Posts Tagged ‘Urination’

Excessive urination during Pregnancy – Causes and Treatment

During pregnancy, you may feel the need to urinate frequently, sometimes even when the bladder is nearly empty. During later pregnancy, many women find the need to urinate more frequently. Many pregnant women leak some urine when coughing, laughing, sneezing or exercising. During pregnancy it is normal to have to go to the bathroom often.
Frequent urination is one of the most common symptoms of pregnancy that women experience. In fact, some women experience frequent urination and not even know they are pregnant yet. There are a couple of reasons for frequent urination during pregnancy.
Urinating often occurs during early pregnancy as soon as 6-7 weeks due to increased blood flow during pregnancy. Excess blood leads to extra fluid being processed through the kidneys to the bladder.

Causes:
The need to go to the bathroom will change throughout the stages of pregnancy. Sometimes you may feel the need to urinate more frequently. Other times, you feel like you’re back to normal.

- In the first weeks of pregnancy, your body produces a hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), which can make you urinate more frequently.
- Your body contains more fluid during pregnancy.
- Your kidneys work harder throughout pregnancy to remove waste products from your body.
- As the uterus grows and rises higher during the second trimester, some women find that they have to urinate as often as before.
- Towards the end of pregnancy, the baby moves down to prepare for childbirth. This increases the pressure on the bladder, causing more frequent urination.
- The added pressure may wake you up several times at night to urinate.
- You can also force some urine to leak out, particularly if the muscles around the urethra are not very strong.

For the first days after birth, you may urinate more often as your body gets rid of excess fluid from the pregnancy. But after a few days, your need to urinate should return to what it was before pregnancy.

Treatment:
Here are some tips for dealing with frequent urination or loss during pregnancy:

Avoid drinks with caffeine.
- Caffeine can make you urinate more frequently.
- Avoid drinks like coffee, tea, colas and other caffeinated beverages that lead to the problem.

Do the Kegel exercises.
- These simple exercises can help stop urine leakage by strengthening the muscles that keep the urethra (the tube through which urine leaves the body) closed. They can even help prepare these muscles for labor and delivery.
- Do these exercises by squeezing the muscles you use to stop urine flow and hold for 10 seconds.
- Do this 10-20 times in a row at least three times a day.

Avoid drinking fluids before bedtime.
- Cut down on night visits to the bathroom, fluid intake should be earlier in the day.
- Reduce the amount you drink in the early evening and night.
- However, be sure to drink adequate amounts of water and juice during the day to ensure that there are robbing your body of vital fluids.

Completely empty the bladder.
- To help prevent leaks, make sure your bladder does not overfill.
- Try not to “hold it” when you feel the need to urinate. This may mean more trips to the bathroom.
- When you urinate, try to lean forward a bit in order to completely empty the bladder. Always empty your bladder before exercising.

Use a sanitary pad or panty shield.
- A pad or panty shield can take unexpected leakage caused by coughing or sneezing.

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What is Diabetes Insipidus? What are its causes, symptoms, prevention and treatment for diabetes insipidus?

Diabetes Insipidus is a rare disease caused by the failure of the kidneys to conserve water and stops filtering urine. Diabetes insipidus is not same as diabetes mellitus. This disease leads to excessive urination and thirst which is one common symptom between diabetes mellitus and insipidus. The fluid retention is managed by anti-diuretic hormone which is produced in the brain by hypothalamus as well as controlled by pituitary gland located at the bottom of the brain.

The extra fluid is removed through kidneys from bloodstream. This fluid is stored as urine in bladder. If the fluid regulation system is working properly, the kidneys make less urine when body is loosing water or at night when the metabolic rates are slow.

SYMPTOMS OF DIABETES INSIPIDUS
- Frequent urination.
- Colorless urine.
- Bed-wetting.
- Disruption is sleep.
- Dry skin and weakness.
- Fever.
- Vomiting.
- Diarrhea.

TYPES OF DIABETES INSIPIDUS
- Central Diabetes Insipidus : Head injury, infection, surgery and tumor can cause damage to the hypothalamus or pituitary gland that can cause central diabetes insipidus. It disrupts the storage and release of ADH.
- Nephrogenic Diabetes Insipidus : Kidneys do not respond to ADH. It can be caused due to some chronic disorders or some drugs.
- Dipsogenic Diabetes Insipidus : It is a rare form of diabetes insipidus and is caused when there is a defect or problem in the thirst mechanism. The thirst increases abnormally resulting in more urine output.
- Gestational Diabetes Insipidus : It occurs during pregnancy. It occurs when and enzyme made by the placenta destroys ADH in the mother.

DIAGNOSIS OF DIABETES INSIPIDUS
There is a possibility that diabetes mellitus can cause diabetes insipidus. Diagnosis includes:
- Physical examinations.
- Blood tests.
- Urinalysis is the physical and chemical examination of urine.
- Fluid deprivation test helps in determining whether diabetes insipidus is caused by excessive intake of fluid, defect in ADH production or defect in kidney’s response to ADH.

Complications may include dehydration, weakness, fatigue, low body temperature, kidney and brain damage, headaches.

Prevention includes drinking plenty of fluids, following a low salt diet, few medications may help. Treatment includes:
- Vasopressin can be taken to cure central diabetes insipidus.
- Stopping the medication can treat nephrogenic diabetes insipidus.
- Hereditary nephrogenic diabetes insipidus is treated with fluid intake to match urine output and drugs that lower urine output.

Causes and Symptoms of Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is a disease which only affects men. Cancer begins to grow in the prostate – a gland in the male reproductive system. The prostate is so called because of its position – it is at the base of the bladder. The exact causes of prostate cancer are unknown.

Causes of Prostate Cancer

- Prostate cancer is caused by changes in the DNA of a prostate cancer cell. DNA makes up our genes, which control how cells behave.
- Prostate cancer may also be linked to higher levels of certain hormones. High levels of male hormones (androgens) may play a part in prostate cancer risk in some men.
- The risk (predisposing) factors for prostate cancer include advancing age, genetics (heredity), hormonal influences, and such environmental factors as toxins, chemicals, and industrial products.
- It develops in the outer part of the gland as distinct from Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH), which develops in the centre of the gland. Therefore, it is possible to get prostatic cancer even after one has had a prostatectomy for BPH.

Symptoms of Prostate Cancer

Levels of a substance called prostate specific antigen (PSA) is often high in men with prostate cancer. However, PSA can also be high with other prostate conditions. Since the PSA test became common, most prostate cancers are found before they cause symptoms. In the later stages, prostate cancer can spread locally into the surrounding tissue or the nearby lymph nodes, called the pelvic nodes. The cancer then can spread even farther (metastasize) to other areas of the body. Symptoms of prostate cancer may include :

- A need to urinate frequently, especially at night.
- Difficulty in starting urination or inability to urinate.
- Weak or interrupted flow of urine.
- Painful or burning urination.
- Difficulty in having an erection.
- Pain during ejaculation.
- Blood in the urine or semen.
- Pain or stiffness in the lower back, hips, or thighs.
- Pain with bowel movement.
- Unintentional weight loss.
- Lethargy.
It is advised to consult a doctor immediately if you have experienced any of the above symptoms. Men aged 50 and above have the chances of developing prostate cancer.