Healthy Kidneys & Urinary System

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• 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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• QWhat causes bladder issues?

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  A Multiple Sclerosis Foundation answered

  Bladder issues can be identified as a failure to store or empty urine, or some combination of both. In the general population, there are many adults over 60 who have urinary incontinence, and it is twice as common in females. This is commonly due to anatomic or physiological changes that occur. Frequent urinary tract infections, obesity, and decreased mobility are also important risk factors.
• QWhat is voiding pressure?

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  A Dr. Kyle K. Himsl, MD , Urology, answered on behalf of Los Robles Regional Medical Center

  

  Learn the important difference in the way men and women void urine. Watch this video with Kyle Himsl, MD from Los Robles Hospital & Medical Center.
• QHow can weight affect urination in men?

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  A Dr. Jesse N. Mills, MD , Urology, answered on behalf of UCLA Health

  The more a man weighs, the worse the problems with urination.  (The same is true for women.) Too much weight around your abdomen pushes down on the bladder and can signal the need to go more frequently. If you lose belly fat- which is bad for the heart, bad for your gut, bad for your erections and bad for your prostate- you're probably going to have an easier time urinating. You may be able to sleep better. You may not have to get up as often to urinate at night. Weight loss, in general, can improve the symptoms of a benign growth of the prostate or BPH (benign prostate hyperplasia).
• QWhat makes urine smell bad?

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  A Dr. Jamison S. Jaffe, DO , Urology, answered on behalf of St. Mary Medical Center

  Sweet-smelling urine could be a sign of undiagnosed diabetes or poorly managed or treated diabetes. If you already have diabetes, check your glucose levels—and if they’re too high, call your doctor. If you haven't been diagnosed with diabetes, be sure to get tested.
   
  Trinity Health is a Catholic health care organization that acts in accordance with the Catholic tradition and does not condone or support all practices covered in this site. In case of emergency call 911. This site is educational and not a substitute for professional medical advice, always seek the advice of a qualified healthcare provider.
• QWhat does the urinary system include?

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  A The Mount Sinai Health System answered

  The urinary system is the system of organs that produces, stores, and eliminates urine. It includes two kidneys, two ureters, the bladder, and the urethra. Urinary cancer occurs whenever one or more of these organs develop malignant cancer cells. The four types of urinary cancer, therefore, are:

  • Bladder;
  • Kidney;
  • Ureter;
  • Urethra.
• QCan bladder stones be prevented?

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  A Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center answered

  Preventing bladder stones can be difficult, since they often appear as a result of an underlying medical condition. Ask your doctor about any new urinary symptoms right away. Early detection is the key to treating underlying conditions, such as enlarged prostate, before they cause bladder stones. Drink plenty of water to dilute concentrated urine and flush mineral crystals out of your bladder before they have time to become bladder stones.
• QWhat role do our kidneys play in maintaining our health?

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  A UCLA Health answered

  The kidneys play many important roles, including filtering wastes from the blood, regulating blood pressure and balancing fluid, salt and acid in the body. They are vital in producing red blood cells and vitamin D, which is essential for healthy bones. Kidney health is therefore vital to overall health.