Category: U

This inflammatory, often chronic disease affects the
mucosa and submucosa of the colon.  It usually begins in the rectum
and sigmoid colon and often extends upward into the entire colon (colon: 
which is the name for the longer part of the large intestine, extends up
from the cecum along the right side and then bends to extend across the
abdomen to the left side).  It rarely affects the small intestine,
except for the terminal ileum (ileum join the large intestine through another
muscular valve called the ileocecal sphincter).

Severity ranges from a mild, localized disorder to a fulminate
disease that may cause a perforated colon, progressing to potentially fatal
peritonitis and toxemia. This disorder occurs primarily in young
adults, especially women. It’s also more prevalent among Jews and
in higher socioeconomic groups.

Risk factors include a family history, bacterial infection, allergic
reaction to food, milk, or other substances that release inflammatory histamine
in the bowel, over production of enzymes that break down the mucous membranes,
and emotional stress. Auto immune disorders, such as rheumatoid arthritis,
hemolytic anemia, may heighten the risk.

Symptoms:

Recurrent bloody diarrhea and asymptomatic  (showing or
causing no symptoms) remissions are characteristics of ulcerative colitis.

May contain pus and mucus in the stools.

Spastic rectum and anus

Abdominal pain

Irritability

Weight loss

Anorexia

Weakness

Nausea and Vomiting

Your doctor may order:

A barium enema

Biopsy

Sigmoidoscopy

Colonoscopy

Stool specimen may be cultured and analyzed 

Lab works

Treatments:

Goal; to control inflammation, replace nutritional losses and
blood volume, and prevent complications.

Drug therapy to control inflammation

Supportive treatment: bed rest, IV fluid replacement and
clear liquid diet.

Surgery is the treatment of last resort if the patient has toxicmegacolon,
fails to respond to drugs and supportive measures, or finds symptoms unbearable.

* Call your doctor if you are experiencing the above symptoms
promptly.

The urinary system is also called the excretory
system, and its job is store move certain waste products from the blood
and eliminate them from the body.

Cystitis and urethritis constitute the two types of urinary
tract infection ( UTI ).

Urethritis: inflammation of the urethra.

Cystitis: inflammation of the bladder.

Cystitis usually results from an ascending infection. Cystitis
and urethritis (UTI) commonly respond readily to treatment, but recurrence
and resistant bacterial flare – up during during course of therapy is possible.

Women are more prone to have UTI, more so than men. UTI is also
a prevalent bacterial disease in children, with girls also most commonly
affected. Doctors suspect that because women have a shorter urethra ( the
tube that carries urine out of the bladder ), it is a short passageway,
only about an inch and a half long. It makes it easier for bacteria to
migrate into the bladder. Also, the opening to a woman’s urethra lies close
to the vagina and the anus, giving bacteria from those areas access to
the urinary tract.

In men and children, UTI is commonly related to anatomic or physiologic
abnormalities. Some other causes of UTI include gram-negative enteric
bacteria (typically Escherichia coli, Klebsiella, Proteus, Enterobacter,
Serratia, or Pseudomonas)

Symptoms:

Urinary urgency and frequency

Dysuria ( pain when urinating )

Bladder cramps or spasms

Itching

Feeling of warmth during urination

Nocturia (excessive urination at night )

Possibly hematuria ( process of blood in the urine )

Possibly fever

Possibly urethral discharge in males.

Other symptoms includes:

Low back pain, malaise, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain or tenderness
over the bladder, chills, and flank pain.

Treatment:

Your doctor may prescribe a 7 to 10 day course of an appropriate antibiotic
to treat UTI.  IMPORTANT- complete prescribed course of therapy unless
specified by your doctor.

Single-dose antibiotic therapy with amoxicilliln or cortrimoxazole may
be effective in women with acute non-complicated UTI.

Recurrent infections caused by infected renal calculi, chronic prostatitis,
or a structural abnormality may necessitate surgery.  In patients
without these predisposing conditions, long-term, low-dose antibiotic therapy
is the treatment of choice.

* Take all of your prescribed antibiotic even if and when you
feel better.

