Dangerous reasons you should never hold in a poo

The call of nature is a warning not worth ignoring for a multitude of reasons.

First things first, everybody poos, literally everyone you know has at some point in their life had to rush off to the toilet to have a s**t.

I make this point to underline the argument that popping off for a plop is not going to be the catastrophic social faux pas you might fear it is.

When you've got to go then you've got to go, and anyone who would pour scorn on you for that would do well to remember that they themselves were once in dire need.

Besides, when you do feel the need for a poo it's going to be coming out of you one way or another and while you can delay that timer you can't stop it.

The bomb bay doors are going to open at some point and your foul-smelling payload will be unleashed, your choice is whether it lands upon the seat of your trouser or the bowl of your toilet.

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Right, now we've established the need to rush off and have a poo every now and then let's get cracking on the myriad health reasons why holding it in is just a bad idea.

If you're the sort of person who holds in their poo on the regular then it can cause all sorts of health problems.

You'll soon feel constipated and pained from holding it in too much, but it's the long-term health impacts which are really to be avoided.

If you hold it in then you run the risk of losing your urge to locate the nearest toilet and affix your bottom to it, but that doesn't mean the s**t isn't on the way.

Holding it in can also cause something called 'fecal impaction', which sounds pretty grim when a hard, dry chunk of poo gets stuck inside you.

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Even worse, a 2015 study warned that holding it in can cause inflammation of the colon which can increase your risk of colon cancer.

If you get clogged up and constipated then something really awful might happen called fecal vomiting, where the s**t that should exit your body through one end instead takes the other exit in your digestive system.

It occurs when your bowel is obstructed for some reason and things can't move normally through you.

In severe cases of things like constipation fecal vomiting has even been identified as a cause of death.

So know where your nearest toilet is and when you feel the urge to go make your way there with all appropriate haste.

Happy s**tting!

Topics: Health

Joe Harker

Joe graduated from the University of Salford with a degree in Journalism and worked for Reach before joining the LADbible Group. When not writing he enjoys the nerdier things in life like painting wargaming miniatures and chatting with other nerds on the internet. He's also spent a few years coaching fencing. Contact him via [email protected]

@MrJoeHarker