Healthy Kidneys & Urinary System

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• QWhat are the steps when performing CISC for girls?

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  A 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.

• QWhat does it mean when someone does CISC through a stoma?

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  A 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.

• QDoes clean intermittent self-catheterization (CISC) hurt?

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  A 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.

• QWhat are the steps when performing CISC for boys?

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  A 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.

• QHow does clean intermittent self-catheterization (CISC) work?

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  A 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.

• QWhy would I need to use clean intermittent self-catheterization?

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  A 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.

• QHow does the bladder work?

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  A 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.

• QHow can I keep my kidneys healthy?

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  A Univ. of Nev. School of Medicine, Family Medicine answered

  Living a healthy lifestyle is important for kidney health. Medical conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol can lead to kidney disorders. You can reduce your risk of developing these conditions. Some ways are:

  • Eat a healthy diet.
  • Drink enough water.
  • Control your weight.
  • Don't smoke.
  • Exercise regularly.

  Also, be careful with medications. Some may affect your kidneys. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen and naproxen, can cause kidney damage if you use them regularly for a long time.

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• QWhat should I do if I have trouble urinating after abdominal surgery?

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  A Intermountain Healthcare answered

  After surgery, you might have trouble urinating. This might be due to your surgery. But it may also come from pain medication, discomfort, or anxiety. Here’s what to do:
  
  • Don’t strain or bear down while going to the bathroom. This can damage the area of your recent surgery.
  • Urinate while sitting in a few inches of warm water. Remember to avoid getting your incision wet if it hasn’t healed yet.
  • Don’t let your bladder get too full. Believe it or not, it’s easier if you urinate more often.
  • Do kegel exercises to strengthen the muscles around your vagina, bowel, and bladder. To start, tighten the muscles you use to stop the flow of urine. Hold for a count of ten, then relax the muscles slowly. Repeat several times a day, working up to 100 kegels a day.
  • If you can’t urinate on your own before you leave the hospital, you may need to go home with a urinary catheter (a small tube to drain urine from the bladder). Until you can urinate on your own, follow these instructions:
         1) If you go home with a catheter in place, follow the nurse’s instructions for caring for the catheter and drainage bag. Do any exercises you’ve been taught. And make sure you know when and how the catheter will be removed.
         2) If you need to self-catheterize, a nurse will teach you how before you leave the hospital. Be sure to self-catheterize as often as your nurse has told you to -- usually every 3 to 4 hours during the day.

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• QWhat role do sphincter muscles have in urination?

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  A Dr. Jill Rabin , OBGYN (Obstetrics & Gynecology), answered

  A sphincter is a muscle that surrounds a body opening (the urethra or the anus, for example) and which should unconsciously remained tightly closed. During urination, sphincters relax and open when messages are relayed from your nerves and your brain to the pelvic floor muscles. Internal and external sphincter muscles control the storage and voiding of urine. The internal sphincter instinctively squeezes the urethra closed.

  The external sphincter is more under your control for short periods of time and can be squeezed to prevent the leakage of urine when you sneeze, cough, laugh, or do anything that puts additional pressure on your bladder. The internal and external sphincter muscles work in tandem, expanding and contracting as the bladder fills and empties. Nerves automatically relay messages to your muscles ensuring that the sphincters remain closed and that you don’t leak.

  When enough urine has accumulated in the bladder and it has filled to the point that its internal pressure has increased and its bladder wall has stretched, your nervous system sends a message to your brain, which in turn sends a message to your bladder’s detrusor muscle, telling it to relax the internal sphincter muscle. When that happens, the external sphincter muscle becomes tight, and you have a distinct urge to urinate. When you are ready to urinate, you relax your external sphincter, and urine flows.

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