Urinary Bladder

THE BLADDER

 A tube, or ureter, leads from each kidney to the urinary bladder. The bladder empties through the urethra, a tube leading to an external open- ing called the meatus. The bladder, which functions as a collecting and temporary storage point for urine, expands to accommodate increasing amounts. With the accumulation of about half a pint, reflex contractions lead to a desire to urinate, or micturate. 

The contractions stimulate pressure receptors in the muscles of the bladder wall, from which nervous impulses go to the brain. When it is convenient to urinate, the brain sends out signals which cause the bladder's external sphincter to relax.

The signals also set up a whole series of other events, including holding of the breath, forcing of the diaphragm down, and contraction of the abdominal wall, which in- crease pressure on the bladder and help it void its accumulated urine. Such is the complexity of the process that it is hardly any wonder that most children are walking before they become able to urinate with con- trolled competence. 

Normal daily production of urine may range from two to three pints. In some diseases, such as diabetes insipidus, the quantity is increased; in others, fever and diarrhea decrease it. Tea, coffee, alcohol, excitement, and nervousness increase urine output; hot water decreases it. Whatever the actual liquid output, a day's urine generally contains about two ounces of solids. 

WHAT SCIENCE STILL DOES NOT KNOW ABOUT FOODS? SPECIAL DIETS

SPECIAL DIETS 

Special diets can be of value for certain specific health problems. For example, a protein-free diet may be prescribed in some cases of severe kidney damage; a high-protein diet in some cases of hepatitis; a high- residue diet in cases of atonic constipation; a low-fat diet in certain diseases of the liver and gallbladder; a low-purine diet in gout; a low- sodium diet in high blood pressure, congestive heart failure, and toxemia of pregnancy; a bland diet for ulcer, gastritis, and hiatus hernia; a gluten- free diet for celiac disease and cure. 

Special dietary treatment is also an important part of the overall therapy in many cases of diabetes. Whenever a special diet may be of value, it should, of course, be prescribed by a physician on the basis of the patient's individual needs.

WHAT SCIENCE STILL DOES NOT KNOW ABOUT FOODS 

Every physician and scientist concerned with nutrition knows well that despite all that has been learned, much more remains to be. At any time, some fundamental new finding-of a previously unknown vitamin or other essential nutrient-may be made. 

At the risk of being repetitious, we would like to emphasize again that every advance to date has underscored the one fact: except in special instances, the best and healthiest diet is a balanced and generously varied diet. Nature distributes her largesse. We can be most certain of benefitting from it by making use of many rather than limited numbers of foodstuffs. Almost certainly, if we do this, we will be enjoying the values of still-undiscovered vital elements.

WEIGHT CONTROL 

WHILE THERE are nutritional diseases due to deprivation-rickets, scurvy, and others-by far the most common nutritional disease in this country is one that results from abundance. Overweight, affecting one in every five Americans, is a mammoth, chronic, frustrating problem. 

It can be called, justly, the number-one health hazard of our time. It's a remediable problem-but not, unfortunately, the way most of us choose to go about attacking it. To a much lesser extent, underweight constitutes a health problem. And the correction of both is an important function of preventive medicine. 

Human body reactions to Medicines and Foods Vs Medicines

REACTIONS TO MEDICINES

It may seem unbelievable but there are more than 250 diseases that can be caused by the very medicines designed to treat and cure illness. You may well ask, "Why is this possible?" The reasons are not difficult to understand. Over the past twenty-five years or so, many hundreds of new com- pounds have been developed for treating and preventing disease. Many are powerful and complicated substances.

Their very effectiveness depends upon their great potency and complexity. In some instances, trouble has come unexpectedly because a powerful A Special Word about medicine taking new agents was not tested fully under every conceivable circumstance. Thus, for example, thalidomide seemed to be an excellent and harmless tranquilizing agent in most people, but when it was used by pregnant women it had terrible effects on their unborn children. Another reason for drug-induced illness is that human beings do have tendencies to develop allergic or sensitivity responses. These vary considerably, just as they do for foods. One person may eat eggs until the hens scream for mercy-and enjoy them with impunity; another person, allergic to them, cannot eat one without developing some upset.

