Have you ever been in a situation where you felt like you needed to pee but could not use a restroom? A lot of times, especially in public, during an office meeting or an interview, we come across such circumstances, while sometimes we hold pee to not embarrass ourselves socially, or just because of the lack of facilities. Doing that often may not be good for our health.

How much pee can a person hold?

The urinary bladder is a hollow, pear-shaped organ that forms part of the urinary system. The bladder's role while is to store urine, it also releases once the limit is crossed, which is around one pint or two cups of liquid. However, under certain circumstances, it can stretch to hold more than this.

We start to fee the urge to urinate when it is filled halfway.

What can happen if you hold your pee long too often?

When you hold your pee too often, your bladder stretches and the muscle weakens. As time pass by, it can become difficult for your bladder to empty it completely. This can lead to urinary retention, and being unable to fully emptying your bladder.

Discomfort Due To Holding Pee

Pain

Ignoring the urge to pee regularly can lead to pain or discomfort in the bladder or kidneys. When you eventually make it to the bathroom, urinating might feel painful.

Additionally, the muscles involved in holding urine may remain partially tense even after you’ve emptied your bladder, potentially causing pelvic cramps.

Urinary Tract Infection

One of the most common discomforts caused by holding in pee for too long is Urinary tract infection. It can cause bacteria to multiply.

As per the Urology Care Foundation, people should avoid holding in pee for extended periods, as it increases the risk of UTIs. Dehydration, poor personal hygiene, and certain medications can also increase the risk of developing a UTI.

Common symptoms of a UTI include:

• A burning or stinging sensation during urination
• Pain in the pelvis or lower abdomen
• A persistent urge to urinate
• Strong or foul-smelling urine
• Cloudy or discolored urine
• Consistently dark urine
• Blood in the urine

Bladder Stretching

As mentioned before, in long run, regularly holding in pee could cause the bladder to stretch and make it difficult or sometimes, impossible for the bladder to contract and release pee.

If someone has a stretched bladder, sometimes, extra measures like a catheter could also be necessary.

Damage to Pelvic Floor Muscles

Regularly holding in urine can strain and potentially damage the pelvic floor muscles.

One key muscle, the urethral sphincter, helps keep the urethra closed to prevent leaks. Damage to this muscle may lead to urinary incontinence. Performing pelvic floor exercises, like Kegels, can help strengthen these muscles, repair damage, and reduce the risk of leakage.

Kidney Stones

For individuals prone to kidney stones or those with high mineral levels in their urine, holding in pee may contribute to stone formation. Urine naturally contains minerals like uric acid and calcium oxalate, which can crystallize and form stones over time.

The World Health Organization’s November 2024 report revealed that chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) remains the fourth leading cause of death worldwide. The condition was responsible for an estimated 3.5 million deaths in 2021 according to the latest available global data. COPD is a common and serious lung disease, and the WHO noted that smoking, indoor and outdoor pollution, and harmful inhalants are among its most significant triggers.

Children, too, are increasingly at risk due to high pollution levels, secondhand smoke and early-life respiratory infections. With winter pollution worsening across many Indian cities, especially Delhi NCR, experts say this is the right moment to revisit how COPD can be prevented through everyday habits and early interventions.

What COPD Really Is

COPD is identified as a chronic lung disorder that results in persistent breathlessness, chronic cough and long-term mucus production. According to the pulmonologist, the disease is a major global health burden linked to high levels of mortality and long-term disability across populations.

The condition develops slowly and often goes unnoticed in its early stages. Over time, narrowed airways and irreversible lung damage make breathing progressively more difficult. The pulmonologist explained that the air people breathe plays a crucial role in determining long-term lung health, especially for those living in severely polluted areas.

Why COPD Happens

COPD is primarily caused by the inhalation of harmful particles and gases. These include cigarette smoke, secondhand smoke, indoor pollution from biomass fuel, outdoor smog, chemicals, dust and repeated lung infections. The pulmonologist added that a small percentage of COPD cases are due to a rare genetic condition known as alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency. In such cases, checking family history becomes important for early detection.

Preventing COPD: What Experts Recommend

Preventing COPD requires a comprehensive and consistent lifestyle strategy. While quitting smoking remains the single most effective step for protecting the lungs, the pulmonologist stressed that prevention goes far beyond just avoiding cigarettes. Clean air, healthy food, ideal body weight and regular vaccinations all play a key role.

The pulmonologist shared nine essential tips that can help significantly reduce the risk of COPD, particularly for people living in high-pollution regions such as Delhi NCR.

9 Essential Tips to Prevent COPD

• Avoid smoking completely and seek medical support to quit if necessary.
• Avoid secondhand smoke and maintain distance from people who smoke.
• Reduce indoor pollution by switching from biomass fuels to LPG, keeping windows open for ventilation and using air purifiers when required.
• Limit exposure to outdoor pollution. Wear a mask during high pollution days and stay indoors when air quality is poor. Consider shifting residence or workplace if the area remains persistently polluted.
• Use proper protective gear, including masks, if your profession involves dust, chemicals or industrial fumes.
• Avoid exposure to strong or irritating smells that can trigger respiratory issues.
• Maintain healthy lifestyle practices such as regular exercise and a balanced diet.
• Keep body weight within a healthy BMI range because excess weight worsens breathing and being underweight can increase vulnerability to more severe COPD.
• Ask a doctor about preventive vaccinations such as influenza and pneumococcal shots when appropriate.

