5 reasons you will see blood in urine

The condition in which blood appears in the urine is known as hematuria. The loss of blood in this condition could be gross or microscopic depending on the cause of the condition. There are several causes why blood may appear in the urine. Whatever the cause may be, hematuria is mostly indicative of a serious medical condition.

Here are 5 reasons that cause blood to appear in the urine.

1. Infection

Infections like urethritis, pyelonephritis, cystitis or infection in any other body organ along the urinary tract is one of the most common causes of hematuria. Such bacterial infection in the urethra can also infect the kidneys and the urinary bladder. It results in the urge to urinate frequently and also causes blood to appear in the urine.

2. Kidney stones and bladder stones

Another reason that can cause blood to appear in the urine is the presence of stones in the kidney or bladder. These stones are crystallized minerals that are formed in the kidney or the bladder but fail to pass through the urinary tract. They cause blockage and pain and result in hematuria.

3. An enlarged prostate

An enlarged prostate is a common cause of the appearance of blood in the urine in men who are in their middle ages or older. Enlargement of the prostate gland causes the urethra to be compressed. This prevents the urethra from getting fully emptied while urination.

4. Polycystic kidney disease

PKD is a kidney disorder in which cysts filled with fluid form in the kidneys and impair the kidneys, causing them to fail entirely at times. It is an inherited disease and causes blood to appear in the urine.

In children who are between 6-10 years of age, kidney disorder after streptococcal glomerulonephritis can be a possible cause of hematuria.

5. Cancer

A cancerous kidney, bladder or prostate gland can also cause blood to appear in the urine. It is another major cause of hematuria but usually occurs in older patients.




5 Reasons You Will See Blood in Urine

The kidneys may be a pair of small organs but they perform a very important function. Without the kidneys, it is impossible to filter blood and remove toxins from the body. One of the common problems associated with kidneys is the development of a kidney stone. This can be described as a hard, pebble like substance that is formed when urine contains high levels of certain minerals. Kidney stones vary in size and shape. Small stones may pass through the ureter into the bladder and out of the body with minimal discomfort. However, in some cases, a kidney stone can be as large as a golf ball. In such cases, it can block the urine flow and cause extreme amounts of pain as well as bleeding. In such cases, a doctor needs to be consulted as early as possible.

There are four different types of kidney stones.

Calcium Stones: This is the most common type of kidney stones. It is caused by excess calcium that is not flushed out with the urine.
Uric acid stones: Highly acidic urine can trigger the development of such stones. This may be caused by excessive consumption of meat, fish and shell fish.
Struvite stones: This is often formed as a side effect of Urinary tract infections. These stones may develop and grow rapidly.
Cystine stones: These stones are formed as a result of a genetic disorder known as cystinuria. This disorder causes an amino acid known as cysteine to leak into the urine.
Kidney stones are a fairly common occurrence. It affects both men and women but men have a higher risk of developing kidney stones as compared to women. Other risk factors that can influence kidney stones are:

Family history of kidney stones
Not drinking enough water
Obesity
Digestive problems
Recurrent UTIs
Gout
Bowel inflammation
Disease that causes blockage of the urinary tract
Certain medications such as diuretics or calcium based antacids
Once a person has been diagnosed with a kidney stone, this issue can recur. Treatment for kidney stones depends on the type of stones, size and location. In most cases, medication is prescribed to help break the stone down into smaller parts so that it can pass through urine. In extreme cases, surgery may be required. If not treated in time, it can cause severe pain, bloody urine, UTIs that can further lead to kidney failure and reduced kidney functioning.
Kidney stones can be prevented by drinking plenty of fluids and making a few dietary changes. Ideally, a person should have a minimum of 8-10 glasses of water a day. If you have a high risk of developing any type of kidney stones, reduce your sodium consumption and the amount of meat eaten.


Kidney Stones - Are They Really Common?

Diabetes is a lifestyle disease that can easily be managed by controlling our diet. Along with being aware of your sugar intake, your diet should help you lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels. However, this does not mean you have to resign yourself to a lifetime of tasteless food.

