People should stand up and move around often while traveling or playing mahjong during the Lunar New Year holiday, as prolonged sitting can lead to cystitis or hemorrhoids, doctors said.
Yuan’s General Hospital urologist Lee Tsung-hsi (李宗熹) said that he treated a 63-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙) who had been sitting motionless and holding off going to the bathroom, increasing her risk of bladder infection.
Chao would drink beverages and not urinate for several hours while playing mahjong with friends and family, especially when she was on a winning streak, afraid that using the bathroom would ruin her luck, he said.
Photo: Taipei Times
She had frequent and painful urination and lower abdominal pain the next day and was diagnosed with acute cystitis, Lee said.
She frequently went to the bathroom, but could only urinate a little bit despite pushing hard, and reported feeling a painful burning sensation, he said.
Tests showed that her urine had a dark color and strong smell, and contained blood, confirming that she had acute cystitis, he said.
While not drinking enough water and holding off on bathroom breaks can cause acute cystitis, women are at higher risk of contracting cystitis than men, he said.
A woman’s urethra is shorter than a man’s and its opening is close to the vaginal and anal orifice, meaning bacteria can easily enter the urethra and cause a urinary tract infection due to poor hygiene, Lee said.
Women going through menopause are also prone to cystitis, as they have weaker immune symptoms and their decreased hormone secretion can lead to atrophy in the urethra or vagina, he said, adding that antibiotics are the primary treatment for cystitis.
To avoid developing a bladder infection, people should not try to hold off taking bathroom breaks and drink more water to reduce the risk of urinary tract infection, he said.
Women should wipe from front to back after urinating to prevent bacteria from entering the urethra, he said.
While showering is preferable to bathing, water is recommended for cleaning the genital area, as body washes or feminine washes can change vaginal pH levels and cause bacteria to multiply, Lee said.
Eating cranberries or probiotics, or taking a D-mannose supplement can help prevent relapses of cystitis, he said, adding that a high-fiber diet can also relieve constipation.
Skin-tight clothes should be avoided to prevent bacteria from growing due to moisture buildup, he said.
People engaging in sedentary activities, such as playing mahjong or poker, traveling long distances, playing video games or binge-watching television, should stand up and move around at regular intervals, he said.
It is good for the body to take a break and go to the bathroom, drink water or stretch a little bit, Lee said.
Dianthus MFM Clinic colon and rectal surgeon Lin Ya-huei (林雅慧) also cautioned against being sedentary during the Lunar New Year holiday, saying that a lack of exercise and imbalanced diet can aggravate symptoms of hemorrhoids.
People driving long distances over the holiday should find places to stop and walk around at least every three to four hours to boost blood circulation, as prolonged sitting can put pressure around the anus and cause hemorrhoids, she said.
The same principle applies to those following the holiday tradition of playing mahjong with friends and family, Lin said, adding that people with hemorrhoids should keep their prescribed ointment with them for convenient use.
While most people eat hearty Lunar New Year’s dishes during the holiday, disproportionately high amounts of fish and meat can cause constipation and exacerbate hemorrhoids, she said.
People should drink at least 2,000ml of water every day to promote digestion and stimulate the contraction of intestinal muscles, she added.
People with grade 2 or grade 3 hemorrhoids should promptly seek medical treatment and consider laser hemorrhoidoplasty, which results in smaller surgical wounds and faster recovery than traditional operations, she said.
INFRASTRUCTURE: Work on the second segment, from Kaohsiung to Pingtung, is expected to begin in 2028 and be completed by 2039, the railway bureau said Planned high-speed rail (HSR) extensions would blanket Taiwan proper in four 90-minute commute blocs to facilitate regional economic and livelihood integration, Railway Bureau Deputy Director-General Yang Cheng-chun (楊正君) said in an interview published yesterday. A project to extend the high-speed rail from Zuoying Station in Kaohsiung to Pingtung County’s Lioukuaicuo Township (六塊厝) is the first part of the bureau’s greater plan to expand rail coverage, he told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). The bureau’s long-term plan is to build a loop to circle Taiwan proper that would consist of four sections running from Taipei to Hualien, Hualien to
A relatively large earthquake may strike within the next two weeks, following a magnitude 5.2 temblor that shook Taitung County this morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. An earthquake struck at 8:18am today 10.2km west of Taitung County Hall in Taitung City at a relatively shallow depth of 6.5km, CWA data showed. The largest intensity of 4 was felt in Taitung and Pingtung counties, which received an alert notice, while areas north of Taichung did not feel any shaking, the CWA said. The earthquake was the result of the collision between the Philippine Plate and the Eurasian Plate, the agency said, adding
Snow fell in the mountainous areas of northern, central and eastern Taiwan in the early hours of yesterday, as cold air currents moved south. In the northern municipality of Taoyuan, snow started falling at about 6am in Fusing District (復興), district head Su Tso-hsi (蘇佐璽) said. By 10am, Lalashan National Forest Recreation Area, as well as Hualing (華陵), Sanguang (三光) and Gaoyi (高義) boroughs had seen snowfall, Su said. In central Taiwan, Shei-Pa National Park in Miaoli County and Hehuanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Nantou County saw snowfall of 5cm and 6cm respectively, by 10am, staff at the parks said. It began snowing
The 2025 Kaohsiung Wonderland–Winter Amusement Park event has teamed up with the Japanese manga series Chiikawa this year for its opening at Love River Bay yesterday, attracting more than 10,000 visitors, the city government said. Following the success of the “2024 Kaohsiung Wonderland” collaboration with a giant inflatable yellow duck installation designed by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman, this year the Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau collaborated with Chiikawa by Japanese illustrator Nagano to present two giant inflatable characters. Two inflatable floats — the main character, Chiikwa, a white bear-like creature with round ears, and Hachiware, a white cat with a blue-tipped tail
RSS