Treatment options for chronic kidney disease (CKD) include treating complications caused by CKD. For example, there are medicines to control high blood pressure, which help protect the heart and slow damage to the kidneys. Also, replacement hormones, such as erythropoietin and growth hormone, can be given. Special vitamin D can be taken for bone health. There is also the option of a kidney transplant.
Healthy Kidneys & Urinary System
Your kidneys are shaped like beans and are about the size of your fist. They play a vital role in keeping the chemicals and water in your body balanced.
Your urinary system removes a waste called urea from your blood after the food you eat is broken down in your body.
Problems can occur in your kidneys and urinary system from aging, from illnesses or from injury. These problems can range from minor to life-threatening.
If you're having kidney or urinary tract problems, you should see your doctor for an evaluation.
Recently Answered
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1 AnswerA
Jumo Health answeredNephrons are small structures inside the kidneys. Nephrons remove waste from the blood and then send the clean blood back into the body. The kidneys are made up of millions of nephrons.
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5 AnswersA
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics answeredSee All 5 AnswersKidneys play several important roles in your body, including regulating blood pressure and fluids in your body, producing hormones that help in the production of vitamin D and red blood cells and even removing drugs, toxins and waste products from your blood.
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1 AnswerA
Jumo Health answered
Clean intermittent self-catheterization (CISC) for girls is done as follows:
- Gather everything needed.
- Wash hands with soap and water before starting. Otherwise germs can get in and cause an infection.
- Wash carefully around where urine comes out. Always remember to wash from front to back.
- Use the first two fingers of one hand to separate the labia. The labia is the skin that covers the area where urine comes out. Doing this makes it easier to see the small hole or meatus where the catheter needs to go. The hole is at the beginning of the urethra and leads to the bladder. When girls start doing CISC, they sometimes use a mirror to help find the hole.
- With the other hand, gently slide the rounded tip of the catheter into the hole. After a while, you will know exactly where to put the catheter and probably won’t need the mirror.
- Keep sliding the catheter in until urine appears. This means it’s in the bladder.
- When urine stops coming out, pull back the catheter a little to see if any more comes. When it stops completely, slowly and gently pull the catheter all the way out. Once it’s out, throw it away and wash your hands again.
Doing CISC regularly and washing hands every time helps keep infections away. Infections can make you sick, as well as making you wet between catheterizations. Drinking plenty of water is important, too.
Setting an alarm on a watch, phone or computer can be a useful way of reminding you to do CISC regularly. -
1 AnswerA
Jumo Health answered
Some people need an operation where the doctor makes a small hole through the abdomen into the bladder. This hole is called a stoma. When performing CISC, the catheter can be slipped through this stoma straight into the bladder where it drains away the urine. Urine shouldn’t leak out from the stoma because the muscles close around the hole when the catheter isn’t there.
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1 AnswerA
Jumo Health answered
Clean intermittent self-catheterization (CISC) shouldn't hurt, though it can seem strange at first. It gets easier with practice and soon it’ll only take a few minutes each time. People using CISC should talk to their doctor or nurse if they have a fever, if CISC is painful, or if urine is cloudy, smelly or has blood in it.
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1 AnswerA
Jumo Health answered
Clean intermittent self-catheterization (CISC) for boys is done as follows:
- Gather everything needed. CISC can be done sitting or standing, whichever is easiest.
- Wash hands with soap and water before starting. Otherwise germs can get in and cause an infection.
- With one hand, hold the penis up toward the abdomen and wash (or clean) the head of the penis well. If uncircumcised, gently retract foreskin to wash the head of the penis. With the foreskin back, it’s easier to see the hole or meatus at the tip of the penis where the catheter needs to go.
- With the other hand, gently slide the rounded tip of the catheter into the hole. The hole is at the beginning of the urethra and leads to the bladder. If the catheter doesn’t go in easily, don’t force it. Just stop, relax and wait a little while. Taking slow, deep breaths and coughing may make it easier to slide the catheter in.
- Keep sliding the catheter in until urine appears. This means the catheter is in the bladder.
- When urine stops coming out, pull back the catheter a little to see if any more comes. When it stops completely, slowly and gently pull the catheter all the way out. Once it’s out, throw it away and wash your hands again.
Doing CISC regularly and washing hands every time helps keep infections away. Infections can make you sick, as well as making you wet between catheterizations. Drinking plenty of water is also important.
Setting an alarm on a watch, phone or computer can be a useful way of reminding you to do CISC regularly. -
1 AnswerA
Jumo Health answered
Clean intermittent self-catheterization (CISC) is needed to help you empty your bladder if you couldn't do that on your own. Sometimes, the sphincter in the bladder doesn’t relax when it needs to, so the urine stays in your bladder. When your bladder gets too full, urine may be pushed back up to your kidneys, which can damage them. Sometimes, urine forces its way down, making you urinate when you’re not expecting it. Also, if urine stays in the bladder too long, this may cause an infection. To stop these things from happening, your bladder needs to be emptied regularly. That’s where CISC comes in.
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1 AnswerA
Jumo Health answered
You would need to use clean intermittent self-catheterization (CISC) to help you empty your bladder if you couldn't do that on your own. Sometimes, the sphincter in the bladder doesn’t relax when it needs to, so the urine stays in your bladder. When your bladder gets too full, urine may be pushed back up to your kidneys, which can damage them. Sometimes, urine forces its way down, making you urinate when you’re not expecting it. Also, if urine stays in the bladder too long, this may cause an infection. To stop these things from happening, your bladder needs to be emptied regularly. That’s where CISC comes in.
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1 AnswerA
Jumo Health answered
The bladder is like a balloon—it’s small when empty, but as it fills with urine, it gets bigger and bigger. A strong muscle at the base of the bladder, called a sphincter, acts like a gate, keeping urine in. When the bladder is full, the sphincter relaxes to allow urine out so the bladder empties completely. Normally, the urine moves from the bladder through a tube called the urethra, to leave the body.