There's hardly anything more annoying than holding on to pee on a bus that isn't going to stop anytime soon. If you still have time to prepare for your next bus trip, you can do a lot to lessen the inconvenience. Like drinking less water before leaving and teaching yourself to control the muscles that hold urine. But if you're already sitting on the bus and don't have time to learn new tricks, try to stretch your legs, sit as still as possible and read something entertaining to distract yourself. As a last resort, when you can't hold it in any longer, there are several options you can try to quietly relieve your bladder.
Step
Part 1 of 3: Getting Ready to Go
Step 1. Don't drink too much before you get on the bus
Staying hydrated is important for your health, but if you're going on the bus for a long time, it's best not to drink water or other fluids right before you leave. If you can't stand thirst, bring a water bottle and moisten your mouth with small sips along the way, instead of gulping it all down at once.
- Say no to oversized coffee or soda before you get on the bus! Caffeine is a diuretic and will cause you to urinate more often than usual. If you must drink your morning coffee, try to drink it before it's time to get on the bus, so there's still time for the caffeine to pass through your system.
- Worse than caffeine is alcohol, a substance that triggers your body to produce more urine than the same amount of water would produce. Avoid consuming alcohol of any kind while riding the bus.
Step 2. Find out if the bus has a bathroom
These days, most buses that will be traveling for more than a few hours have a bathroom. You can call and ask the bus agent you are going to use in advance to make sure. The problem is that the bus bathrooms are often not very clean, and in the worst case very dirty, because the bus bathrooms are not always cleaned for each new trip. Also on a full bus there is often a queue to use the bathroom. Therefore, the best approach is to leave with tips and tricks you can use to hold your pee in as long as possible and imagine the bus bathroom as a backup plan that you can use if you really have to go.
Step 3. Find out if the bus will stop at several rest stops
On very long bus trips, there are usually one or two stops to rest. Even though the bus doesn't have a usable bathroom, you eventually find a place to relieve your bladder. Again, calling ahead to check on the situation will help you be mentally prepared. If you know when your next stop is, it will be easier to distract yourself during the allotted time. If you don't know when you'll get a chance to pee, holding in your pee can feel like endless torture.
Step 4. Go to the toilet while you still have the chance
Remember when your parents told you to pee before you went out, even though you didn't want to? This is especially important when you are going on a long bus journey with few or no stops before reaching your destination. And especially if there are no bathrooms on the bus. Take your last chance to use the bathroom at home so that your bus trip will be as hassle-free as possible.
Step 5. Strengthen your pelvic floor muscles
For both men and women, the amount of urine excreted from the bladder is controlled by the pelvic floor muscles. The knack maneuver is an exercise designed to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles so that you have more control over when you urinate. If you're on the bus and you really need to pee, performing the knack maneuver can send a message to your brain telling your brain that now isn't the time to pee, and that the urge to urinate has become less intense. Try doing this before your trip:
- Find your pelvic floor muscles. These muscles are the muscles that tighten when you hold your pee, or when you stop in the middle of a pee.
- Tense those muscles, then cough at the same time. Keep the muscle tense until you're done coughing, then release.
- Repeat 10 to 15 times each day towards your departure time by bus.
Step 6. Consider wearing a pad or adult diaper just in case
If you're about to have a long journey ahead and have predicted that you'll have a hard time holding back the urge to urinate, there's no shame in protecting yourself in an emergency! Go to a drugstore and buy some protective equipment supplies so you don't run into a disaster. Just make sure you put on the adult diaper before getting on the bus.
- Adult diaper products are designed to help people with urinary incontinence, but they are also commonly used by people with various needs. Like a bride with a wedding dress that is too fluffy so it is difficult to take it off to go to the restroom.
- You can buy small protective pads that are similar to sanitary napkins or wider, full-coverage diapers, depending on what you think you'll need.
Part 2 of 3: Overcoming the Need to Urinate When You're Already on the Bus
Step 1. Sit with your legs extended
If you're standing and you feel the urge to pee, crossing your legs can help hold it in. But when you sit down, it's better to straighten your legs. Pressing your thighs up toward your stomach puts pressure on your bladder, which will make the urge to pee even greater. Keep your feet flat on the floor and place your feet in a comfortable position.
