There’s No Evidence That Peeing After Sex Prevents Utis
Both women and men can get urinary tract infections, but women get them much more often for a basic anatomical reason: Their urethras are shorter and are located much closer to the anus, allowing bacteria to more easily jump from one to the other and travel up the bladder. Typically, this occurs with E. coli bacteria, though in about 5 to 10 percent of cases, it’s Staphylococcus.
Unfortunately, the activity that actually spreads the bacteria most often is sex in pre-menopausal women who are sexually active, researchers estimatesex is to blame for about 75 to 90 percent of UTIs. Using a diaphragm or a spermicide makes someone more likely to contract a UTI, but despite conventional wisdom, there’s no evidence that peeing or taking a shower after sex, using condoms, or using a birth control pill makes them any more or less likely. There’s some evidence that drinking cranberry juice can help prevent them, but the effect seems to be small.
A dose of antibiotics is usually effective in controlling an infection but rarely wipes out the bacteria entirely: 44 percent of women have a second episode within a year of being treated for an initial one.
How Do I Increase My Bladder Capacity
Problems with bladder capacity can come about due to several situations. A serious illness may negatively impact the normal function of the bladder, rendering the organ unable to hold the same amount of urine as in times past. Recent surgical procedures may temporarily lower the capacity of the bladder. There is even some evidence that emotional issues can impact the natural ability of the body to control bladder functions in what is considered a normal manner. Fortunately, there are ways to address each of these issues and restore a healthy bladder capacity.
One sign of a problem with bladder capacity is the need for frequent urination. For some reason, the bladder begins to sense the need to urinate long before it is full. When a doctor cannot identify any specific medical condition that is causing the decrease in capacity and control, the use of conditioning exercises can sometimes be helpful.
It should be noted that any exercises designed for use with bladders should only be undertaken under the advice and care of a trained medical professional. Further, the exercises should only be employed when the doctor is sure that there is no organic reason for the bladder capacity problem.
Do Regular Kegel Exercises
Once you find your pelvic floor muscles, you can complete regular Kegel exercises to strengthen them. Simply contract your pelvic floor muscles, hold them for five to ten seconds, and relax them. The Urology Care Foundation suggests that you complete at least two sessions of Kegel exercises per day. Up to 30 contractions per session.
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What Happens Before Augmentation Cystoplasty Surgery
Before the augmentation cystoplasty is performed, the patient will have a series of tests and examinations, including:
- Physical exam.
- Examination of the bladder .
- A test to see how well the patient holds urine and how full the bladder is before it starts to leak or transmit pressure to the kidneys.
The patient will also perform a bowel prep, in which he or she drinks a solution that will clean out his or her bowel before surgery.
The Link Between Weak Bladder And Oab
When the smooth muscle within the bladder becomes overactive, it can lead to improper contraction and relaxation of the muscle. Problems in the nerves that stimulate the bladder, as well as some neurological conditions, may lead to OAB.
According to the Urology Care Foundation, as many as 30% of men and 40% of women in the United States have OAB symptoms.
The muscles in the lower abdomen that support the bladder and urethra are known as the pelvic muscles. For women, these muscles often stretch and weaken during pregnancy and childbirth, which can cause organs in the abdomen to shift.
A lack of muscle support around the bladder can cause sagging, which can lead to leakage. This can lead to stress incontinence, which often results from a mix of OAB and urge incontinence.
If a person is experiencing frequent urination or having urine leakage after a sudden urge to urinate, it may be time to talk with a doctor about treatment options to help with OAB.
However, there are also several lifestyle changes that a person can make to help to calm the bladder muscle, which may help improve OAB symptoms. Read on to learn more.
The sections below provide suggestions for ways to help manage a weak bladder, which may also improve OAB symptoms.
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Diet For Bladder Stones
The primary cause of bladder stones is urine left in the bladder, but diet can play a role in the formation of bladder stones too. This is because a poor diet can change the chemistry of your urine, increasing the risk of bladder stones. This is why consuming a healthy diet is so important to reduce your risk.
For starters, your diet should be low in fat and contain a variety of nutrient-rich foods. This means consuming plenty of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy, and lean sources of protein like poultry and fish.
Your diet should also be high in fiber, which can be obtained from whole grains and fruits and vegetables. Recommended daily fiber intake is two cups of fruit or two and a half cups of vegetables.
Lastly, you should consume plenty of water, as it can help flush out your bladder. Dehydration and insufficient water intake, on the other hand, can increase your risk of bladder stones as well. The goal is to aim for at least eight glasses of water a day, but this can vary. A good method to determine how much water you need is to drink one quart of water for every 50 pounds of body weight. For example, if you weigh 150 pounds, you will need three quarts or two liters.
How To Kegel For Men And Women
Kegel exercises can help relieve your bladder weakness problems. Find out how to do them the right way.
