Lead, Urine Tips

If you are experiencing pain in urination along with a burning sensation, a health condition known as dysuria is indicated. This condition is usually common in women and men alike. However, older men are more prone to face this problem. Pain during urination may occur because of various reasons. The most common causes are as follows:
Infections

1. Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are a common cause of painful urination. Infections may occur in any part of your urinary tract, such as in the kidneys, bladder, and the ureters. These infections occur due to bacteria, which gets into the urinary tract via the urethra. There are several factors, which increase your chances of being affected by UTI. They include diabetes, an enlarged prostate, old age, pregnancy, and kidney stones. UTI is signified by other symptoms such as fever, bloody urines, flank pain, stronger smelling urine, and an increased urge for urination.
2. At times, painful urination may also be associated with vaginal infections in women, like yeast infection. Vaginal discharge and foul odor are indicated in the case of vaginal infections.
3. Painful urination is also caused because of certain sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as gonorrhea, genital herpes and Chlamydia.

Inflammation and irritation
There are several problems, which can cause inflammation of your urinary tract and genital region. This further results in painful urination. Inflammation and irritations also occur because of other factors such as urinary tract stones, vaginal changes associated with menopause, certain physical activities and the side effects of several medicines, treatment procedures and health supplements.

Consulting a doctor for painful urination
Your doctor will suggest you to undertake certain laboratory tests for the proper diagnosis of the cause of your painful urination. After this, a suitable treatment method is sought and undertaken. Before this, an overall physical examination is also carried out. Your doctor is likely to ask you some important questions regarding your painful irritation, how the condition worsens, and is felt during the onset of urination. It is also likely for your doctor to know about any other symptoms, which you might be experiencing such as fever, flank pain and vaginal discharge. You must tell your doctor about any changes observed in your urine flow, such as difficulty in initiating flow, an increased urge to urinate, and dribbling.

Apart from these, your doctor may also ask whether you experienced any character in urine after painful urination. These may include colour, amount, cloudiness, presence of pus in the urine and so on. In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!

If there is blood in your urine, it is a sign of renal illness. While this could be happening because of various reasons, it is advisable to see your doctor soon.

Following are the causes of blood in your urine:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.

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 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. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a Urologist.

Blood in urine, medically known as Hematuria is not usually a cause of concern, but it can translate into an adverse condition if left unevaluated. The kidneys and other structures in the urinary tracts such as urethra (tube connecting the bladder to the outer part of the body); bladder (that stores the urine) and ureters (tube joining the bladder to the kidney) are the sources of blood flow to the urine. Hematuria can be accompanied by symptoms such as discharge of tea-colored, brownish-red or pink colored urine due to the presence of red blood cells, traces of which can only be detected under the microscope.

Underlying causes behind this disorder might be:

1. Urinary tract infections is where the bacteria enter the body through the urethra and begin to proliferate in the bladder.
2. Kidney infections (pyelonephritis) is when bacteria infiltrate into the kidneys from the bloodstream or travel up from the uterus to the kidneys.
3. A kidney or a bladder stone is marked by the minerals in the concentrated urine precipitating out and molding into crystals that deposit on the bladder or kidney walls.
4. Enlarged prostate is a condition in which the prostate gland, that is situated just below the bladder surrounding the upper part of the urethra, starts growing as males head towards their middle age.
5. Kidney disease such as glomerulonephritis causes swelling of the kidneys, thus disrupting the filtering system.
6. Bladder, kidney and prostate cancer are also possible causes.
7. Hereditary disorders such as sickle cell anemia (a hereditary disease of the red blood cells in the hemoglobin) can also pose as a cause behind this disorder.
8. Kidney injury as a result of heavy blows, accidents or injuries sustained while playing a spot can also contribute to this condition.
9. Medications such as penicillin or the anti-cancer drug ‘cyclophosphamide’
10. Strenuous physical exercises like intense workout or running may also result in Hematuria.

Treatment
There is no fixed cure for Hematuria; instead the doctor would work on treating the repressed conditions behind the symptoms, such as prescribing antibiotics to heal the urinary tract infection or a medicine to shrink and normalize the enlarged prostate or administer a shock wave therapy to destroy the kidney or bladder stones. 

In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!

What is a Urinalysis?

A urinalysis is a laboratory test of urine commonly referred to by medical professionals as a “UA.” The urine is evaluated for the presence of certain chemicals. A microscopic exam of the urine is also done to look for abnormalities.

A urinalysis is indicated for evaluating pets with urinary abnormalities such as increased urine production, increased urinary frequency, straining to urinate, bloody urine or abnormal color to the urine. This test can also be helpful in cases of unexplained fever, loss of appetite or weight loss. A urinalysis is often done when indicated by the results of an X-ray, results of blood tests indicating a problem with the urinary system or as a follow up to physical examination when abnormalities are detected.

