Infrequent Voiding Syndrome: Don't Fall Victim To This Common Problem In Nurses!
The purpose of this article is to discuss infrequent voiding syndrome, which is an affliction that commonly strikes bedside nursing staff.
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Jane, a prototypical bedside nurse who works on an understaffed medical/surgical unit inside a big city hospital, says, "I've been running around like a chicken with its head cut off." She also adds, "I have not even stopped for a bathroom break at any time during the past eight hours!"
Infrequent voiding syndrome, also known to urologists and other healthcare providers as 'infrequent voiders syndrome,' 'lazy bladder syndrome,' and 'nurses bladder,' is a characteristic grouping of signs, symptoms, findings, and features commonly observed in individuals who choose to delay urinating for extended periods of time. In other words, these people voluntarily hold large amounts of urine in their bladders while ignoring the urge to void. Over the years, long-term suppression of the need to urinate results in infrequent voiding syndrome.
The cardinal sign of infrequent voiding syndrome is an enlarged urinary bladder with a smooth wall and a larger capacity for holding urine than usual. In fact, the bladder of a patient afflicted with infrequent voiding syndrome is often so stretched out that it is capable of holding anywhere from 500 milliliters to more than 1000 milliliters of urine.
Other signs and symptoms may include abdominal pain, pelvic pain, pelvic pressure, constipation, a slow urinary stream when voiding, a palpable mass in the pelvic area due to bladder distention, or occasional leakage of urine. Chronic urinary tract infections and reduced renal function are two of the main long-term dangers associated with infrequent voiding syndrome.
Infrequent voiding syndrome is a rather common health problem in bedside nursing staff who are employed in inpatient facilities such as acute care hospitals, nursing homes, and assisted living facilities. Nurses and nursing assistants who work at the bedside must contend with multiple demands from different people (patients, visitors, family members, physicians, coworkers, managers, vendors, and other members of the interdisciplinary team) during shifts that span anywhere from eight to sixteen hours. With so many tasks to accomplish during very limited time frames, many nurses make the choice to voluntarily delay necessary trips to the restroom while at the workplace.
Nursing staff members cite various reasons for resisting the urge to void during long work shifts. Some of the reasons include busy working environments, insufficient numbers of restrooms at the place of employment, the fear of falling behind in one's tasks, inadequate staffing, and lack of time to take breaks.
More research regarding infrequent voiding syndrome is desperately needed because the affliction is an occupational hazard that affects bedside nursing staff who work long, grueling shifts. Infrequent voiding syndrome warrants more awareness because it is capable of greatly reducing one's quality of life due to pain, pressure, discomfort, and urinary leakage. Nurses should make a point to not ignore their own basic human needs of elimination. In a nutshell, please use the restroom and do not fall victim to infrequent voiding syndrome.