There’s a safe and effective way to help improve bladder leakage. It’s free, and you can do it at home. It’s an “exercise” program, but it’s not like any exercise program you’ve done before, because you’re exercising muscles you can’t really feel. These exercises are called Kegel exercises, named after the doctor who created them. If done correctly, they just may help relieve those embarrassing leaks.
Here are four key points to keep in mind so you can do Kegels the right way and stay dry.
What am I exercising anyway?
Kegel exercises are designed to tone your pelvic floor muscles. Unlike your abdominal muscles or your biceps, you can’t see these muscles. They’re deep inside your pelvis, stretching from your spine to your pubic bone, and they keep your bladder, uterus and rectum in place. They also help control the opening and closing mechanisms within your urethra, the tube through which urine leaves your body.
How do I learn how to exercise my pelvic floor muscles?
Many doctors suggest that you use the “stop technique.” The next time you use the toilet, try to stop your urine stream. The muscles you tighten and squeeze in order to do this are your pelvic floor muscles. You may not be able to stop the flow entirely slowing the stream is okay, especially if you haven’t done Kegels before.
Do I tighten my stomach muscles while doing Kegels?
When should I do Kegels?
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Urine Isn’t Sterile And You Should Never Ever Drink It
Do not drink.
Under both normal circumstances and dire straits, it’s an absolutely terrible idea to drink your own pee.
The reason is twofold. One is that contrary to popular belief, urine is not sterile. Drinking it puts you at risk of infection from the bacteria living in it.
The second reason is that apart from water, everything else in urine is waste that your body is trying to get rid of. Normally, that just constitutes 5 percent of urine, but if you’re dehydrated, it’ll make up a greater percentage. Taking in too much urea and other waste further dehydrates you and puts you at risk of kidney failure, as the organs work to filter out double the usual amount.
it’s a terrible idea to drink your own pee
Though there are several different miraculous survival stories that involve someone drinking their own urine, most survival experts along with the US Army’s survival manual do not advise trying it.
Additionally, from time to time, people have advocated drinking one’s own urine as a way to treat several different diseases, including cancer. The American Cancer Society, however, confirms there is no evidence that drinking urine is an effective way to cure cancer.
Finally, there’s the somewhat related idea that if you get stung by a jellyfish, urinating on the site of the sting is an effective remedy. As it turns out, this is a myth popularized by an episode of Friends and scientists agree that it probably wouldn’t be effective.
You Can Train Yourself To Not Need To Urinate As Often
This sweater-vested man’s got to go!
“I see a lot of patients with complaints of frequent urination, or overactive bladder,” Brucker says. “But a lot of the time, it’s just a matter of them breaking the habit of peeing every opportunity they have, because then they end up peeing 25 times per day.”
Simply holding it for a bit instead of going the second you feel the need to pee will gradually strengthen both the mental communication circuit responsible for keeping your bladder from emptying and the actual muscles that let you do so.
if all else fails, there’s a secret move you can whip out in dire circumstances
If you’re stuck in a situation where you do need to hold it for an especially long time, there are some things you can do. WikiHow’s exquisitely illustrated guide has some interesting tips: It’s good to cross your legs if standing, but not if you’re sitting . Don’t move too much, don’t drink anything, and try to think about something totally unrelated to your overwhelming urge to pee.
If this all fails, there’s a secret move you can whip out in especially dire circumstances, though it requires advance preparation. It’s called the knack maneuver, and both men and women can develop the ability to execute it by doing exercises similar to Kegel exercises over time. Essentially, you try to squeeze the muscles that make up your pelvic floor, then intentionally cough or pretend to sneeze .
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Is Bladder Training Right For Me
The decision to try bladder training depends on what’s causing the problem. Bladder control training is typically used to treat urinary incontinence, the involuntary loss of urine. Incontinence is most common in women, especially after childbirth and menopause. Different types of urinary incontinence exist, including:
- Stress incontinence: Sudden pressure on your abdomen causes you to accidentally lose urine.
- Urge incontinence: You feel a sudden, strong urge to go to the bathroom because your bladder contracts even when it’s not full. You may not always be able to reach the toilet in time.
- Mixed incontinence: A combination of stress and urge incontinence.
- Overflow incontinence: A problem emptying the bladder completely that leads to urine leakage.
Bladder retraining may also be used to treat bed-wetting in children.
Removing Stones In Bladder
Early detection helps prevent further occurrences unfortunately, not all stones formed show signs and symptoms, thus go unnoticed and are often detected only while undergoing tests to determine other disease conditions.
The best way to prevent its formation in the first place is to keep the body well hydrated & follow a good diet.
Drink plenty of water at regular intervals to keep the urine in an increasingly alkaline form, which will prevent urine mineral crystal formation.
In case tiny crystals still form despite regular water consumption, alkaline urine will discourage the clustering of these formed crystals from developing into bigger stones that can complicate matters even further.
