Summer is here. You may be traveling in your car to go to places, with full safety measures. Sometimes, you have little bit too much coffee and now you are starting to feel you have to go to the bathroom but there is no bathroom for a while. What will you do? This week I will show you acupressure points for pee emergency to buy you some time.
If you have to go to the bathroom and if there is one around, please go of course. I am in no way telling you to hold your pee pee if there is a mean to release it. It’s an excess waste water that body doesn’t need. If you hold it too long, it can lead to Urinary Tract Infection, kidney disease, or even bladder burst and it can kill you.
So use this only in case of emergency until you can get to the first bathroom you see or you must do it on the side of the road. This may be helpful if you are stuck in a long important meeting. Or if you’re traveling in a train and your mind is made up to go to the bathroom at the next station but the train suddenly stops in between the stations for an accident for a long time. This happened to me in Japan few years ago and I thought my bladder was going to explode.
These acupressure points are located on your hand so it’s easy to remember, easy to access and you can do it discreetly. There are two of them, both between the pink and ring finger.
Sit up straight rather than bending over to put pressure on the bladder. Make a fist. The first one is between the pinky and ring finger knuckle in the depression by the web. This is called Triple Heater 2 or TH 2.
The other one is on the other side of the knuckle. You follow the groove between the pinky and ring finger knuckles and there is another depression past the joints. This is called Triple Heater 3 or TH 3. Triple Heater is also called Triple Warmer (TW) or Triple Energizer (TE).
Firmly press these points with your middle finger and index finger. I’m anchoring my thumb on the other side for a good grip. Hold it for one minute or until the urge is gone temporarily as you breathe deeply. You can press your left hand or right hand. Supposedly, this helps to relax the bladder muscles which is a good thing.
Bladder is like a balloon to hold the urine. When you are feeling you have to go to the bathroom, it’s contracting to try to push the urine out. And it’s telling you it’s getting full and I cannot hold more urine. If you can relax the bladder muscles and expand a bit, it can store more urine and this will buy you time as you get to the nearest bathroom.
It’s very important that you practice this at home to see if it works for you. Everyone is different and this may not work for you. Once you practice before you hit the road, at lease you know how it feels and it works and you have this peace of mind for knowing this backup plan in case of the pee emergency. I tried these myself and I think it works for me. Even if it’s placebo effect I’ll take it. I wish I knew this when I was stuck in that train.
Here’s a bonus. When you squeeze your anus, it helps to relax the bladder muscle to expand and hold more urine. So squeeze your bunhole for 5-10 seconds at a time. Repeat until the urge is gone. Again you can do this discreetly. No need to show on your face.
For a reference, I found this Pee Table on Healthline.com.
PEE TABLE
| Age | Average bladder size | Time to fill bladder |
| Infant (0–12 months) | 1–2 ounces | 1 hour |
| Toddler (1–3 years) | 3–5 ounces | 2 hours |
| Child (4–12 years) | 7–14 ounces | 2–4 hours |
| Adult | 16–24 ounces | 8–9 hours (2 ounces per hour) |
So for an infant under the age of 1, the average bladder size is 1-2 ounces and the time to fill the bladder is 1 hour. For a toddler between 1-3 years old, the average bladder size is 3-5 ounces and it takes 2 hours to fill. For a child between 4 and 12 years old, the average bladder size is 7-14 ounces and it takes 2-4 hours to fill. For an adult, I guess in this case, over 12 years of age, the average bladder size is between 16-24 ounces and it takes 8-9 hours to fill or 2 ounces per hour.
If you have frequent urination issues, these exercises may train your bladder to relax and hold more urine. Also, your stress can cause your bladder to get tight and become over-active.
So you need to relax your mind by redirecting your attention to something other than the urge to go. You can do so by singing, chatting, daydreaming, or whatever works for you. And imagine your bladder is relaxing and expanding to hold more urine as you do these acupressure points and squeeze your exit. I guess this is my hand representation of exit.
Oh and another peace of mind, I highly recommend having one of these in your car at all times. This is the Travel John disposable portable toilet. This was very handy when I went car camping.
Massage Monday #509 Acupressure Points for Pee Emergency http://bit.ly/mm-509