Here are a few diet tips that can help manage diabetes: 

Choose high fiber carbohydrates: Carbohydrates are an essential element of the daily diet but have a huge impact on blood sugar levels. Hence, it is important to pick the right carbohydrates. Your diet should have a limited amount of refined carbohydrates such as white bread, pasta, soda etc. and should be focused more on high fiber carbohydrates such as brown rice, sweet potatoes, rolled oats and bran flakes that are digested slowly. This prevents your body from producing excessive insulin.
Be sweet smart: The key to indulge your sweet tooth and controlling diabetes is moderation. Abruptly, removing sugar from your diet can make you crave for it. Instead, gradually lower your sugar intake. If you can't miss out on the dessert at the end of a meal, reduce the amount of carbohydrates in your meal. Adding healthy fats like peanut butter, yogurt or nuts to your dessert can also slow down the digestive process and thus control blood sugar level.
Keep a food diary: When you are diabetic, it is very important to eat at regular intervals. Eating frequent, small meals are often better than fewer large meals. Try and maintain a food diary to keep track of your calorie intake. This helps identify problem areas of where your body is getting excessive calories from. When you are aware of the calories associated with things you eat, it is easier to cut down on snacks and replace unhealthy snacks with healthier options.
Choose fats wisely: It is impossible to completely cut out fats from your diet. While some fats such as liquid vegetable oils and commercial baked goods are unhealthy, others have important health benefits. Unsaturated fats are the healthiest and safest. Replacing your vegetable cooking oil for olive oil and biscuits with nuts are easy ways to make smart choices with your fat intake.
Go green: Green leafy vegetables are low on carbohydrates and high on nutrients. Thus, make them an integral part of your meal. Vegetables like kale, spinach, lettuce, etc. can be eaten raw or cooked. Along with being nutritious, they also add texture and color to your meals, thus making them more visually appealing.
If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a doctor and ask a free question.

5 Tips To Control Diabetes Through A Diet!

Exercise has a considerable number of benefits to offer people who have diabetes. As a result of doing exercise on a regular basis, the blood sugar level stays in check. Managing diabetes without indulging in any physical activity is near to no good as exercise is the backbone of diabetes treatment. Here are the ten exercises that prove to be great for people with diabetes.

Walking: Walking is considered to be one of the best exercises for treating diabetes and the most prescribed physical activity for people with Type 2 diabetes. A daily brisk walking of at least 30 minutes can be the easiest way of increasing one s physical activity level.
Running/jogging: By jogging or running daily, people can control their blood pressure and ensure good heart condition. It proves to be extremely beneficial for diabetes people who often develop risks of heart attacks or high blood pressure.
Weight training: As regular weight training helps in building the muscle mass, opting for this becomes necessary for people with Type 2 diabetes. Because losing muscle mass means difficulty in maintaining the blood sugar levels.
Tai Chi: Tai Chi helps in relaxing the body and mind as well as ensures trouble-free body movements. Tai Chi plays a crucial role in reducing stress and nerve damage, which is a common complication in diabetes.
Swimming: Swimming helps in relaxing and stretching the muscles, without exerting any pressure on the joints, which is why it is a great exercise for diabetic people. Often diabetic people lose sensation in their feet, which makes swimming the best option for them.
Yoga: Helping in lowering the body fat, improving the nerve function, and fighting the insulin resistance, yoga can benefit people suffering from diabetes in a lot of ways. By controlling the stress, it indirectly helps in lowering the blood sugar levels.
Stationary bicycling: A form of aerobic exercise, stationary bicycling ensures a strong heart and well-functioning lungs. Burning lots of calories, it improves the blood flow to the legs, which is important for diabetic people.
Water aerobics: Water aerobics, too, has a lot of benefits to offer to the diabetic people in terms of regaining the right body balance and strengthening the muscles.
Playing: For those who enjoy playing tennis or basketball, treating diabetes with exercise can be an easy job. All one has to do is play rigorously on a daily basis, and the body will stay fit and the blood sugar levels well controlled.
Dancing: Dancing can be a great way of doing exercise for the diabetic people as it helps in improving the flexibility of the body, reducing stress and lowering the blood sugar levels.
By including exercise as a regular part of their daily life, people with diabetes can not only experience positive effects on their diabetic condition but can also achieve an overall good health with desired fitness.