And so with other foods

Because of sensitivity problems, a medicine that is highly beneficial for 95 percent of the population may cause trouble, even potentially serious trouble, for the remaining 5 percent. A good example is penicillin, clearly a lifesaving drug. It has, indeed, probably saved well over a million lives since its discovery. But it also has caused severe sensitivity re- actions in scores of thousands of people and has taken the lives of thousands.

As you may have noticed, physicians today inquire carefully about possible previous sensitivity reactions to penicillin before administering or prescribing it. Just as some people, after repeated exposure, become allergic to rag- weed pollen or to poison ivy, so some, after being helped once or even several times by an antibiotic, may develop allergic reactions to the com- pound. Usually the problem is mild-skin rash, hives, or slight fever- and disappears once the drug is stopped. Occasionally, however, there are anaphylactic, or shock like, reactions which are life-threatening, and these can be overcome only if heroic measures-adrenaline and other injections-are used in time.

Still considered the single most valuable antibiotic,penicillin is a major allergy producer because it has been so widely used. It is estimated that 10 percent of Americans have become sensitized to the drug. Still another reason for undesirable reactions is that no drug is 100 percent specific-hitting the bull's-eye, so to speak. In the course of countering the problem for which it is being used, it may produce other effects, and these have to be reckoned with. Consider, for example, the gastrointestinal upsets-cramps, diarrhea, sore mouth, rectal itch-which may occur after use of many antibiotics.

They can come about because of an upset in the natural germbalance in the body. Many harmless bacteria are always present in the gastrointestinal tract. Some, in fact, are essential to digestion; some manufacture vitamins. When a potent antibiotic is introduced to fight infection, it may also decimate this normal bacterial population. Moreover, these friendly bacteria serve another purpose in the body.

Modern medicines and Health Issues

Modern medicines serve a purpose and very often can provide relief for minor problems. In themselves, they are generally safe as long as the dosage recommendations on the package are not exceeded. It's important to keep in mind, however, that such medications, as any others, may produce undesirable effects in relatively small numbers of people who happen to be particularly sensitive to them.

So if you notice any such side effects as rash, nausea, dizziness, visual disturbances, or others, which seem to follow use of a particular medication, you may well have sensitivity to that particular medication, and no matter how popular it is with other people, it is not for you. If in doubt, you should check with your physician. Absolutely vital when you prescribe for yourself is the need to keep in mind that you may be making a mistake in diagnosis, treating the wrong illness, or masking minor and superficial symptoms while an underlying serious problem gets worse.

For example, a "simple" head cold may really not be simple when there is fever, sharp pain in the chest, sputum discoloration, rapid breathing, or nausea; it may, in fact, be a serious bronchial infection or pneumonia. If you do treat yourself, never continue to do so for more than a day or two unless you are certain there is steady improvement-and if your symptoms get worse or change, don't wait even that long before consulting your physician. 

Modern Medicines is One of Major Successes, But it Also Includes Disasters

A SPECIAL WORD ABOUT MEDICINE TAKING 

THE HISTORY of modern medicines is one of major successes, but it also includes disasters. Tremendous benefits have followed the discovery of insulin for diabetes, agents for controlling high blood pressure, antibiotics and other anti-bacterial that kill or impede the growth of bacteria, cortisone and other steroid compounds that combat inflammation, tranquilizers and antidepressants for nervous and mentaldisorders, and drugs that slow the wild growth of some cancer cells. But there have been tragedies traceable to indiscriminate use and abuse of such powerful agents and of others. For one thing, no medication yet developed is fool proof-universally useful for even the condition for which it was developed, free of undesirable effects.

