Somita Pal

As a girl, I was asked to learn to hold on every time I felt like urinating since the time I was a child. Then it was seen as bad manners to excuse oneself from the classroom and go to the washroom. As I grew up, the habit stayed. Over the time, the reason was to avoid using filthy urinals because of the fear of contracting infections.

Most of my women friends, too, have a phobia of using urinals a public places. As I started my day today, I had decided that I won’t allow my paranoia to overpower my New Year resolution. Before leaving home, I planned my day keeping in mind the places I was supposed to visit and the urinal options at those venues. The options, however, were limited.

I have found that the waiting room at Dadar station is the most convenient option before I proceed anywhere in the city for work. After meeting a lady doctor in a hospital, she told me that holding on to the bladder is more harmful than using filthy urinals. She said many women wrongly assume that using filthy urinals leads to Urinary tract infection (UTI). In fact, it is the other way round. According to her, most of UTI cases are because of drinking less water or holding on. It has made my job of sticking to my resolution simpler. The fear of using stinky urinals is slowly vanishing. I guess I will be able to drink two litres water every day now. The rest will follow.