Kidney Disease and Urology

Kidney Disease and Urology

Kidney Disease and Urology
The kidneys are amazing organs. One of the kidney’s major functions is to filter and remove waste products and excess fluids from your body. Each and every day, your kidneys filter over 200 quarts of fluid to produce about 2 quarts of urine that is stored in the bladder, and ultimately removed through a process called urination. Your kidneys also play an important role in removing drugs, regulating blood pressure, controlling the production of red bloods cells and helping promote strong, healthy bones by producing an active form of vitamin D.

Recently Answered

  • QHow is a cystocele (prolapsed bladder) diagnosed?
    2 Answers
    A
    Dr. Peter C. Fisher, MD - Salt Lake City, UT - Urology
    A Urology, answered on behalf of
    To diagnose a cystocele (prolapsed bladder), your healthcare provider will ask about your medical history and give you a physical exam. You may also have a cystourethrogram (also called a voiding cystogram), which is an x-ray taken of the bladder while you urinate. You’ll be given a special dye called a contrast medium. This helps show the bladder and urethra on the x-ray, allowing your healthcare provider to see the shape of your bladder and look for problems. You may need other tests to see if there are any problems in the other areas of your urinary system.
     
    A cystocele is graded during diagnosis. Grade 1 means the bladder sags only a short way into the top of the vagina. Grade 2 means the bladder sags down to the lower opening of the vagina. Grade 3 means the bladder sags out of the lower opening of the vagina.
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  • QAre children affected by diabetic kidney disease?
    1 Answer
    A
    Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center
    A answered

    Diabetic kidney disease is only a concern if your child developed diabetes very early in life. Diabetes does not cause kidney disease for several years, so it is rarely seen in children and young adults. However, the incidence of Type 2 diabetes is rising dramatically in young children, so more incidences of diabetic kidney disease may be reported in the future. The signs, symptoms, and treatment options for diabetic kidney disease are the same for children as adults.

  • QWhat causes a cystocele?
    2 Answers
    A
    Dr. Peter C. Fisher, MD - Salt Lake City, UT - Urology
    A Urology, answered on behalf of
    A cystocele (prolapsed bladder) may be caused by the following:
    • heavy lifting
    • straining muscles during childbirth
    • repeated straining during bowel movements
    • weakened muscles around the vagina caused by lack of estrogen after menopause
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  • QIs urethral stricture disease a type of benign urethral lesion?
    1 Answer
    A
    Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center
    A answered

    A urethral stricture is one of several benign urethral lesions that may lead to difficult urination. Urethral strictures are scar tissues that narrow or block off sections of the urethra. The narrowing within the urethra leads to soreness, ulcerations, and difficulty with urination. For uncircumcised men, it may be difficulty pulling back the foreskin at the tip of the penis. Urethral strictures are more common in men because they have longer urethras.

  • QWhat are the symptoms of a cystocele?
    2 Answers
    A
    Dr. Peter C. Fisher, MD - Salt Lake City, UT - Urology
    A Urology, answered on behalf of
    Symptoms of a cystocele (prolapsed bladder) include the following:
    • leakage of urine when you cough, sneeze or lift something heavy
    • heavy, achy or full feeling in the pelvis
    • pelvic pressure that gets worse with standing, lifting or coughing
    • a bulge in the vagina that you can feel
    • lower back pain
    • sexual difficulties
    • problems with inserting tampons
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  • QCan hemolytic-uremic syndrome be prevented?
    1 Answer
    A
    Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center
    A answered

    Preventing hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS) starts with preventing the infection that often causes HUS. Bacteria like E. coli, salmonella, and shigella are strongly linked to the infections that cause HUS, and they all exist in raw, uncooked food. The best prevention of HUS is to make sure you or your children do not ingest these harmful bacteria.

    Always defrost and cook meet to proper temperature. Do not allow raw foods to be prepared on the same surfaces as foods that will not be cooked before they are consumed. Drinking unpasteurized milk and juice will increase your risk of exposure to harmful bacteria. Always wash your hands after dealing with vegetables, fruit, and meat products that have not been washed. Avoid bathing, drinking, and playing in water that could be contaminated with stool.

  • QCan I safely get pregnant if I have hypothyroidism and diabetes insipidus?
    1 Answer
    A
    Brigham and Women's Hospital
    A answered
    Although the concept of safety is often in the eyes of the beholder, getting pregnant while you have hypothyroidism and diabetes insipidus (a condition in which the kidneys are unable to conserve water) would be relatively safe, given these few precautions:

    1. You are under the supervision of an endocrinologist.

    2. The "coincidence" of two separate endocrine disorders occurring in same person -- this needs to be thoroughly evaluated and a firm conclusion has to evolve so that it is either a coincidence or the overarching clinical condition responsible for both has been identified.

    3. Any other endocrine disorder(s) have been identified.

    4. Lastly, pre-pregnancy counseling has occurred with a high-risk pregnancy obstetrician (perinatologist). You need to be comfortable working with the doctor and the doctor needs to express confidence that he or she can and will provide care for you.
  • QWhat is the treatment for a cystocele?
    2 Answers
    A
    Dr. Peter C. Fisher, MD - Salt Lake City, UT - Urology
    A Urology, answered on behalf of
    Treatment of cystocele (prolapsed bladder) depends on the grade of your cystocele and other factors. Your choices may include the following:
    • Change of activity: You may need to avoid certain activities, such as heavy lifting or straining, which can cause your cystocele to get worse.
    • Pessary: This is a device put in the vagina to hold the bladder in place.
    • Surgery: A procedure can be done to move the bladder back into a more normal position and hold it in place.
    • Estrogen replacement therapy: This may help to strengthen the muscles around the vagina and bladder. Talk with your healthcare provider about the risks and benefits of hormone therapy based on your medical history.
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  • QHow is diabetes insipidus diagnosed?
    1 Answer
    A
    Johns Hopkins Medicine
    A answered

    To properly diagnose diabetes insipidus, a physician must perform a physical examination as well as take a complete patient history. Diabetes insipidus is suspected when a patient reports unusually frequent or large amounts of urination. To further the diagnosis, a urinalysis is done to discover dilute urine, which has a low concentration of certain chemicals.

    A water deprivation test may also be conducted, wherein the patient consumes no fluids for eight hours while urine output and specific gravity are monitored. Patients with diabetes insipidus continue to produce large amounts of urine despite dehydration. An injection of vasopressin reduces urine volume and produces concentrated urine in those with pituitary diabetes insipidus (but not in those with nephrogenic diabetes insipidus, which results from a lack of kidney response to normal levels of ADH).

    In addition, blood tests may be taken to assess water and salt balance.

  • QHow is diabetes insipidus treated?
    1 Answer
    A
    Johns Hopkins Medicine
    A answered

    Diabetes insipidus is treated by administering vasopressin, a synthetic antidiuretic hormone (ADH), either by nasal spray or by injection. This helps to replace or supplement the body's natural ADH production. Such hormone therapy is usually necessary for a lifetime, unless diabetes insipidus was caused by head trauma or surgery. In these cases, hormone treatment may only be needed for a year or so.

    Unfortunately, nephrogenic diabetes insipidus does not respond to normal ADH treatment. To treat nephrogenic diabetes insipidus— which results from a lack of kidney response to normal levels of ADH —your doctor may advise a low-salt diet to reduce thirst and slow the excretion of water. Certain diuretics may also be prescribed. You are also encouraged to drink plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration and consume plenty of high-fiber foods and fruit juices to prevent or treat constipation.