Virtually every drug, just as virtually every food, may produce unpleasant effects for at least a few individuals, and so it must be used with care. We hope in this chapter to provide a useful guide to medicine taking, one that will be helpful to you both in more effective treatment of any health problems that arise and also in preventing many problems. 

PRESCRIBING FOR YOURSELF 

A recent survey of a small but typical group of households carried out by a major university research institute found that the number of medications on hand varied from 3 to 88, with a mean of 30. Of the 2,539 medications observed, only 445 were prescription drugs. Each month in the United States, 750 out of every 1,000 adults 16 years of age and over experience a cold, headache, or other illness or  injury for which only 250 will consult a physician.

Thus, people control their own care in terms of whether and when to seek medical aid and when to prescribe for themselves. Virtually everyone on occasion does his own prescribing-and that can be a practical matter. Certainly every minor ache or pain does not require that a doctor be called. Nobody wishes to become a habitual patient. The medicines-variously known as "patent," "proprietary," and "over-the-counter" or "OTC"-which you can purchase in drugstores without a doctor's prescription are generally milder and have fairly broad safety margins. 

Symptoms of Cancer - How to detect Cancer? Answer these questions

CANCER SIGNALS

Some signs and symptoms are commonly associated with cancer. They include: Any lump or thickening in the breast or elsewhere Any sore that does not heal Any persistent change in bowel or bladder habits Persistenthoarseness or coughing Persistent indigestion or difficulty in swallowing Any change in a wart or mole Any sudden weight loss Actually, none of the foregoing constitutes proof of cancer-only that cancer is a possibility which should be investigated without delay.

No sign or symptom-either severe or mild but persistent or recurring -should be neglected, it bears repeating here, on the grounds that it may not mean anything or that the doctor may say it's "just nerves." The preventively minded physician whom you see regularly for your checkups will welcome being consulted about such signals, will not pass them off lightly as "just nerves," will check thoroughly, and, if it should be just a matter of "nerves," will help you do something about the "nerves.

YOUR OWN HEALTH INVENTORY

In addition to regular periodic checkups by your physician and your alertness for danger signals, there is an additional line of defense, an extra safeguard, you can put to use in maintaining health. It consists of a simple inventory of your health, a checklist of statements. Taking the inventory at home will require only a few minutes once a month.

Mark your calendar now to remind you to refer to this chapter and the following statements on some convenient date each month, perhaps the first or fifteenth. If you cannot say "True" to anyone of the statements that follow, you should see your doctor as soon as possible. If you have a perfect "True" score, it is quite likely that your health is being maintained satisfactorily, and you need not see your physician again until your next scheduled examination.

1.            I have noticed no sore on skin, lips, or tongue that doesn't seem to heal.

2.            I am not aware of shortness of breath when walking on level ground or when performing any type of activity that never before made me short of breath.

3.            I am not bothered by indigestion, nausea, appetite loss, abdominal pain or cramps, or the recent sudden appearance of constipation or diarrhea.

4.            I have noticed no blood in bowel movements or urine.

 5.           I am not steadily losing or gaining weight and I am satisfied that my weight is suitable for me.

6.            I do not feel myself becoming nervous, irritable, or depressed. I have had no crying spells and no feelings of overwhelming sadness, worthlessness, mental apathy. I have no persistent feeling that any- body is against me. I do not feel a nervous breakdown coming on.

7.            I do not feel unduly fatigued after little effort, mental or physical. I have no feeling of being rundown.

8.            I have no pallor; my skin color has not changed.  

9.            I have no cough that has persisted longer than a month. I have coughed up no blood.

 10.         I have had no persistent hoarseness.

11.          My hearing remains as good as it has ever been.

12.          My eyesight, too, remains good; I have had no dimming or fogging of vision.

13.          I have no persistent headaches.

14.          I have felt no chest discomfort without obvious cause.

15.          I have had no prolonged aches in back, limbs, or joints.

 16.         There has been no swelling of my feet or ankles.

 17.         I have noticed no urinary changes.

18.          I sleep well. I have no tendency to wake up during the night and have difficulty falling asleep again.

 19.         I have no new persistent pain or any other new symptoms.

20.          I am not worried about the possibility of having a venereal disease. Special for women:

21.          I have noticed no vaginal bleeding at unexpected times.

22.          I have felt no lump in my breast, and I have not been worried about the possibility of cancer or tumor there or in any other part of my body.

