Are you one of those people who always uses the bathroom "just in case"?
Meaning you're not sure how long it will be till you have access to another one, so you try to be prepared?
Well, you might want to think twice about doing so.
At least according to Dr. Alicia Jeffrey-Thomas, a Boston based pelvic physical therapist.
Dr. Jeffrey-Thomas, recently shared the dangers of peeing "just in case" in a video on her TikTok page, @thepelvicdancefloor, which has gone on to receive over five million views.
Dr. Jeffrey-Thomas began the one minute video by directly responding to fellow TikToker @sidneyraz, who told viewers to "always go to the bathroom when you have a chance."
To which Dr. Jeffrey-Thomas simply said, "nope, don't do that."
Dr. Jeffrey-Thomas explained she works with people with all sorts of different bladder conditions, before going into further detail of the dangers of urinating "just in case."
The video then cut to a balloon-like drawing, which Dr. Jeffrey-Thomas used to explain one's bladder has 'three levels of sensation of filling".
"This first one is just an awareness level, that tells you that there's some urine in the bladder."
"The second one is actually the one that tells you to make a plan to use the toilet."
"The third one is kind of the panic button that tells you get me there right now I'm about to overflow."
Dr. Jeffrey-Thomas then explained if someone excessively uses the bathroom before hitting the second level, they might end up inadvertently lowering that second level, resulting in getting the need to use the toilet much sooner than before.
She then went on to say as this continues, the feeling of the third level, that your bladder is about to overflow, might happen much sooner too.
There were, however, three exceptions to this rule.
"Going to be in the car for longer than an hour, once before bed, or once before or after sex."
Dr. Jeffrey-Thomas went on to tell The Daily Dot "just in case" peeing is one of the most common problems she sees with her patients.
"It’s an easy adaptation to turn to if you have urinary urgency or leakage, but unfortunately it only serves to worsen the problem over time."
“A lot of it comes from when we were potty trained as kids and then we just kept the habit."
"And also from restrictive school and work environments that don’t allow people to listen to their bodies’ signals and plan accordingly."
She went on to say the normal amount of daily visits to the bathroom is every 2-4 hours during the day, and waking up once to do so at night.
The exception being if you're pregnant or over 65-years-old.
Dr. Jeffrey-Thomas' video was met with a wide array of reactions.
Several TikTokers took it as an opportunity to share they too are guilty of urinating "just in case", with some unsure if they'll be able to correct this.
@thepelvicdancefloor/TikTok
@thepelvicdancefloor/TikTok
@thepelvicdancefloor/TikTok
@thepelvicdancefloor/TikTok
@thepelvicdancefloor/TikTok
Others took the time to thank Dr. Jeffrey-Thomas for this new-found information, as well as for her many other videos on bladder health and safety.
@thepelvicdancefloor/TikTok
@thepelvicdancefloor/TikTok
@thepelvicdancefloor/TikTok
@thepelvicdancefloor/TikTok
Included among those thanking Dr. Jeffrey-Thomas was the fellow TikToker whom Dr. Jeffrey-Thomas corrected at the beginning of the video @sidneyraz.
@thepelvicdancefloor/TikTok
Changing the bathroom habits of at least one TikTok follower seems like a job well done.
@kileywrestling/Bluesky
