got dulled (which still shouldn't affect the sphincters giving way due to the pressure before the bladder actually ruptures, since it's about the sphincters being not physically strong enough to hold back the pressure).

The existence of overflow incontinence would seem to contradict this story from 2020, for example. Alcohol dulls the urge to urinate, but overflow incontinence often happens in absence of this urge as well, and when the detrusor muscles (which squeeze the bladder) aren't working.

What's the straight dope here?

top 13 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] napkin2020@sh.itjust.works 2 points 7 hours ago
[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 12 points 13 hours ago

Bladders are insanely tough, like stomachs. We used to make carrying pouches out of them for that reason. Without some weird medical issue, and I mean really weird, your bladder is simply going to let go.

people drinking alcohol and passing out and their bladders bursting

Anecdotally, if this were possible, I wouldn't have made it to 30.

[–] adespoton@lemmy.ca 25 points 15 hours ago

Why not both?

Reality is complicated. Things like our GI system are very complicated, with many different things that can go wrong.

Think about the question “what would happen if you filled a kiddie pool over the maximum capacity? Would it leak over the top, or would the sides collapse?”

Your immediate answer would probably be “well, that would depend on the pool.”

Likewise, in this case, it would depend on the person.

[–] rhythmisaprancer@piefed.social 10 points 14 hours ago

Generally our organs don't rupture without some other function. In your example, we probably don't have good studies to reflect how long humans can hold urine in until "something" happens. We do have good studies on trauma patients, and I think that would be where the rupturing would be.

[–] over_clox@lemmy.world 14 points 15 hours ago* (last edited 15 hours ago)

Disclaimer: Not a medical scientist.

With that said, your question would probably hold more water (pun intended), if you had asked regarding a urinary tract infection or similar infection forcefully blocking the urethra, making it almost impossible to piss even if you wanted or needed to.

I won't go into the fine details, but early 2009 was definitely not fun for me after a multi-systemic infection that started as a dental abscess.

No, luckily nothing down south ruptured, but its never good when someone is pissing brown, I couldn't hardly even piss for a few days after I started antibiotics.

[–] notsosure@sh.itjust.works 1 points 8 hours ago

You’ve obviously never been to church.

[–] Xande@discuss.tchncs.de 6 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

I think at some point you piss yourself.

[–] gibmiser@lemmy.world 5 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

The question is, how much blood will there be

[–] Xande@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 9 hours ago

I went to a fair bunch of Biker Parties back in my MC days. At least one guy blacked out drunk and pissed himself after binge drinking... and in southern Germany we start with 0.5l bottles of beer.

All piss, no blood.

[–] DarkCloud@lemmy.world 6 points 15 hours ago (2 children)

I think this has happened in a few radio competitions....

Put your hand on the car the longest and you win the car, that sort of thing. I think if you're really holding on it's your bladder that splits first.

[–] ephrin@sh.itjust.works 8 points 14 hours ago* (last edited 14 hours ago)

There was one I remember we called something like “Wee for a Wii” where a woman died of a ruptured bladder.

[edit] never mind she died of water intoxication. [/edit]

[–] FerretyFever0@fedia.io 1 points 13 hours ago

Come on. Just piss yourself. Or bring a bottle. That's probably more respectable.

[–] Chocrates@lemmy.world 5 points 15 hours ago

Try it and report back