23.          I am not troubled with hot flashes. Special for men:

21.          My urination has not been abnormal in any way recently-particularly in terms of difficulty in starting, stopping, dribbling, and pain.

22.          I am not ruptured and have no thoughts that I may be.

23.          I do not believe that I may have picked up some disease overseas during the war which may now be coming to the surface.

Important Note: If you cannot say "True" to one or more of the preceding statements, it does not necessarily mean that you have a serious problem. There may, indeed, be a clue to something serious-and because it is likely to be an early clue, the problem is very likely to be amenable to effective treatment. On the other hand, the problem may be mild, possibly even temporary. But let your physician make the diagnosis for you. He will almost certainly agree that it is good preventive medicine, in the best interests of your continued good health, for him to check up on the lead provided when you cannot say "True" to a statement. – 

How Blood tests helps in finding Urinary problems

Today there are sensitive blood tests for this; they measure the amounts in the blood of certain chemicals, called enzymes, released when the heart is damaged. Urine tests are helpful in detecting kidney disease and other urinary tract disorders and may provide clues to problems elsewhere in the body, such as diabetes. Today, radioactive isotope scanning is a sophisticated and vast new area of testing, useful for the detection of disorders in many different organs. Such scanning is based on the fact that certain chemical elements tend to be deposited in specific organs, and these elements can be made slightly and briefly radioactive; then their distribution in the body can be established with scanning instruments that can pick up their radio-activity and record it on film or paper.

Abnormalities become visible as areas of increased or decreased radioactivity. Scanning now can be used to pick up thyroid problems; brain tumors and abscesses; liver cancer, cysts, and abscesses; lung clots; bone tumors; kidney tumors, cysts, and abscesses; and many more abnormalities including those of the pancreas, spleen, parathyroid glands, and the heart as well. Judicious use of tests has always distinguished the best physicians. It would be a simple matter, of course, for the physician to just order, indiscriminately, a whole battery of tests-at considerable cost of time and money for the patient.

Rather than this, physicians have been selective, using the patient's case history and their personal examinations as guides, determining, from them what problems if any the patient might be likely to have, and, when justified, using supplementary tests to explore these problems. 

How a Patient History Can be used in Preventive Health Care? follow 1000 posts

It is not essential that you have a detailed knowledge of modern examining and testing procedures. But some awareness of the basic, long-established methods and tests and the newest x-ray and laboratory tools, and what they can do, will be useful.

THE CASE HISTORY

The patient's history, always an invaluable guide in disease diagnosis, is equally valuable in prevention. We have mentioned earlier, in passing, some of the reasons. Occupational data-facts about the work you do and possibly the circumstances under which you do it-may reveal some hazards, physical or psychological, to which you are exposed. An account of family health-the illnesses of parents and grandparents, their longevity, the state of health of brothers and sisters-can provide clues to hereditary strengths and weaknesses.

Your own past illnesses are 'an. important part of the record. Some childhood episodes of illness, if severe, may have left a mark. Rheumatic fever, for example, may strike a child at 15 or earlier and may produce some heart damage. Yet, very often, the effects of the heart damage are not felt until age 35, 40, or even later. A record of the rheumatic fever incident may be of vital importance in accurate diagnosis of a heart condition. 

The case history-which includes what the patient reports about present problems-sometimes, provides the first indication of onset of a serious illness. For example, angina pectoris (chest pain) is associated with coronary heart disease. In coronary heart disease, the coronary arteries feeding the heart muscle become narrowed. There are sophisticated techniques now-including x-ray movies of the coronary arteries -to show up the narrowing. But in some early cases, angina may occur before there are sufficient changes to show up on the x-ray studies.