A new meta-analysis published in the journal Stroke reports that GLP-1 receptor agonists such as semaglutide may help reduce the risk of ischemic stroke in patients who do not have diabetes. The findings come from a review of preclinical studies and highlight the growing interest in how these widely used drugs may offer benefits beyond blood sugar control.

What GLP-1 Drugs Are and How They Work

GLP-1 receptor agonists are a class of medications that mimic a natural hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1. This hormone helps regulate appetite, insulin release and blood sugar levels. Drugs in this category include semaglutide, liraglutide, exenatide, lixisenatide and dulaglutide. Semaglutide is sold under the brand names Wegovy and Ozempic.

These medicines were originally developed for people with type 2 diabetes. Over time, scientists observed additional effects such as reduced appetite, improved metabolic markers and modest cardiovascular protection. This led to their approval for weight management in people without diabetes. Today, GLP-1 drugs are among the most prescribed medications for obesity and are being studied for heart failure, kidney disease and other conditions. However, their potential benefits in non-diabetic patients at risk of stroke remain largely unexplored.

What the New Review Examined

Researchers from Aarhus University in Denmark conducted the meta-analysis to understand whether GLP-1 drugs could reduce the severity or likelihood of acute ischemic stroke in people who do not have diabetes. The team examined 31 preclinical trials conducted between 2011 and 2024. All studies were carried out in rodent models.

The included drugs were given either orally or through subcutaneous injections. The researchers compared animals receiving GLP-1 drugs with those given a placebo. They reviewed outcomes such as infarct volume, neurological recovery and markers of cell injury.

Findings Show Promising Neuroprotective Effects

Across the studies, animals treated with GLP-1 drugs showed significantly smaller infarct volumes than those given a placebo. They also demonstrated better neurological function after stroke.

Lead author Michael K. Michaelsen from the department of clinical medicine at Aarhus University wrote that the mechanisms behind these benefits are not yet clear. He noted that the effects appear to extend beyond blood sugar regulation. According to the paper, GLP-1 drugs may act on multiple pathways involved in stroke injury including inflammation, oxidative stress and cell death. The authors observed reductions in oxidative stress markers, inflammatory mediators and indicators of cell death in several trials. However, they cautioned that these findings do not prove causality.

Human Impact Still Unknown

Since all the analyzed studies were in animals, experts say it is too early to conclude whether GLP-1 receptor agonists could improve stroke outcomes in non-diabetic patients. Clinical trials will be needed to confirm whether the neuroprotective effects translate to humans.

The authors noted that if future research shows that these drugs do not affect platelet function or clotting during the acute phase of stroke, they could one day be used even before patients undergo neuroimaging. They wrote that early prehospital administration could potentially offer faster protection during the critical first moments of stroke.

For most people, grief arrives slowly. For survivors of suicide loss, it crashes in without warning and never quite leaves the room. Around the world, millions of people carry this quiet, complicated grief. This one is laced not only with heartbreak, but often with unanswered questions, guilt, shock, and the haunting feeling that maybe something, anything, could have been different.

International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day is more than a remembrance; it is a reminder that those left behind are still learning how to live with an absence that reshaped everything. For Harry Corin, *Amitava Kumar, writer Arianna Rebolini, and *Aastha Ganguli that reshaping began the moment they learned their loved one had chosen to leave the world.

Their stories are different, their cultures and circumstances varied, but their grief echoes the same truth: suicide does not end a life alone. It alters the lives of everyone who loved them.

“I spent a decade hiding the truth”

Harry Corin, who was raised in St Ives, a small town in England was only 12 when his father died by suicide. At an age when children are learning how the world works, Harry was suddenly thrown into a reality too heavy for words.

For more than a decade, through school, university, and his first jobs—he kept the truth locked inside.

It was fear that speaking about suicide would make people uncomfortable, fear that it would expose the overwhelming pain he had never processed. But the first time he spoke about it openly, something shifted.

He realized how powerful honest conversation could be, and how desperately men needed safer spaces to have them.

Now a mental health speaker and founder of a global workplace wellbeing company, Harry’s life mission is rooted in preventing others from reaching the point his father did. He believes suicide prevention begins long before a crisis, through environments where vulnerability is accepted, emotions are not dismissed, and support is offered without hesitation.

But his journey has also been shaped by the way he experiences the world. Diagnosed with ADHD in his late 20s, he finally had a lens that explained years of inner restlessness. This understanding didn’t erase the pain—but it helped him reclaim a narrative he had once buried.

