Many people have, at one time or another, ignored the urge to urinate during long meetings, while travelling, standing in queues, or when toilet facilities are unavailable.

While occasional delays may not pose serious health risks, medical experts warn that frequently holding urine for prolonged periods can affect the urinary system and lead to health complications.

The urinary system comprises the kidneys, ureters, bladder and urethra. Its primary function is to filter waste products and excess fluids from the blood and remove them from the body through urination.

Experts say most adults can safely hold urine for about three to five hours, although it is advisable to empty the bladder once the urge arises.

Urine is produced by the kidneys as they filter waste and excess water from the bloodstream before it is temporarily stored in the bladder.

What happens when you hold urine?

The bladder is a stretchable muscular organ that expands as it fills with urine. As the bladder fills, nerve signals are sent to the brain, creating the urge to urinate. The bladder then stores the urine until a person is ready to use the toilet.

However, experts say repeatedly ignoring this urge can place stress on the urinary system and create conditions that encourage bacterial growth, increasing the risk of urinary tract infections (UTIs).

Speaking with PT HEALTH WATCH, Sekeenah Odunaye-Badmus, a consultant family physician, said habitual urine retention could weaken the bladder muscles over time and affect normal urinary function.

“Habitual holding of urine over a long period of time can weaken the muscles of the bladder, which can lead to incontinence,” she said.

She explained that prolonged urine retention could also result in sediment build-up in the bladder, increasing the risk of kidney stone formation.

“This can also lead to sedimentation of urine, which can, over time, lead to the formation of kidney stones,” she added.

Ms Odunaye-Badmus further explained that the bladder is connected to the ureters and kidneys, noting that excessive urine retention may sometimes cause a backflow of urine to the upper urinary tract when the bladder becomes overly full.

According to her, repeatedly ignoring the urge to urinate may also reduce the bladder’s sensitivity to fullness signals, making it harder for some individuals to recognise when they need to use the toilet.

Common symptoms

Health experts say some symptoms may indicate complications arising from poor bladder habits.

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These include pain or a burning sensation during urination, lower abdominal or pelvic pain, frequent feelings of incomplete bladder emptying, sudden and intense urges to urinate, and involuntary urine leakage, also known as incontinence.

Ms Odunaye-Badmus therefore advised people not to make a habit of delaying urination, urging them to use the restroom whenever they feel the urge.

According to her, consistently waiting until urination becomes painful may increase the risk of complications affecting the bladder and urinary tract.

Nigerian billionaire businessman Femi Otedola has disclosed that he sold his stake in Geregu Power Plc to invest in the planned public offering of the Dangote refinery project owned by Aliko Dangote.

Mr Otedola made the disclosure while speaking to journalists during a visit to the Dangote Refinery on Wednesday.

While praising Mr Dangote’s industrial projects, he described the businessman as “a colossus” and “one of the greatest men that has come out of Africa.”

“That’s one of the reasons why I sold my stake in the Geregu plant to come and invest my proceeds in the IPO of Dangote Refinery,” Mr Otedola said.

The businessman said he had repeatedly appealed to Mr Dangote to allocate shares to him in the refinery’s private placement.

“On a personal note, I have appealed to him. I have been here with him 25 times,” he said, adding that as part of his compensation, Mr Dangote should allocate him shares worth $100 million during the private placement phase.

Mr Otedola described the Dangote refinery project as a transformational investment capable of freeing Nigeria and Africa from economic dependence.

“I wish Aliko Dangote is a colossus, a genius, probably one of the greatest men that has come out of Africa for delivering us out of economic slavery in Nigeria and by extension Africa,” he said.

Last December, Mr Otedola offloaded his interest in Geregu Power Plc, the electricity generation company he took public in October 2022 at a market value of N250 billion, which was valued at the time to be in the neighbourhood of N2.9 trillion.

The deal was valued at $750 million, a source with knowledge of the transaction told PREMIUM TIMES at the time. Until the completion of the share sale, he was the majority owner of the Lagos-quoted firm.

In his remarks on Wednesday, Mr Dangote revealed that preparations were underway for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) of the refinery, which he said could be launched by September.

According to him, investor demand for the offering has already reached “billions of dollars.”

“There is quite a lot of demand in terms of people disturbing us, pushing us, saying we want to buy,” he said.

Mr Dangote said the goal was to allow early investors to benefit from the refinery’s future growth in the same way investors benefited from early stakes in global technology firms.

“We want it to be like when you buy Amazon or Apple… everybody has become a millionaire and that is what we want to bring into Africa,” he said.

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The Dangote refinery, located in Lagos, began fuel production last year and is expected to significantly reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported petroleum products.

The facility has been widely described as Africa’s largest refinery and one of the biggest single-train refineries globally.

Mr Otedola’s comments come amid increasing investor interest in large-scale infrastructure and energy assets in Nigeria, especially projects linked to domestic refining and industrialisation.