Should Men Sit to Pee? The Surprising Truth for Bladder Health

[00:00:00]How long does it take for a woman to orgasm? We're going to answer that and other questions today on the Rena Malik MD podcast episode of Ask Me Anything.

[00:00:08]I'm Dr. Rena Malik, urologist and pelvic surgeon, and welcome back to the Rena Malik MD podcast, your trusted guide for leveling up your health, relationships, and sex life with evidence-based tools.

[00:00:17]Today, you are going to hear the first half of the Ask Me Anything episode. If you want to hear the full episode, these are exclusive to our premium members.

[00:00:27]Check out our membership at supercast.renamalik md.com to learn more. All right, let's get into it.

[00:00:32]>> I'd say the majority of the time I can't have an orgasm with just regular intercourse with my boyfriend. And even with stimulating my clitoris, I feel like it takes a long time for me to orgasm. Meanwhile, my boyfriend seems to orgasm pretty much every time we have sex. Am I different than other women?

[00:00:52]How long should it take for a woman to orgasm?

[00:00:55]>> First of all, all people are unique and different, right? There's no right or wrong when it comes to sex. But, if you want to know averages, the average time it takes for a female to reach climax is 12 to 14 minutes. Now, this is actually longer than the average time it takes a man to climax, which is anywhere from 5 to 6 minutes on average. That does make a little bit of a discrepancy. I tell people that, you know, it does also take quite a bit of foreplay for female partners to get fully aroused, and that can take up to 20 to 30 minutes for complete arousal. So, when there's more arousal, that can also make it more efficient to get an orgasm. Of course, the most reliable route for orgasm for a female is through the clitoris, not through vaginal penetration. 85% or even more women need clitoral stimulation to reach climax, and they're unable to do so with just vaginal penetration alone.

[00:01:53]And so, you're not alone in that situation. The most important thing here to realize is to discuss it. So, if you're unable to reach climax with your partner, is it okay for you to use a toy or use another way to achieve orgasm after your partner has climaxed? Or can they keep stimulating you after they've climaxed? Or can they prioritize your climax over theirs so that you climax first and then they can climax after?

[00:02:16]And really figuring out what's going to work best for you and your partner together. And this might require some self-exploration on your own time to determine what works best to get you to achieve climax reliably, incorporating different things in the bedroom, maybe toys or other tools to help you achieve climax better. But ultimately, there's no right or wrong. There's nothing wrong with you, and ultimately, it's really about learning what works for you, incorporating with your partner, being open, communicating, and allowing yourselves to play and explore and experiment.

[00:02:46]>> All right. Is it weird that when I pee, I'm seeing a lot of bubbles in the toilet? At first, I thought maybe my wife used some type of cleaning product in our home toilets, but it happens in public toilets, too. What could be causing this?

[00:03:01]>> So, there's a medical term for bubbles in the urine. It's called pneumaturia.

[00:03:05]Now, bubbles in the toilet can be normal. Sometimes when you have a very fast speed or very fast stream, it will create bubbles, and that's just sort of physics. You'll You'll see bubbles in the urine. Now, that's not dangerous in any way, shape, or form. However, sometimes it could be a sign that there's something else going on. So, first and foremost, you want to get a urinalysis. So, go to your primary care doctor, get a urine checked to make sure you don't have excess protein in your urine or any other abnormalities with bilirubin or other factors that might point to a medical cause for this. Also, if you've had diverticulosis or you've had diverticulitis or surgery on your colon, there is the one thing that we do want to rule out is any sort of fistulous connection, like a little connection between the bladder and the colon or where stool is, because that's where air comes from. You do make air in the colon or the small intestine, but you don't make it in the bladder. So, typically you shouldn't see air in the bladder unless there's a connection. The other thing that can sometimes happen is if you've had a procedure on your bladder, if you've had something called a cystoscopy or had a catheter placed in the bladder, that can introduce air into the bladder. One of the big things people often notice is that they urinate very large bubbles and they're kind of alarmed by it. And I never thought to counsel my patients about that until I learned about it. So, it's completely normal in most cases it's really no big deal, but it's always important to get evaluated. Now, the last thing is it could be a sign of infection. So, again, when you get that urinalysis test from your doctor, you can check if there's any signs or symptoms of infection. Now, the most important thing that I want you to know is if you ever see blood in the urine, that is an real indication to get evaluated quickly. We want to rule out dangerous things like cancers, kidney stones, other issues that could be causing blood in the urine. So, don't ever ignore blood in the urine, make sure you talk to your doctor about it.