Read More
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What Size Hydration Bladder Should I Get
Choosing a hydration bladder seems like a fairly straightforward process. Obviously, name brands are better than generic, but they all perform the same basic job.
You might need to clean out the nasty plastic taste and make sure its BPA free, but youre good to go. But there is one topic that really seems to confuse people. Its hard to figure out what size hydration bladder you should get.
Sorry To Tell You Your Penis Has No Muscle
Not a single one. So unsurprisingly, theres no such thing as a penis dumbell to sort this issue out! But dont give up all hope of ever having a big penis. Lack of muscle doesnt mean you cant get it bigger. You just need to understand how to do it.
The fact is the only way the penis becomes erect is when its engorged with blood. The more blood within it, the bigger it will be. So it makes sense then that the only way to increase penis size is to firstly increase the amount of blood getting to it, and secondly help it to store more blood while its in an erect state.
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Symptoms Of An Enlarged Bladder
Physiologically, an enlarged bladder will present with common symptoms that can be seen in the majority of affected individuals. This may include the following:
- Slow urine flow
- Feeling the bladder is full constantly
- Difficulty urinating
- Urinary incontinence
- Nocturiawaking up to urinate at night
Considering there are a multitude of varying causes for enlarged bladder development, specific causes may present with unique urinary symptoms. Injuries causing a pelvic fracture will present with additional pain. Kidney stones will present with pain, difficulty urinating, and possible blood in the urine. Having a tumor mass that spreads to the kidneys signifies great carcinogenic issues.
The origin of the obstruction will also dictate the type of treatment used. For large masses such as cancerous tumors or kidney stones, surgery is an option. Getting the obstruction out will most likely relieve the issue. Placing a stent to keep open a narrow ureter or kidney can also promote flow. Treatment of unborn children in the womb involves the use of a shunt to drain the childs bladder into the amniotic sac.
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The Bladder Does Not Shrink As You Get Older
- Date:
- University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
- Summary:
- University of Pittsburgh researchers compared data taken from women between the ages of 22 and 90 and found that although the bladder does deteriorate as women age, it may not shrink, as has been commonly believed. In fact, women who feel their bladder has shrunk because of increased urgency and episodes of incontinence may have an underlying condition that is treatable, the researchers note.
SAN ANTONIO, May 24 — The idea that your bladder shrinks as you get older may be nothing more than an old wives’ tale according to a University of Pittsburgh study. The feeling may, however, signal a treatable underlying condition. Results are to be presented today at the annual meeting of the American Urological Association in San Antonio, and will be published in abstract 1218 in the AUA proceedings.
“Many of us, after reaching a certain age, notice that we have to urinate more frequently and with more urgency. The standard assumption, that seems to have become part of our folklore, is that your bladder shrinks as you get older. We found that this may not be the case,” said Neil Resnick, M.D., professor and chief, division of geriatric medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
In addition to Dr. Resnick, Mathias Pfisterer from the University of Heidelberg, Germany and Werner Schaefer and Derek Griffiths from the University of Pittsburgh contributed to this research.
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Do I Have A Uti Or An Overactive Bladder
A common cause of urinary complaints, especially a change in your urination pattern, is a urinary tract infection, or UTI, McKnight said. If you visit with your healthcare provider and discuss a change in your urination such as an increased urge to urinate or leakage of urine, they will likely test for a UTI first. If you have a UTI, your symptoms will likely be quick and easy fix.
UTIs can cause feelings of pain when urinating, cloudy urine, lower abdominal pain and an increased urge to urinate. If you test negative for a UTI, your provider will ask questions about when you notice your bladder symptoms. Leaking urine or peeing a little when laughing or coughing is a sign of stress incontinence, McKnight explained. Suddenly needing to pee and not reaching the bathroom in time is a sign of urge incontinence. Both types of incontinence are treatable.
What Causes An Enlarged Bladder
An enlarged bladder is a relatively common condition. There are many possible causes.
One of the most common causes is an obstruction of the urinary system. This can occur in the ureters that connect the kidney to the bladder, or in the urethra which passes urine from the bladder to exit the body. When there is an obstruction, the bladder has to work hard to pass the urine past the obstruction. This can lead to a loss of elasticity in the bladder walls. Typical forms of obstruction are kidney stones and tumors. Prompt recognition of these conditions can prevent the bladder from becoming enlarged.
Some people have trouble urinating. They produce a large volume of urine, but they never fully empty their bladders. This prevents the bladder from returning to its usual size and leaves it stretched out.
Some babies are born with enlarged bladders, although they may not present symptoms until later in life. If an enlarged bladder is discovered in a child, but they are not suffering any negative consequences, then simply monitoring them closely is an appropriate course of action.
People who are both obese and have diabetes may be more likely to develop enlarged bladders.
Some neurological conditions, such as multiple sclerosis and paralysis, can lead to an inability to empty the bladder regularly enough.
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