Avoid bending forward for the same reason. Lean your chair back if you can. Try to keep your torso straight and prevent yourself from slouching
Step 2. Loosen tight clothing
If you wear pants or skirts with a tight belt, your clothes can exacerbate the problem by putting pressure on the bladder. Make yourself as comfortable as possible by loosening tight clothing.
-
If you are using a belt, remove the buckle. Unbutton or zip your pants or skirt.
Control Your Bladder on a Bus Step 8Bullet1 -
To hide the fact that your clothes are unbuttoned, pull down your shirt or place a sweater or other object on your lap.
Control Your Bladder on a Bus Step 8Bullet2
Step 3. Try not to move too much
Squirming to and fro will push on your bladder and produce a more severe urge to pee. You may feel like stomping your feet or shifting from side to side, but these will only make things worse. Try to be in a comfortable position and stay that way.
Step 4. Read or watch something to distract yourself
This is one of the best ways to deal with the urge to pee on the bus. If there's absolutely no place to pee for the next hour or two, make the most of the situation by trying to forget about your physical discomfort. Grab some reading material or turn on a video that's interesting enough to keep your mind off the urge to clear your bladder.
Step 5. Avoid coughing or laughing
Both of these can make the pelvic floor muscles a bit wobbly, making the urge to pee worse. You may not be able to do much if you have a bout of coughing, but you can make sure the book or video you choose isn't so funny that it makes you laugh so hard you pee in your pants.
Step 6. Don't think about running water
Having an irresistible urge to pee is partly psychological. Then thinking about white water rafting and geyser blasts will actually make you feel worse! Let your mind imagine definite deserts (without mirages) and other dry things. If you have a nosy friend who thinks singing "Bengawan Solo" is funny when you're trying to hold back your pee, tell him that the teasing won't be funny anymore if you pee on the chair right next to him.
Step 7. Know that holding your pee for a long time will not hurt your bladder
There's no way your bladder will explode just because you've been holding in your pee for a long time, so put your mind at ease. When you get to the point where your body can't take it anymore, your bladder will just stop holding it in. Hopefully by the time it happens, you'll be at your rest stop! If you're worried that the time has come and you're still sitting on the bus, squeezed between other passengers and the bus window, read more on this article.
Part 3 of 3: Knowing What To Do When You Can't Hold It Any Longer
Step 1. Talk to the bus driver
Find out if it's possible for the driver to stop the bus at the nearest stop so you can use the bathroom (other passengers will probably take advantage of this as well). However, be careful not to disturb the bus driver. It is important that you don't turn up the volume or do anything that could result in a dangerous situation.
- There's a good chance the driver will say no, and you'll just have to wait. If the bus is a charter bus with a schedule, chances are the driver won't want to stop. Still, it's worth trying.
- If the driver says no, ask when the bus will stop again, so you can at least sit back and know when you can pee.
Step 2. Find out if you can pee discreetly into a container
When the time comes, the urine will come out so find something to catch it. Cover your lap with a jacket or other object and pee into a container or similar. Choose a container with a lid so you can keep other items as clean as possible and close it when you're done.
- If the person next to you is a friend, have him or her stay in front of you while you use the window seat to pee quietly into the container.
- Wait for the moment when the bus drives over smooth highways and not through urban streets and through potholes.
Step 3. Avoid peeing in your pants
Of course, you wouldn't be reading this article if you thought peeing your pants was a viable option. However, it is worth remembering that urinating in the seat of a bus is unhealthy and disrespectful behavior towards other passengers. If you can't avoid it anymore, and you don't have enough containers to use, hold your pee as hard as you can until the bus finally stops.
Step 4. If you end up peeing in your pants, try to stay calm
If you panic, you will draw attention to the wet pants and embarrass you even more. Just stay where you are sitting until the bus stops and wait for the other passengers to leave, then tell the driver that you had an accident. If someone else on the bus notices that you're peeing your pants, don't worry! You may never see those people again.
Tips
- Plan ahead before taking any bus trips longer than three hours.
- Peeing in a container or diaper has drawbacks, including the fact that the diaper can be seen through your clothes (so choose what you wear wisely), other people may see you put the bottle in your pants, your urine can smell bad., leaks, and you may excrete more urine than the container can hold, so this method is not recommended.
