This article was co-authored by Roy Nattiv, MD. Dr. Roy Nattiv is a Board-Certified Pediatric Gastroenterologist in Los Angeles, California. With over 20 years of experience he specializes in a broad range of pediatric gastrointestinal and nutritional illnesses such as constipation, diarrhea, reflux, food allergies, poor weight gain, SIBO, IBD, and IBS. He completed his pediatric residency at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore, Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, and his fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). While at UCSF, he was a California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) fellowship trainee and was awarded the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition (NASPGHAN) Fellow to Faculty Award in Pediatric IBD Research. Dr. Nattiv received his undergrad degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and his medical degree (MD) from the Sackler School of Medicine in Tel Aviv, Israel.
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Okay, this is an embarrassing one. Maybe there’s a time that you need to hold in your poop. Who knows what it is? You’re somewhere you can’t escape to the bathroom. Or you’re too embarrassed to use it. What do you do? There are tips that will help you temporarily hold in your poop.
Steps
Holding in your Poop with Physical Tricks
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1Try standing up to keep in your poop (or, alternatively, lying down). The worst possible position to be in if you are trying to hold your poop is to squat. Sitting isn’t as good for holding your poop in as standing or lying down is, either.
- The reason for this is because squatting has long been defined by researchers as the ideal position for defecation. That’s because it applies pressure on the abdomen, encouraging release of the stool.
- Standing will remove some of the pressure from the abdomen. So will lying down.
- Even just shifting your position a bit can also help you keep the poop where you want it to stay inside your body until you have a chance to get to a toilet. If you must sit, shift your position in the chair. Pressing your buttocks against a hard area - like a metal chair bottom - might help.
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2Tense your butt cheeks as much as you can. Basically, what you are accomplishing here is to apply pressure on the upcoming poop to keep it inside the body. Yes, it's really the best way to do it!
- Clenching your butt cheeks will tense your rectum, and, thus, it helps to keep the poop inside.
- It’s harder to hold in poop if your muscles around your rectum are weak. If your nerves are damaged in that area, you might not even know a stool has come out. See a doctor in such cases. [1]
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3Try to encourage a bowel movement several hours before your event, and then stop eating. Basically you want to poop before you end up at the place where it will be hard to poop. It’s a good idea to do this to activate the bowels so you empty them. Think ahead!
- For example, many long-distance runners face this issue. They feel like they have to poop during the race. Another way to avoid this embarrassing problem is to simply avoid foods high in fiber before the race or event because that causes the need to poop.[2]
- Gas-producing foods like beans, bran, fruit and salad could also cause the need to have a bowel movement. Try to avoid eating any food within two hours of the event, though, or you will have another bowel movement.
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4Try not to drink coffee.[3] There are some studies that have linked coffee drinking to having to poop. Although this is by no means definitively proven, if you drink coffee while trying to hold in poop you will probably have to pee too.[4]
- It will be harder to hold in poop if you’ve had no previous defecation that day. One study found that coffee provoked pooping more so in people who hadn’t already pooped.
- The study also found that the effect was more pronounced in the morning.
Using Mental Tricks to Avoid Pooping
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1Don't overthink it. You have to be cool. If you're thinking about your bowel movements all the time, then it's just going to make it harder. Relax, and try to think about something else.
- Stay still! Although standing up will help, if you start making abrupt movements or doing something that requires exertion (such as running), it’s going to be a lot tougher.
- Above all, keep your dignity and stay calm. Make sure not to panic or hold your hand against your behind. It's all about applying mental will to the situation.
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2Distract yourself mentally so you’re not focusing on the poop so much. Come up with distracting thoughts like a kitten loving and cuddling you. Nothing funny or you may have a real accident in your pants.
- Find a phrase, and repeat it over and over again in your mind to focus your mind on something else. Another way to distract yourself is by striking up a conversation with someone.
