In a not-so-distant world, telling a man he peed while sitting down was an insult to his masculinity. But today, even Messi admits he sits down to pee. Experts analyze a subject that has scientific, cultural and gender approaches.
“It’s more comfortable: when you go there at night, you don’t have to wake up completely. And during the day, you can even read! As Larry David explains to his friend Jeff Greene, in a chapter of Calm your enthusiasm , the benefits of urinating while seated. Greene looks puzzled.
“While you fill your shoes with urine, I learn things!”, deepens.
A relaxed Lionel Messi, interviewed with Luis Suárez in the Uruguayan program for the t-shirt, He also “confesses” that he prefers to sit down to urinate . Of course, he does not delve into his motivations: simply, the world champion does.
“There is no normal or abnormal position to urinate,” says Diego Reyes, head of the urology unit at bupa clinic . “There are cultural factors in which it is considered that urinating while seated is preferable, since the jet bounces less and the bathroom is less dirty, in addition to being quieter. On the other hand, urinating standing up can be faster and more convenient. Both positions are valid.
“In Western countries it is more common to urinate standing up, while in Eastern countries sitting or squatting is more common”, confirms Bárbara Mena González, general practitioner of Medismart . “Whether something is considered ‘normal’ depends more on cultural changes, which are usually modified by migratory or globalizing processes, where people transfer their customs.”
How to properly clean the toilet
In Japan, for example, a survey conducted by Panasonic (in this country the brand has a bidet line ) found that 70% of Japanese men urinate sitting down. Germany, on the other hand, is perhaps the most proud country of this modality, and even has a name for it: sitzpinkler.
Chilean rapper Matiah Chinaski made an album with German DJ DerRalle, and titled it: Take off your shoes and sit down to piss alluding to two of the most German customs in existence: taking off your shoes when entering a house and, well, peeing while sitting down.
It is common, in fact, that in public toilets in this country there are stickers that suggest doing it this way. They also sell these tenders”toilet ghosts that when the toilet seat is up, they say, “what is he doing?” Immediately lower the lid and sit down to urinate.
In Chile, there are no data or surveys, but it is not at all risky to infer that the majority of men pee standing up. Are we right or are we wrong? Compared to the OECD average, do you have to sit down to empty your bladder? A group of specialists gave us their different points of view. So the next time you face the toilet to urinate, know that there are two positions. And if you’ve never done it, you may be encouraged to pee “Messi-style”.
different postures
If we go back to childhood, the transition from peeing in the bathtub in early childhood to being able to do so alone and standing up is celebrated as a milestone in the formation of masculinity.
From medicine, Diego Reyes affirms that urology has been studying the subject for a long time. “There are several studies that seek to assess whether it is better for men to urinate standing or sitting, with results in relation to urinary flow and residuals inside the bladder.”
As he explains, doing it while standing leads to better flow and less urine residue, both in healthy men and in patients with symptoms of prostate growth. However, he recognizes that in practice, for these people, urinating while seated is more comfortable.
“This is because they have a weaker stream: when urinating standing up it is difficult for them, because there is less precision and they can wet their clothes or the environment. Therefore, there is no There is no “best way” to urinate – it just depends on individual comfort and cultural factors.
“According to some studies, it seems that the flow of urination could be better when standing,” said Almudena Coloma del Peso, specialist in functional urology, in an article in the Spanish newspaper The country . “In patients with voiding symptoms secondary to prostatic hypertrophy, it appears to be beneficial to do so while seated. In women, it is recommended to urinate while sitting, because when they do not urinate in this way, they are forced to squat, which does not allow good relaxation of the pelvic floor.
Bárbara Mena, general practitioner at Medismart, has a different opinion: “By urinating sitting down, you can urinate faster, more forcefully and more efficiently, while urinating standing up tends to take longer and more residue will remain in the inside the bladder.
In healthy people, she says, this difference is not significant, but it has been seen that it could be useful in those who already have a disease or difficulty urinating, as well as to prevent them from developing. . According to Mena, urinating while seated might reduce the risk of urolithiasis, for example, although on the other hand, urinating while standing might have some benefits in people with knee osteoarthritis.
But if we put it between the pee and the wall, which way would be the most convenient or beneficial for men? Mena only responds by sitting down.
“When standing, involuntary contractions of the pelvic muscles are generated to maintain the position, which makes urination difficult. In addition, in a sitting position, intra-abdominal pressure also increases, favoring the evacuation of urine. Finally, when urinating standing up, especially in public places, anal contraction increases — to avoid the loss of gas or fecal matter — which also increases the pressure of the pelvic muscles, making urinary evacuation difficult.
In 2014, a study by the Department of Urology at Leiden University, in the Netherlands, looked at how different peeing positions affected pee times, peak flow, and the amount of urine left in the bladder after going to the toilet. The conclusion is that sitting offers a “more favorable urodynamic profile”, allowing the bladder to empty “faster and better”.
María Díaz Lemus, pelvic floor expert kinesiologist at Dreamoms, confirms this: there are several studies that indicate that the pelvic floor muscles relax better when urinating while seated and, therefore, there would be a better evacuation of the bladder.
“Getting up while standing is a cultural thing, but many men are already starting to do it sitting down, because they realize that it’s easier: they are more relaxed, they have to make less effort and less pressure. is generated on the prostate,” he said. explain.
Is it more hygienic?
It’s never good to generalize, but a small internal survey, far from being representative, shows that the overwhelming majority of women prefer to live with men who pee while sitting down. Not because they are necessarily more deconstructed: it is rather for a question of hygiene, since it almost definitively avoids the unpleasant scenario of finding the seat, the edges of the bowl, or even the floor, wet.
“Of course, it is more hygienic for the environment, since the possibility of splashing the bathroom is reduced”, confirms Díaz. “Men and women, of all ages, we absolutely should pee while sitting down”
“The hygienic benefits are quite well known and widespread. When urinating while standing, the person usually sees a steady stream. However, when the fluids come out with a certain pressure, they tend to disperse and generate micro-droplets, which also spread throughout the environment and can generate a source of infection, dirt and bad odors”, explains Barbara Mena.
In an article published by English media Guardian , Professor of Mechanical Engineering Tadd Truscott, said: “Water tends to splash when it falls from a certain height, which means it can splash a little from the toilet. Therefore, the truth is that when you urinate standing up, you squirt urine onto your toothbrush.
According to Truscott, this risk is completely reduced to zero when you pee sitting down. Reyes, yes, calls for moderation. Although bouncing urine can release particles into the air, there is no evidence that this results in, for example, the transmission of disease or infection through this route.
From science, it doesn’t seem like a cut and dried debate, but with one hand on your heart and the other on your pants, let’s acknowledge that the person who says they never missed the cup by getting up to urinate, lie. The circumstances and reasons are so many and varied, as are the arguments for or against each position.
It’s not a bad idea to think about it, precisely to reflect — forgive the redundancy — and to give yourself a little rest from the daily hustle and bustle. maybe, and as Professor Rossa said in this first unforgettable Chilean viral where he urinates standing in front of an imposing forest of Lonquimay, this luxury should perhaps be reserved for this type of context, where the human being returns to his first state.
Source: Latercera
I’m Rose Brown , a journalist and writer with over 10 years of experience in the news industry. I specialize in covering tennis-related news for Athletistic, a leading sports media website. My writing is highly regarded for its quick turnaround and accuracy, as well as my ability to tell compelling stories about the sport.