Any evaluation for health or illness should include a urinalysis. Urinalysis results can give an idea of hydration and kidney function; it can also indicate inflammation or infections in the urinary tract.

There is no real contraindication to performing this test. Even normal results help determine health or exclude certain diseases.

Why Is It Done?

Perhaps you might have noticed that even when you go for your routine health checkup, the physician would suggest you to undergo a urine examination. Similarly, when you approach the doctor for a certain specific ailment, then also the physician may suggest you to undergo a urine test. This test is necessary because urine provides considerable data to the physician to ascertain the cause of your ailment. Urine examination is very important as it indicates the state of your general health. A urinalysis is done for several reasons:

1. To check your overall health: Your doctor may recommend a urinalysis as part of a routine medical exam, pregnancy checkup, pre-surgery preparation, or on hospital admission to screen for a variety of disorders, such as diabetes, kidney disease and liver disease.
2. To diagnose a medical condition: Your doctor may suggest a urinalysis if you're experiencing abdominal pain, back pain, frequent or painful urination, blood in your urine, or other urinary problems. A urinalysis may help diagnose the cause of these symptoms.
3. To monitor a medical condition: If you've been diagnosed with a medical condition, such as kidney disease or a urinary tract disease, your doctor may recommend a urinalysis on a regular basis to monitor your condition and treatment.

Other uses of urine examination:

Urine examination or analysis is also called as “urinalysis”. The urine examination reveals early signs of various diseases including ailments like diabetes and kidney diseases. Further, if you are suffering from any infection, the urine analysis will be helpful in determining the type of infection. It also helps in determining pregnancy.

Process of filtration:

As you know, it is the kidneys, which throw out urine. Further, urine contains waste materials removed from the blood by a process of filtration performed by the kidney. In fact, even the health of the kidney can be assessed by a urine examination.

Some of the other salient features of urine analysis are briefly described here:

1. In the case of patients suffering from chronic kidney ailment, periodical urine examination will help the physician ascertain the health of the kidney. For example, presence of protein beyond a certain level would be a pointer to evaluate the health of your kidney. Interestingly, in some cases, a few people may release excess protein only occasionally. Therefore, during the course of urine examination, they might not have released excess protein. It is for this reason that the doctor may suggest repeated urine analysis to evaluate the health of the kidney.
2. The process of urine analysis is normally grouped into three, namely visual colour examination of the urine, dip stick examination and microscopic examination. The type of examination normally depends on the ailment suspected. Further, depending on the results of urine analysis, the physician may suggest you to undergo various other urine tests.
3. Sometimes the accuracy of the results of urine analysis can be affected because of certain medicines that you may be taking or dehydration and for various other reasons. In such cases, the physician may suggest you to repeat the urine examination after a few days.

Summary:

In some cases, the pathologist may provide certain instructions before collecting your urine for a thorough examination. For example, you may be asked to go empty stomach or a few hours after the meals and so on. Follow these instructions scrupulously; after all, instructions are for the sake of your health and its benefits. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a nephrologist.

An overactive bladder is a condition that is characterized by a problem in the bladder storage function; a problem that makes not that eggs one on to urinate frequently. 

Symptoms
If you have an overactive bladder, you may exhibit symptoms of frequent urination, involuntary leakage of urine and frequent urge to urinate. These symptoms might disrupt your daily life; so it is important to seek advice from a medical practitioner.

Causes
To better understand what causes an overactive bladder, you need to know how the urination process works. Urine is produced by the kidneys, which flows to the bladder. During urination, the urine is excreted from an opening in the bladder and flows out via the urethra. As the kidneys secrete urine, the bladder starts to fill up. During this stage, nerve signals are sent to the brain; signals that trigger your body to urinate. The bladder muscles tighten that pushes the urine out of the body.

An overactive bladder results from the involuntarily contraction of the bladder, which might happen even if the content of urine in the bladder is low. These contractions create the urge to urinate. The various causes of an overactive bladder are:

1. Excessive fluid intake, if your fluid intake is high, then you may have the tendency to urinate frequently.
2. Presence of tumors or stones in the bladder can make the bladder overactive as well.
3. Excessive alcohol or caffeine consumption has the same effect as an excessive intake of fluids has.
4. Urinary tract infections may interfere with the entire process of urination, thus causing your bladder to swell up and become overactive.
5. Other diseases and conditions such as constipation and an enlarged prostate can hamper bladder functioning.

Treatment
There are multiple approaches to treat an overactive bladder; your doctor may use one or a combination of multiple methods.

