Shola walked gracefully unto the podium smiling from ear to ear. ‘The day had finally come’ she thought happily. She had prepared for this day since the first day she walked into the lecture hall of Creative Writing 101 in order to achieve her dreams of a professional writer, and here she was standing and about to speak to hundreds of prospective students who were about to swim through the tide of rigorous lectures.
“Good morning everyone, it is a pleasure for me to introduce Shola Olaide…” Shola watched enthusiastically as the moderator read out her achievements to the eager audience. As she reminisced about these thoughts, suddenly, she felt the urge to urinate. ‘Not on the biggest day of my life,’ she thought as rushed off the podium to the nearest restroom. She had just relieved herself a short while ago. She needed to see a doctor as soon as possible. Why couldn’t she hold her urine for much longer?
The Bladder is an essential part of our urinary system, it is a pear-shaped organ (when not filled with urine) and balloon-shaped (when filled with urine). It functions as a reservoir of urine and its capacity is about 600 mls but the individual starts to experience the fullness of the bladder when the amount of urine in it is between 300mls – 400 mls.
It is important that we take adequate care of our bladder in order to protect it from infection and strengthen the muscles of the bladder to prevent urinary frequency.
WAYS TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR BLADDER
- Ensure adequate fluid intake so as to prevent infection and flush out bacteria.
- Clean the perineum from front to back after using the toilet to prevent infections.
- Be relaxed and take time to empty the bladder when urinating.
- Engage in pelvic exercises i.e Kegel exercise to strengthen the pelvic muscles
- Wear cotton underwear to keep the area around the urethra dry.
- Eat more fruits and vegetables as it helps to build up immunity
- Avoid smoking, caffeine, and alcohol
Apart from learning how to care for your bladder, it is also important to recognize signs of bladder infections in order to seek adequate treatment from a qualified medical practitioner.
SIGNS OF BLADDER INFECTION.
- Painful urination.
- Frequent urinating at night
- Low back pain
- Frequent and urgent urination.