- Watch TV, read a book, or listen to music. Do anything to move your mind on to other thoughts for the time being. A mental task that requires concentration is best, such as playing a word game or writing down a to-do list.[5]
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3Get over the embarrassment, and just do it. If there’s a bathroom nearby, and you’re just too embarrassed to use it at that moment (say, if you’re on a date), shake it off!
- Pooping is a natural part of life, and everyone does it.
- You might feel better about it if you camouflage the smell. Spray a little perfume in the air of the bathroom after pooping, for example. Be prepared. Carry a mini air freshener with you.[6]
Understanding the Risks of Holding in Poop
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1Recognize the dangers of holding in your poop. There’s a lot of research on this. It’s really not a good idea to hold in your poop, especially repeatedly and for a very long time.[7]
- There was a case of a teenager from England who died after not pooping for eight weeks. Pooping is really just the practice of emptying your bowels. It’s essential for good health! If you don’t poop, your body will recirculate fecal water throughout the body. That’s pretty gross when you think about it.
- If you want to poop but can’t, you should see a doctor. You could also try a stool softener or fiber pills. Then, again, that’s different from wanting to temporarily hold in your poop to avoid simple momentary embarrassment. [8]
- Although experts say holding your poop briefly until you can find a socially acceptable time to do it is unlikely to cause you serious problems, they have found that people who do so regularly because of their profession might end up with issues like constipation (say teachers or truck drivers).[9]
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2See a doctor if you have a bowel control problem. This is defined as you accidentally passing a stool from your rectum. If you can’t make it to the bathroom on time repeatedly, see a doctor.
- Stool is the term used for solid waste that is passed as a bowel movement, more commonly called poop.
- Bowel control problems are fairly common, affecting about 18 million adults in the United States. They are more common in older people, but anyone can get them. Difficult childbirth, poor overall health, and disease or injury can be causes.
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3Understand how humans poop. Humans use a muscle called the puborectalis muscle to poop. This muscle is basically a sling for your rectum.
- When you sit down on a toilet, the hold on your rectum is partially loosened. If you were to squat, the hold would be completely relaxed, making it easier to poop.
- Poop is a combination of fiber, bacteria, other cells, and mucus. Soluble fibers like beans and nuts become part of your poop. Some foods are harder to digest, like corn or oat bran. [10]
Warnings
- Practicing this too frequently can cause colon problems and bloating. It can be very dangerous to your health to hold in poop.⧼thumbs_response⧽
References
- ↑ http://www.aboutincontinence.org/site/living-with-incontinence/aging
- ↑ Roy Nattiv, MD. Board Certified Gastroenterologist. Expert Interview. 14 October 2020.
- ↑ Roy Nattiv, MD. Board Certified Gastroenterologist. Expert Interview. 14 October 2020.
- ↑ http://io9.com/5975041/why-does-coffee-make-you-poop
- ↑ http://www.healthyplace.com/blogs/buildingselfesteem/2013/02/get-a-grip-on-negative-thoughts-with-distraction-skills/
- ↑ http://www.bustle.com/articles/52194-11-reasons-why-pooping-in-public-shouldnt-be-embarrassing-especially-if-youre-a-woman
- ↑ http://www.cleveland.com/healthfit/index.ssf/2009/04/go_when_you_gotta_holding_it_a.html
- ↑ http://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/holding-your-poop-too-long
- ↑ http://www.prevention.com/health/poop-myths-and-truths
About This Article
While holding your poop in embarrassing situations can lead to physical problems if done repeatedly, there are a few tricks you can use for rare occasions. For example, try standing up or lying down to relieve some of the pressure from the abdomen. In addition to finding a comfortable position, tense your butt cheeks as much as possible to apply pressure to your rectum, which will keep the poop inside. While physical tricks can be effective, so can mental tricks, like distracting yourself with a book or music or simply thinking about something other than your bowels. To learn how to use your diet to keep from pooping in embarrassing situations, keep reading!