1. Medications: Medications such as Trospium and Tolterodine help in relaxing the bladder. These medications help treat symptoms of frequent urination.
2. Bladder injections: Botox is a protein that is injected into the bladder that causes partial paralysis of the bladder muscles. This helps in treating the constant urge to urinate. However, its effects are temporary as they last for 6-9 months.
3. Lifestyle modifications: Certain lifestyle modifications such as incorporating exercises to strengthen the pelvic muscles, maintaining optimal weight levels and bladder training to control its functioning can help with managing an overactive bladder.
4. Surgery: If the other treatments do not produce the desired results, then surgery is usually recommended. The aim of the surgery is to enhance the storage capacity of the bladder and reduce bladder pressure.

Blood in urine, medically known as Hematuria is not usually a cause of concern, but it can translate into an adverse condition if left unevaluated. The kidneys and other structures in the urinary tracts such as urethra (tube connecting the bladder to the outer part of the body); bladder (that stores the urine) and ureters (tube joining the bladder to the kidney) are the sources of blood flow to the urine. Hematuria can be accompanied by symptoms such as discharge of tea-colored, brownish-red or pink colored urine due to the presence of red blood cells, traces of which can only be detected under the microscope.

Underlying causes behind this disorder might be

1. Urinary tract infection is where the bacteria enter the body through the urethra and begin to proliferate in the bladder.
2. Kidney infections (pyelonephritis) is when bacteria infiltrate into the kidneys from the bloodstream or travel up from the uterus to the kidneys.
3. A kidney or a bladder stone is marked by the minerals in the concentrated urine precipitating out and molding into crystals that deposit on the bladder or kidney walls.
4. Enlarged prostate is a condition in which the prostate gland, that is situated just below the bladder surrounding the upper part of the urethra, starts growing as males head towards their middle age.
5. Kidney disease such as glomerulonephritis causes swelling of the kidneys, thus disrupting the filtering system.
6. Bladder, kidney and prostate cancer are also possible causes.
7. Hereditary disorders such as sickle cell anemia (a hereditary disease of the red blood cells in the hemoglobin) can also pose as a cause behind this disorder.
8. Kidney injury as a result of heavy blows, accidents or injuries sustained while playing a spot can also contribute to this condition.
9. Medications such as penicillin or the anti-cancer drug ‘cyclophosphamide’
10. Strenuous physical exercises like intense workout or running may also result in Hematuria.

Treatments

There is no fixed cure for Hematuria; instead the doctor would work on treating the repressed conditions behind the symptoms, such as prescribing antibiotics to heal the urinary tract infection or a medicine to shrink and normalize the enlarged prostate or administer a shock wave therapy to destroy the kidney or bladder stones. 

Burning urination or painful urination is also called dysuria, and it is one of the most common complaints amongst women. Another common problem is frequent urination. What are the causes of these two conditions? Are they in fact related? 

Frequent urination, in simple terms, is also sometimes called overactive bladder and it is the need to urinate more than you normally would. This can cause loss of bladder control too. You may feel extremely full even after using the toilet and the feeling is extremely uncomfortable. Medical practitioners bracket urinating every two hours or more as frequent urination.

Some of the underlying causes are

1. A urinary tract infection or UTI is the most common cause of frequent urination. UTIs happen when bacteria enters your urinary bladder through the urethra. Men also get UTIs, but it is less common than women as the ladies have shorter urethras. This means that bacteria have less distance to travel before they can infect the urinary tract causing UTIs. UTIs in women can be prevented by proper wiping after using the toilet, which will protect the urethra from E.coli bacteria. Proper hygiene also is a deterrent, especially after intercourse.
2. Medical conditions affecting muscles, nerves, and tissues. Weakening of nerves due to hernias in the lower back etc. can also cause an overactive bladder.
3. Oestrogen deficiency caused due to menopause can cause an overactive bladder and a woman finds it difficult to hold the urine for long.
4. Obesity can also place extra pressure on the bladder.

Burning sensation while urinating 

Common reasons behind it

1. Frequent urination does not point to any gynaecological issues but burning urination is a common symptom of sexually transmitted diseases or STDs like Chlamydia and Gonorrhea which cause symptoms like pain when urinating and vaginal discharge. Burning urination usually occurs after intercourse when sexually transmitted infections are present.
2. Burning while urination can also be caused due to UTIs and it is often accompanied by other symptoms of UTIs like painful urination or dysuria or blood in the urine.
3. Kidney stones are solid masses of crystalized calcium or other materials that start in the kidneys but can pass through the urinary tract causing pain and discomfort.
4. Urethral stricture is a condition when the urethra narrows and this causes burning and pain during urination in women.
5. Urethritis is the inflammation of the urethra in women can cause burning on urination.
6. Pelvic inflammatory disease is an infection of the reproductive organs in women and causes abdominal pain especially during urination or sex.
7. Bladder cancer
8. Vulvovaginitis is a common infection of the vulva and vagina, both, and it causes burning and itching while urinating and increased vaginal discharge.

