At the wheel, all precautions are few. To drive safely it is necessary to comply with traffic regulations and avoid distractions, even for a few seconds, since a lack of concentration can cause an accident. In 2022, on Spanish roads, there were 1,042 fatal accidents in which 1,145 people died and another 4,008 were seriously injured, figures that should serve to raise awareness among motorists about the importance of driving prudently.
Any prevention that we take before taking the car is important, no matter how insignificant it may seem. The simple action of urinating before getting behind the wheel will allow us to drive more relaxed and reduce the anxiety caused by traveling with a full bladder. And not only that, but also staying focused on the road.
This gesture, however, goes far beyond the convenience of not having to pay attention to making a stop on the way to go to the toilet. It can avoid complications in the urinary system, since in the event of an accident, the risk of the bladder bursting is much greater if it is full of urine. This is confirmed by urologist Antoni Sánchez i Puy, member number 53799, of the private Urology service Uros Associats, in conversation with Moveo.
To put ourselves in a situation, the specialist explains the importance of the bladder within the urinary system and the process of storing and emptying urine.
“The urinary bladder is a bag-shaped organ formed by a muscular layer and an internal mucosal layer that is located inside the pelvis. Its function is to store the urine that comes from the kidneys through the ureters”, explains Dr. Sánchez i Puy.
“Once the bladder is full, a signal is triggered that is perceived as the desire or need to urinate. This signal can be controlled until an opportune situation is found to evacuate the liquid. To urinate, the sphincter relaxes and the bladder muscle contracts, thus producing the expulsion of urine out of the bladder and urination,” adds the urologist.
When the bladder suffers trauma, the organ is at risk of perforation. It is a situation that doctors find occurs especially in traffic accidents. “The bladder can be punctured by a bone splinter when there is an associated pelvic fracture or burst from abdominal impact.” Dr. Sánchez i Puy stresses that both situations are more likely to occur if the bladder is full, since when it swells “it is closer to neighboring structures and has less deformation capacity to absorb the transmitted energy.”
Therefore, the urologist advises drivers to urinate before getting behind the wheel. “Urinating before getting into the car puts us at a lower risk of suffering these injuries”, which is why he is surprised that “there are no firm recommendations from institutions and organizations that indicate so”.
The consequences of a bladder trauma depend on several aspects. The Uros Associats specialist admits that mild trauma without rupturing the bladder can cause bleeding with urine and pain, which usually subsides spontaneously.
However, the injury is much more serious when the bladder is punctured. “Urine leakage can create collections around the bladder that cause pain, difficulty urinating, or infection. If the urine enters the peritoneal cavity it can also cause peritonitis, abdominal distension or paralytic ili (intestine stoppage), among others”.
Doctor Sánchez i Puy explains that a small perforation is treated with a probe. It is placed through the urethra so that it collects all the urine and the wall heals, closing the hole. If the perforation is large and generates significant urine leakage, surgery is necessary to sew the hole in the wall. “If the lesion affects structures such as the mouth of the ureters or the outlet of the bladder, we can have obstructive problems with urine drainage or urinary incontinence problems”, points out the urologist from Uros Associats.
Up to now, no bladder transplants have been performed due to the complexity of the vascularization of this organ and of the pelvis. “But in some cases -explains the doctor- there is the possibility of performing an enterocystoplasty, which consists of expanding the bladder using a fragment of the gut to increase its capacity”.
So, the next time we get in the car we should follow the recommendations of Dr. Sánchez i Puy and go to the toilet first. Apart from being more focused on driving, we will avoid putting an organ as important as the bladder at risk in the event of an accident.
