Common Urologic Problems and How to Treat Them
he urinary system works hard to regulate, manage, and eliminate your urine waste. It includes a number of moving parts, such as your kidneys, ureters, bladder, and the urethra. Like other organs and systems in your body, the urinary system can have problems. These problems, or conditions, are commonly referred to as urologic problems or urologic diseases. Regardless of your age, gender, or ethnicity, you can experience urologic problems. In both men and women, this has a direct affect on the urinary tract and how you expel urine. In men, urologic problems can also affect reproductive organs.1
In this article, we’ll explore some of the most common urologic problems that plague men and women and how you can treat them.
Urinary Incontinence
Over 15 million people in the United States suffer from urinary incontinence. While it’s not harmful to your heath, it’s burdensome to daily life and can lead to embarrassing moments. There are a variety of things that cause urinary incontinence, some of them being: diabetes, childbirth, weakened bladder muscles or sphincter muscles, spinal cord injury, certain diseases, and even severe constipation.1
Oftentimes, simple lifestyle changes can help get urinary incontinence under control. If you still struggle with incontinence, talk to your doctor about getting corrective surgery to help.
Stress Incontinence
Similarly, stress incontinence can lead to leakage. Both men and women suffer from stress incontinence, but it occurs more commonly in women. Stress incontinence happens when the muscles that support your bladder and help regulate the release of urine are weakened—the valve-like muscles in your urethra struggle to stay closed.
Aside from lifestyle changes, stress incontinence can be treated through urethral bulking (in women) or implanting an artificial urinary sphincter to help stimulate a competent bladder outlet.
Overactive Bladder
Overactive bladder (OAB) occurs when the bladder can’t store urine properly and leads to an involuntary loss of urine due to an intense and sudden urge to urinate. The muscles of your bladder may start to contract involuntary, almost like spasms.2 There are a few causes of overactive bladder, including neurological disorders, diabetes, UTIs, bladder stones, tumors, or simply getting older.2 The best ways to prevent overactive bladder include staying active, maintaining a healthy weight, and taking a proactive approach to managing chronic conditions like diabetes.2
To treat overactive bladder, your doctor will work with you to establish a schedule of bathroom times to better train your bladder. There is also medication available to further control overactive bladder.
Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs)
Urinary tract infections are the most common type of urologic problem and occur much more frequently in women. In fact, close to 60 percent of women will experience a UTI at some point in their life, while UTIs affect only 12 percent of men.5 If you have a UTI, the main symptom is a burning sensation or feeling a frequent need to urinate. To properly diagnose a UTI, you will need to get a urine culture done by your doctor.
Luckily, UTIs are easily treated with antibiotics. It’s important to treat them as soon as possible to avoid further infection and eliminate any chance for complications. If you experience recurring UTIs, talk to your doctor today.
Kidney and Ureteral Stones
Kidney stones and ureteral stones occur when crystal-like particles in the urine develop and small particles grow around the crystals.1 The stones gets blocked in your urinary tract system and make it painful to urinate. While most stones can be passed naturally, larger stones often require surgery or specific procedures to break them.
One of the most commonly used techniques is extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL), which breaks up stones into smaller pieces using sound waves.
Erectile Dysfunction
Erectile dysfunction is when a man has difficulty getting or maintaining an erection. While erectile dysfunction isn’t fatal, it causes a lot of stress, embarrassment, and can put strain on a relationship. The best treatment plan is through medication or testosterone replacement. Some other recommendations include surgery, psychological counseling, and making healthy lifestyle changes.3
Male infertility is also considered a urologic problem or disease. Talk to your doctor if you are having trouble conceiving to better understand the underlying cause.
Conclusion
If you think you’re experiencing any of these common urological problems, or have other symptoms that raise concern, call your doctor immediately. All of these problems require a proper diagnosis to ensure that the correct treatment is being administered. Pain and discomfort are your body’s way of saying something is wrong, so getting treatment is important. If you need any urological supplies or additional educational resources, visit our educational support page or our product selection guide. Byram Healthcare is proud to offer full-service urological care and we have all the high quality urological supplies that you need. If you need to order any urological supplies, all of your orders can be discreetly delivered to your home, at any time of the day. If you have any urological questions or need personalized, confidential services, our teams of knowledgeable urological customer service specialists are here to help.