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Health

Morning Wood Stopping Your Stream? Try This

Trying to figure out the unstoppable force meets immovable object paradox? You’re in good company with every guy who’s woken up with a painfully full bladder and morning wood.

In a recent Youtube video, board-certified urologist Rena Malik, M.D., explains why peeing with an erection feels impossible.

“When you have an erection, the spongy tissue, the corpora cavernosa around the urethra, gets larger and expands. And when these are expanded, they’re pushing down on the urethra where you urinate from, and it creates a little bit of resistance,” she says. 

Malik uses a straw analogy: when you drink out of a wider straw (like the ones you get with a smoothie or bubble tea) the beverage comes out easier and faster. But when you use a thin straw (the kind they hand out at the bar), it takes way longer to drink your beverage.

When you’re hard, your urethra is more like the latter.

As a first course of action, Malik recommends trying to get your boner to go down using breathing techniques or cold water to distract from the stimulation that caused it in the first place. But if you can’t wait, try these five tips to relieve yourself.

Lightly Massage Your Bladder

If you can’t pee, your bladder might just need a push. Malik suggests massaging your bladder right above your pubic bone to start the flow of urine. The added pressure can help speed things up when your penis is not cooperating.

Turn On The Faucet

Sometimes hearing a stream of water is enough to get things going. In another Youtube video on her channel, Malik explains that this is due to classic conditioning— when you pee you hear the sound of water hitting the toilet bowl. Running water in the sink tricks your mind into associating the two sounds with needing to go.

Reach For a Heating Pad

Placing a heating pad on your bladder can help relax any tension that could be preventing you from going. If you don’t have a heating pad on hand, try running a washcloth under hot water and placing it above your pubic bone.

But if you’re desperate, this method might be a little too involved for you.

Try Double Voiding

Even if you’re able to start your stream, you may find that pressure on the urethra makes it difficult to fully empty your bladder when you have an erection. Malik suggests tricking your bladder into peeing again using a method called “double voiding.”

“Stand at the toilet, try to urinate, walk away, come back, and try again,” Malik says. “Or you can even sit down and try to urinate.”

Watch Out For Deflection

When your urethra is pinched, a high-pressure stream can cause deflection— meaning: your aim could be way off. Try to start slow, and remember to whip out the all-purpose cleaner if things get messy.

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