Why peeing in the shower is bad for you, according to a doctor

Peeing in places that are not a toilet or urinal is a more common practice than one would ever think and among the places people love to do “number one” is the shower. However, peeing in the shower is not as harmless as you may think.

And some TikTok-savvy doctors have created a number of viral short videos explaining why.

TikTok user, @scrambledjam (Dr Alicia Jeffrey-Thomas) replied to a question by another user about the psychological and physical concerns of “going number one” in the shower.

According to Dr Jeffrey-Thomas, doing things like peeing in the shower and running water while peeing causes your brain to associate the two acts over time. This may eventually result in you feeling the need to urinate every time you hear water or start a shower.

It may also lead to what the pelvic-floor physiotherapist calls pelvic floor dysfunction, which could lead to some bladder leak issues when you hear running water. 

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Jeffrey-Thomas further explained that people born with uteruses are meant to pee while sitting down. This is because their pelvic floors do not fully relax the way they’re supposed to when they are peeing in the shower as they often do so while standing. 

Click here to watch the Tik Tok video.

“So try to pee before you even turn on the shower and if you feel the urge to pee while in the shower, try to ignore it,” she concluded.

According to a report by IOL, there have been some people advocating for the supposed health benefits associated with peeing in the shower. 

Some people even go as far as consuming their own urine or applying it to their skin like a toner, based on a belief in the benefits of urea and they have dubbed the practice “urine therapy”.

There has been no conclusive scientific evidence to prove the benefits of such a practice and medical professionals advise against peeing in the shower and consuming urine, or applying it to the skin.