What Really Happens When You Hold Your Poop In For Too Long?

As much as you may hate to admit it, managing to pass a good bowel movement is one of the best feelings in the world. Unfortunately, the urge to poop can strike at the oddest of times – just when you’re getting late for work, or even worse, in the middle of your first date with the hottie you’ve had a crush on, since forever.
Of course, in times like these, we do what any sensible person would do – hold it in till we can squeeze in some throne-time later. Unfortunately, by doing this, we may actually be doing way more harm than good.

Here’s why holding that poop in for a long time is an extremely bad idea!

  What Happens When You Hold It In:

“Poop is your body’s natural way to get rid of wastes & toxins, ignoring the urge to poop can carry dire consequences if done frequently”

Poop is a mixture of water, food, other waste materials and a bit of bacteria to top it all. It is one of nature’s ways to get rid of the wastes and toxins that your body doesn’t quite need. While the whole process of digestion can be slightly complex to understand; towards the end of the process, food byproducts reach the large intestine, stretching the walls of the rectum and sending signals to the brain that it’s time for a bathroom run.

While it’s best if you just listen to these signals and go when you gotta go, ignoring the urge and holding it in pushes the poop back to the colon, where more water keeps getting absorbed till it’s ready to be let out again.


 What Happens When You Do This Too Often:

“Chronic constipation, bleeding and hemorrhoids are some of the most common problems associated with delaying bowel movements on a regular basis”
When excess water gets absorbed, shit gets hard (pun intended). This basically means that the next time you get to pooping; things are probably not going to go as smoothly as you’d like them to. One rare occasion could be fine, but doing this repeatedly would lead to chronic constipation. Other than being way too uncomfortable, this is usually accompanied with bleeding and hemorrhoids or cracks in the rectal tissue.

Ignoring nature’s call could also lead to instances of impacted bowels and colon damage, making pooping an extremely painful experience for you. Impacted bowels can also cause vomiting; left untreated, this may even require a surgical intervention.

 Our Take:

For obvious reasons, there are times when it may be impossible or impractical to run to the restroom as soon as you feel the urge to go, but stifling holding your poop in once in a while is not going to cause any long-term damage. However, it’s safe to say that we won’t be fighting the urge as frequently as we normally do; after all, pooping should deliver an instant rush of ease and relief, not intense pain and tears!