You can easily calculate your average flow rate

You need a stopwatch (a watch or a smartphone) and a kitchen measuring jug to measure the amount of urine you pass.

Pass urine into the jug and time how long it takes, from the start to the end of voiding.

Suppose you passed 200 ml of urine in 25 seconds: your average flow rate is 200 ÷ 25 = 8 ml/sec.

What does it mean?

The strength of the stream depends on two factors: the contraction strength of the bladder and the resistance to the outflow of urine, that is, the prostate and urethra in men.

The average flow rate you calculate at home is always lower than the maximum flow rate, the peak of the stream, which the urologist measures with uroflowmetry: a simple test in which you pass urine into a special device.

As a rough guide, a maximum flow rate above 15 ml/sec is considered normal; below 10 ml/sec it suggests an obstruction to bladder emptying, but it may also be due to a bladder that contracts weakly.

For a reliable measurement

• pass urine when you feel a normal urge, neither too early nor after holding on for a long time
• the measurement is reliable if you pass at least 150 ml: with smaller volumes the stream is naturally weaker
• repeat the measurement on different days and compare the results over time

A weak flow is not a diagnosis in itself: if your stream has become weaker or you find it hard to pass urine, talk to a urologist.