[00:04:56]>> I am constantly itching behind my testicles and in my groin. I thought it was my underwear, so I switched to boxers. No change, still itchy as hell.

[00:05:07]It's worse in the summer when it's hot and humid outside. How do I stop this?

[00:05:12]>> Yeah, so sounds like you have, in colloquial terms, jock itch, right? And so many guys experience this around the world, especially when it's warm and you're sweaty in the summer or hot months. And so this occurs basically because moisture builds up. This can then lead to fungal infections potentially, where you can get irritation, you can get itchiness. So, the best way to prevent it from happening is to keep the area dry. In terms of doing that, I generally recommend using cotton underwear cuz it doesn't sort of trap moisture. It'll wick away any moisture. You don't want to use other materials. Now, if that itching becomes very significant, it's not getting better with time, absolutely see your doctor because you can be prescribed a powder or an ointment that you can apply to the area to help treat the fungal infection. And that will essentially take care of it, and then you can start doing those preventative measures. Now, the one thing is when you do use baby powder, for example, you want to make sure it's cornstarch based.

[00:06:11]Now, nowadays you can't really find talcum base powders, but talcum base powders were used all the time, and we later found that there was links with using talcum powder and things like testicular cancer and ovarian cancer.

[00:06:22]So, generally speaking, if you ever see a talcum powder, that's not something you want to use on your genitals.

[00:06:27]>> My wife grew up with no men in the house, as it was just her, her sisters, and her mom in the home. She is not used to seeing pee on the toilet seat or floor, as my sons have a tendency to pee everywhere. She has started to mandate they sit to pee always, and she wants me to lead by example to do the same. I will occasionally sit to pee if I know I may not be able to control my pee stream, but how many men pee sitting down? She thinks men should sit to pee, but curious if there's actual data on this.

[00:07:02]>> This is a great question. So, sitting to pee is something that comes up all the time. In the US, most men stand to pee.

[00:07:09]And there's always been this question like, is sitting better? Sure, for hygiene purposes, it may be beneficial because you're not getting urine on the seat or anywhere else. It's going straight into the toilet. So, many people do choose to do this because it is convenient, right? And it doesn't make a mess. They don't have to deal with the annoying altercation with their partner about like, "Hey, clean up the seat after you." However, it's not mandatory. Now, sometimes guys do actually benefit from sitting to pee.

[00:07:35]And the reason is when you sit to pee, you relax your pelvic floor better. Now, the pelvic floor is a ball of muscles that sits in your pelvis that holds up all your internal organs. Normally, it's working in the background, you don't have to think about it. But, when you pee, that those muscles need to relax to allow urine to flow better. And for some guys, they're already struggling to pee because they get an large prostate as they age, and so they might notice things like their pee starts and stops, or they have to wait for a long time for their pee to go, or their pee is really weak and it takes a long time to empty their bladder. In those cases, I tell people try sitting and see if it makes a difference for you because it might. It might help relax those muscles even more and allow you to empty your bladder better. Now, to back to your question about how many people are sitting to pee. So, like I said, in the US, it's like 90% are standing. However, when you look at other countries, it's actually more common for men to pee. And I believe there was a a research study done, I think it was in Germany. It was worldwide, but they saw that German men tended to sit more to pee, and it was like 60% of men sat to pee. It was much more common in other countries. And so again, I don't think there's anything wrong with sitting to pee. I think it's absolutely fine to do so. It's fine to not if you're not having any urinary problems, absolutely go ahead and stand and pee. There's really no reason to do one or the other, but ultimately, it's fine. And I think, you know, whatever keeps peace at home is great for you. If you guys want to hear the second half of that episode, check it out at rinamalik.supercast.com.

[00:09:00]And as always, remember to take care of yourself because you're worth it.