If in taking the history the physician determines that there have been angina episodes-perhaps after some sudden unusual exertion, perhaps upon leaving the house on a particularly cold morning-he can confirm the anginadiagnosis by giving the patient some nitroglycerin tablets to take when the next incident occurs; and if there is immediate relief of pain, the diagnosis is virtually 99.9 percent certain. During history taking, be accurate, don't make wild guesses, but do report things you may think are only minor, like a sense of just not feeling well. It's important to indicate any change because it may be an early warning of something potentially serious. 

How to prevent Kidney failure? 1000 posts preventive medicare

Preventive medicare avoid side effects. To days medicines cannot be trusted completely that they are free from side effects. To avoid side effects, we need to take due care to prevent any diesease before it reaches us. Take control of your body and follow the suggestions in these posts and you can aovid the complications. Follow our all 1000 posts following to safeguard your body and mind. 

Promising work is being done in detecting people with pre-diabetes-those who have no symptoms of diabetes but do have changes in body chemistry that may forecast eventual onset of overt diabetes. Early results of treating such patients with anti-diabetic agents are regarded by some investigators as promising, suggesting it may be possible to prevent the development of diabetes and such complications as visual disturbances, circulatory disturbances, and increased risk of coronary heart disease.

As we have noted earlier, kidney machines can be lifesavers for patients with kidney failure-but it would be far 'better to prevent the failure. And there is growing hope now that in many cases failure maybe prevented by attention to asymptomatic bacteria. Asymptomatic bacteriuria simply means the presence of sizable numbers' of bacteria in the urine without causing symptoms. The condition may occur at any age and in either sex but is especially frequent in females, affecting 1.2 percent of schoolgirls and 6 percent of pregnantwomen. There is evidence that if left untreated bacteriuria may eventually cause the kidney disease pyelonephritis, which in turn may result in kidney failure.

Bacteriuria can be treated effectively once detected and newer tests now make its detection simpler and more practical. Today, as the next post will show, many testing procedures are available to make it possible for the physician increasingly to anticipate and prevent diseases rather than wait for it to appear. 

CALCULATING RISKS and nature care on Our body care, diseases and conditions-1000 posts following

CALCULATING RISKS of Diseases and conditions

First, it became evident not only that people vary in susceptibility to disease but that increased risk depends upon many factors and that it is possible to calculate risks. Breast cancer, for example, occurs in 5 percent of white women over black in the United States-and so, on the average, there is a 1 in 20 But a woman with a positive family history of breast cancer-one mother or sister or aunt developed the disease-has triple the risk on her women. (Let us say, at once, that if this increased hazard be- of hereditary influences stood by itself it' would be only a more But it stands with increasingly sensitive and detecting her at earlier and earlier-and therefore more curable-stages, and scores the wisdom of special emphasis on breast cancer detection such a woman.
Other factors, racial and social, help to identify special proneness’s. Japanese have a high risk of stomach cancer but relatively low risk breast cancer; the Chinese and Malaysians have a high risk of nose throat cancer. In unskilled American workers and their wives, the incidence of cancer of the stomach and uterine cervix is three to four times higher than among people in the professional fields. On the other hand cancer of the breast and leukemia are substantially more common in the higher economic classes. there are occupational factors to be considered.

For example, urinary bladder cancer has an increased incidence among dye workers, in that industry programs have annual tests of urine. Medicine also has been establishing other characteristics associated with high risk of specific diseases as a means of permitting preventive medical care to be used. For coronary heart disease, which may lead to the heart attack, the characteristics include excessive levels of certain fats II the blood, high blood pressure, high pulse rate, cigarette smoking, physlcal inactivity, and premature cessation of ovarian activity in a woman. The incidence of the disease, in men aged 40 to 59 for example, (from 9 per 1,000 when one of these factors is present to 77 per 1,000 when any three of them are present.