10 Exercises That Will Surely Help Diabetic Patients!

Are you suffering from diabetes? If yes, then it s time for you to be extra careful about your health. Diabetes may cause several other diseases as well. You must check your lifestyle and take medical efforts to get rid of diabetes as soon as possible. 


You are at risk of developing nerve damages (neuropathy), vascular injuries and other heart diseases, regardless of your age, sex or other external or internal factors. Diabetes patients must strive to maintain fasting blood glucose levels less than 110 mg/dL and hemoglobin HbA1C level less than 7%.  Also, diabetes patients should keep a check on blood pressure and cholesterol levels. 


Here s how diabetes can affect your overall health:
1. Check your heart: There is a correlation between blood pressure, cholesterol levels and diabetes. Researchers have found that high bad cholesterol levels act as a hindrance to insulin regulation. People with diabetes are more likely to develop heart-related diseases. About 60% diabetes patients die due to heart attacks. Diabetes is responsible for hardening of arteries or atherosclerosis. This situation is dangerous and can cause heart attacks, strokes or other chronic diseases.


2. Neuropathy: Diabetes leads to impaired nerve function. This is called neuropathy. This condition is of two types: Peripheral (which affects toes, feet, legs, hand and arms) and Autonomic (which affects digestion, bowel, bladder, heart and sexual activity). Symptoms of neuropathy include tingling, weakness, burning sensation, numbness in the limbs, digestive disorders, infection of the bladder and erectile dysfunction.


3. Nephropathy: Diabetes is responsible for causing damage to the kidneys as well. This is called nephropathy. In this condition, the filters in the kidney or glomeruli get damaged. As a result, there is a leakage of protein in the urine. Consequently, kidneys get damaged. Urine showing small amounts of protein is an indication of kidney damage. About 20-40% patients suffering from diabetes die due to renal failure. The symptoms of renal disorder due to diabetes include itching, fatigue, urine with protein, swelling of feet and ankles and pale skin colour.


4. Foot ulcers and amputations: Diabetes causes non-injury amputations as it affects the nerve in the limbs, especially foot. Usually, minor infections in the foot may lead to ulcers and later require amputation. In rare cases, Charcot joint or Charcot foot may also occur. This is called neuropathic arthropathy. The symptoms include swelling and reddening of the foot. The bones of the affected foot have a tendency to develop cracks, deforming the entire region.


5. Retinopathy: Diabetes leads to blindness in adults. The eye disorder caused due to diabetes is called retinopathy. Patients with diabetes develop cataract easily. The capillaries and blood vessels in the retina get damaged or obstructed, resulting in damage to the entire retina.

Diabetes: It Can be the Reason Behind Other Disorders

The pair of kidneys that human beings have, forms an important part in the excretory system. They perform specific and important functions. They excrete urine as well as help in eliminating the toxins, which accumulate in the body. Kidney stones occur when the minerals present in the urine without being discharged, keep on accumulating. This gives rise to an extremely painful and uncomfortable situation. Though sometimes the situation gets revoked all by itself, many a times it requires medical intervention. 

Some of the symptoms of kidney stones are: 
1.  Excruciating pain in the back
2.  Pain while urinating
3.  Tendencies to vomit
4.  Dizziness
5.  Fever 

However, there are several preventive measures which you can undertake in order to avert the situation. Some of them are:
1.  Drink lots of water
Kidney stone is one of those rare conditions that once occurred, always carry the latent threat of recurring again. Therefore, drinking water in large quantities becomes essential. The more you drink water, the more frequently you would urinate, thereby curbing the chances of the minerals settling in the kidneys.
2.  Avoid certain foods
Food like beets, spinach, those which are replete with calcium oxalate should be avoided in order to minimize chances of having kidney stones.
3.  Change your diet
If you are trying to avoid the eventuality of developing kidney stones, it is imperative that you change your diet a bit. It is recommended that you exclude animal protein as much as possible and assiduously avoid the intake of salt as much as possible.
4.  Take less calcium supplements
Calcium generally is considered a nemesis to your kidneys and is prescribed by doctors to be avoided. However recent research has thwarted this claim. Calcium does not pose a threat to kidneys. However calcium supplements definitely do and therefore, should be avoided.

All About Kidney Stones

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