In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!

Urinary incontinence is characterized by lack of control over the bladder so that urine involuntarily leaks out. This leakage can happen when pressure is put on the bladder through actions like sneezing, laughing, coughing or lifting a heavy object. Urinary incontinence is common in people who are overweight, in pregnant women or women who have given birth recently, in people with urinary tract infections, cystitis and in older individuals.

Symptoms
Urinary incontinence is most commonly of 4 types and symptoms of each are different:

1. Stress incontinence – Urine leaks out when there is a sudden pressure on the lower abdomen such as in coughing, sneezing, and heavy lifting.
2. Urge incontinence - Urine leaks out as soon as the urge for urinating is felt.
3. Overflow incontinence – Urine continuously leaks out due to the bladder being overfilled. Often people experiencing this type of incontinence may strain to empty their bladder or do not feel the need to urinate.
4. Functional incontinence – Urine leaks out before the person is able to reach the bathroom because of some physical disability such as arthritis.

Causes
The causes of urinary incontinence depend on if incontinence is temporary or persistent.

Temporary incontinence:
Diuretics like alcohol, carbonated drinks, coffee and tea
Artificial sweeteners and chocolate
Carbonated drinks
Vitamin C in large doses
Medicines for high blood pressure and sedatives
Very spicy or acidic foods
Persistent incontinence:

Infections of the urinary or genital tract

1. In women, pregnancy, childbirth, menopause, and hysterectomy
2. In men, an enlarged prostate
3. Neurological disorders like stroke, Parkinson’s disease
4. Tumors in the urinary tract or bladder that can block urine flow
5. Obesity
6. Age

Role of Homeopathy-
Urinary incontinence can be effectively treated with homeopathy which takes into account not only the physical symptoms of the disease but also the patient’s mental and emotional state, overall health, reactions to environmental conditions like heat and cold and food habits. Medicines like Cantharis and Sulphur 30c can be very effective for straining to urinate and pain during urination, whereas medicines like Causticum and Ipecac are useful for controlling leakage of urine while walking, sneezing or coughing. The medications prescribed are all naturally derived, which guarantees treatment without any side effects. Homeopathy not only treats the external symptoms of incontinence but also helps resolve the underlying problems and hence provide a permanent solution to this disorder.

Homeopathic remedies can thus offer a natural and safe option for treating urinary incontinence that can save people from a potentially embarrassing situation without any side effects.

If you are experiencing pain in urination along with a burning sensation, a health condition known as dysuria is indicated. This condition is usually common in women and men alike. However, older men are more prone to face this problem. Pain during urination may occur because of various reasons. The most common causes are as follows:
Infections

1. Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are a common cause of painful urination. Infections may occur in any part of your urinary tract, such as in the kidneys, bladder, and the ureters. These infections occur due to bacteria, which gets into the urinary tract via the urethra. There are several factors, which increase your chances of being affected by UTI. They include diabetes, an enlarged prostate, old age, pregnancy, and kidney stones. UTI is signified by other symptoms such as fever, bloody urines, flank pain, stronger smelling urine, and an increased urge for urination.
2. At times, painful urination may also be associated with vaginal infections in women, like yeast infection. Vaginal discharge and foul odor are indicated in the case of vaginal infections.
3. Painful urination is also caused because of certain sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as gonorrhea, genital herpes and Chlamydia.

Inflammation and irritation
There are several problems, which can cause inflammation of your urinary tract and genital region. This further results in painful urination. Inflammation and irritations also occur because of other factors such as urinary tract stones, vaginal changes associated with menopause, certain physical activities and the side effects of several medicines, treatment procedures and health supplements.

Consulting a doctor for painful urination

Your doctor will suggest you to undertake certain laboratory tests for the proper diagnosis of the cause of your painful urination. After this, a suitable treatment method is sought and undertaken. Before this, an overall physical examination is also carried out. Your doctor is likely to ask you some important questions regarding your painful irritation, how the condition worsens, and is felt during the onset of urination. It is also likely for your doctor to know about any other symptoms, which you might be experiencing such as fever, flank pain and vaginal discharge. You must tell your doctor about any changes observed in your urine flow, such as difficulty in initiating flow, an increased urge to urinate, and dribbling.

Apart from these, your doctor may also ask whether you experienced any character in urine after painful urination. These may include colour, amount, cloudiness, presence of pus in the urine and so on.