We've all been there. You're in the shower, warm water cascading down your body, and suddenly nature calls. It's tempting to let it flow, isn't it? A cheeky shower wee.

You think, surely I'm just doing my bit for the environment and saving water? After all, it's all going down the drain anyway, right? 

Well, hold your horses (or in this case, your bladder), because experts are warning that this seemingly harmless habit could be causing more trouble than it's worth.

How common is peeing in the shower?

Let's face it, peeing in the shower has been a bit of a taboo topic, but it's time we officially address the elephant in the bathroom. 

According to a 2020 Showers to You survey, a whopping 76% of people admit to answering nature's call while lathering up. But before you join the majority, you might want to consider the potential consequences.

Dr. Emma Qureshey, a Houston-based obstetrician, has taken to TikTok to set the record straight. 

"The first thing I would never do is pee in the shower, or more importantly, pee standing up," she warns in her viral video. 

But why, you ask? Well, it's not just about hygiene (although that's certainly a factor).

Dr. Qureshey explains, "It is one, not very hygienic, but more important than that, it will destroy your pelvic floor, and also it might create mental associations where you hear water running and all of a sudden you need to run to the bathroom."

Now, before you start panicking about that one time (or hundred times) you've indulged in a shower wee, Dr. Qureshey assures us that medical professionals have "seen it all, heard it all, smelled it all…". 

"We're not judging. Talk to your doctor," she says.

Find out more about LBL in this video. Post continues below.

Is peeing in the shower bad?

But Dr Qureshey is not alone in her assertion that peeing in the shower isn't ideal. Physical therapist Dr. Alicia Jeffrey-Thomas has also chimed in on this pressing issue.

In her own TikTok video, she breaks it down for us from both a bladder fitness and pelvic floor perspective. 

She used the examples of Pavlov's dogs, who were fed alongside the sound of a bell. They were conditioned, so when the bell would later ring but no food would arrive, they would still salivate as if the food was there.

Dr. Jeffrey-Thomas explains, "If you pee in the shower or turn on the faucet or turn on the shower and then sit in the toilet to pee while the water's running, you're creating an association in your brain between the sound of running water and having to pee."

Essentially, you're training your bladder to respond to the sound of running water, which could lead to some embarrassing situations down the line, like needing to dash to the loo every time you hear a fountain or turn on the tap to do the dishes!

But the problems don't stop there. Those with female genitalia will find that standing up to pee isn't exactly what nature intended. 

"Unfortunately, those of us that were assigned female at birth, who have that anatomy, we're not designed to pee standing up," Dr. Jeffrey-Thomas points out. "Your pelvic floor isn't going to relax appropriately, which means that we're not really going to be emptying our bladder super well."

So, what's a shower-loving, bladder-bursting individual to do?

Dr. Jeffrey-Thomas has some advice: "Try to pee before you even ever turn on the shower water, and if you get the urge while you're in the shower, try to ignore it."

It might take some practice, but your pelvic floor will thank you in the long run.

Feature image: TikTok/Getty.