Also Read: International Day for Survivors of Suicide Loss: History And Its Relevance Today

Losing the heart of his family

In Kolkata, many families live close, emotionally, financially, historically. This was true for *Amitava Kumar, whose beloved uncle, affectionately called 'Choto Kaka', was the youngest of seven brothers.

Amitava remembers him as charming, generous, and deeply loved by nieces and nephews. He had a thriving business and carried much of the joint family’s financial responsibilities after Amitava’s father moved to Delhi. He handled his grandparents’ medical expenses, supported siblings, and was the emotional anchor of the household.

But behind that warmth was a man whose emotional vulnerability was often exploited by friends. His generosity made him an easy target for those who took advantage of his kindness and financial success.

At home, tensions began to grow. Arguments escalated. Pressure mounted. He began drifting away from the family that adored him.

Then came the debts: quiet, creeping, and devastating.

“One day,” Amitava says, “we were dumbstruck to hear that our beloved Choto Kaka had taken his life.”

It was February 1995 when Amitava was 28, and it was the last he saw him—just a few months before his own wedding, which was to be held in May in the same year. His uncle had blessed the photo of his bride and promised to meet her soon.

The family marked his memory with a stone inscription at Brahma Mandir in Pushkar, a way of leaving his soul at the feet of the divine. Yet the void he left remains unfillable.

“Grief becomes complicated when distance exists”

For New York-based writer Arianna Rebolini, grief came from a different angle, not in the heart of a close-knit family, but through a friendship that had drifted apart.

At 28, she learned that her once-inseparable college friend, Alice, had died by suicide. It was a loss wrapped in guilt. They had bonded deeply in their youth, often over their shared struggles with mental health. But adulthood had separated them—new cities, new routines, and the quiet fading that happens between even the closest friends.

“There’s a shame in realizing you weren’t there,” she says. “I wasn’t in a position to know that she needed help.”

Arianna carried the dual weight of grief and self-blame. She dreamt about Alice for years. She combed through old messages. She found a Facebook text from Alice, sent two months before her death, that she had never responded to.

“It still hurts,” she admits.

To heal, Arianna confronted the details of Alice’s final months, refusing to shy away from them, a path many survivors fear but some desperately need. As she immersed herself in Alice’s poetry and art, she found connection, closure, and eventually clarity.

Through years of writing and research, her understanding of suicide transformed. She even wrote a gutsy, riveting memoir that explores suicides, named Better: A Memory About Wanting to Die.

“When Love Is Lost Too Soon”

One of Aastha’s fondest memories is how Gauri taught her to see the world differently. “She always had another perspective,” she recalls. “I was taught to look at things one way, but she showed me there were multiple ways to understand the same moment.” Gauri listened deeply, helped people find clarity, and reminded those around her that judgment should never be the first instinct, a lesson Aastha carries with her even now.

But healing, she says, has been “up and down, not linear at all.” Three years on, the grief still lives in her bones. Music helps. Talking about Gauri helps. Sharing her story keeps her close. What hurts most is when people assume there should be a deadline for mourning. “People told me, ‘It’s been two or three years, you should move on.’ But I never will. She’ll always be a part of me.”

Aastha has also seen how people oversimplify suicide. “They think there’s one reason someone does it. But it’s never one thing, it’s a culmination of small things.” What pains her deeply is when people say someone “wasn’t strong enough.” To her, it reduces a full, complex human being to their final moment. “She was so much more than what happened in the end. It’s not about strength or weakness.”

Like many survivors, she carried guilt, wondering whether she could have done more or helped in a different way. With time, she learned that loving someone doesn’t mean you can always save them. That understanding has shaped how she supports others now. She no longer pushes people to open up; she waits, gives space, and allows them to come to her. “Helping someone isn’t one-size-fits-all. Some people need words. Some need silence. Some just need presence.”

She hopes communities learn to stop minimizing struggles and stop forcing their own solutions onto someone else’s pain. “If a person says they’re struggling, don’t judge them through your lens. Find what they need, not what you needed.”

To anyone grieving a suicide loss, her message is gentle but firm: “Don’t be afraid to say how they died. When we hide it, we create shame, and that silence can hurt others who might be feeling the same way.” Above all, she urges kindness, especially toward those who might be reaching out in unclear or complicated ways. “Even if someone says it for attention, it’s better to talk to them than dismiss them.”

Gauri had always been an advocate for mental and emotional wellbeing, and she taught Aastha how to find peace within herself. Today, Aastha tries to carry that forward. “The only thing that has changed,” she says softly, “is that now I want to spread the same message she gave me, so others can find their safe space too.”

The Invisible Weight Survivors Carry

The stories of Harry, Amitava, Arianna, Aastha reveal what most people don’t see:

Survivors of suicide loss often live with:

• guilt, even when it’s undeserved
• unanswered questions that never resolve
• shame imposed by societal silence
• the ache of unfinished conversations
• anger, confusion, love, and longing, all at once

Their grief is not linear. It’s a spiral. Some days are survivable. Others reopen wounds that never fully healed.

Note: Names have been changed to protect identities.

Note: Information about Harry Corin has been taken from his publicly available website, harrycorin.in, and is used with consent.