* Drink plenty of water, at least 8- 8 oz of water per day.

* With long term prophylaxis, adhering strictly to the ordered
dosage.

* Fruit juices, especially cranberry juice helps to fight UTI

* Vitamin C may help acidify the urine and enhance the action
of the medication.

* If therapy includes phenazopyridin, patient urine may be red
orange.

*Women should urinate immediately after intercourse.

* Females: wipe after urinating from front to back (avoid wiping
from the anus upwards to the vagina) and after defecation (bowel movement)
wash hands thoroughly with soap and water.

* Take frequent stops during long car trips to empty your bladder

* To prevent recurrent infections in men, Prompt treatment
of predisposing conditions, such as chronic prostatitis.

See your doctor if you are experiencing any of the above symptoms.

Uterus:  the organ to which the fallopian
tubes lead is the uterus, and it is within this structure that the fetus
grows until it is ready to be born.

The uterus is a pear-shaped muscle about 3 inches long 2 inches
wide, and 1 inch deep.  The upper portion rests on the upper surface
of the urinary bladder; the lower portion is embedded in the pelvic floor
between the bleared and the rectum.  The upper portion is the larger
and is called, the body, or corpus; the lower, smaller part
is the cervix, or neck.  The small rounded part above
the level of the tubal entrances is known as the fundus. 
The cavity inside the uterus is shaped somewhat like a tiny capital T,
but is capable of changing shape and dilating as the embryo ( later called
the fetus ) develops.  The cervix lead to the vagina,
the lower part of the birth canal, which opens to the outside of the body.

The interior layer of the uterus is a specialized epithelium
known as endometrium, and it is this layer which is involved
in menstruation.

Reverse and Eliminate Ovarian Cysts

Dysfunctional uterine bleeding: an abnormal
endometrial bleeding.  Heavy menstruation or bleeding longer than
8 days (menorrhagia), bleeding between periods (metrorrhagia),
or a cycle that is less than 18 days ( chronic polymenorrhea ),
may cause iron deficiency anemia.

Uterine leiomyomas:  also known as myomas,fibromyomas,
and fibroids.  These neoplasm’s are the most common
benign tumors in women.  They usually occur in the uterine corpus,
although they may appear on ht cervix or on the round or broad ligament. 
Uterine leioomyomas are usually multiple and occur in approximately 20%
of all women over age 35.  It affect blacks three times more often
than whites.  They become malignant (leiomyosarcoma ) in only .1%
of patients.

Fibroids may cause enlargement and distortion of the uterus and patients
may have difficulty with conception. In some patients sometimes a fibroid
attached to the uterine wall may become twisted or may outgrow its blood
supply, , causing it to be starved for blood and oxygen, when this happens,
you may suddenly feel a sharp pain in your abdomen.  Call your doctor
promptly.

Fibroids may cause bladder or bowel pressure or make intercourse painful.
If you experience excessive heavy menstrual cycle , patient could develop
anemia.

The cause of uterine leiomyomas is unknown, but excessive levels
of estrogen and human growth hormone (HGH) may influence tumor formation
by stimulating susceptible fibromuscular elements.  large doses of
estrogen and the later stages of pregnancy increase both tumor size and
HGH levels.  Uterine leiomyomas usually shrink or disappear after
menopause, when estrogen production decreases.

Prolapsed Uterus: A prolapsed uterus occurs when
the uterus descends from its normal position in the lower abdomen.

Severe cases: the uterus is visible through the vulva ( the external 
genital organs of the female ).  Prolapsed uterus is most common in
middle aged women who have had children weighing more than eight pounds
at birth and or multiple births, but it may also occur in childless women.

Symptoms:

Pain and or heaviness in the abdomen

Hypermenorrhea (excessive menstrual bleeding )

Dysmenorrhea (painful menstrual bleeding)

Constipation

Urinary frequency or urgency

Irregular uterine enlargement

Treatment:

Treatment for fibroids varies, see your doctor for course of
treatment.

Hysterectomy – optional, and or depending on condition and doctor
course of treatment.

Discontinuing of hormone replacement therapy – Depending on your
doctors course of treatment

Myomectomy (removal of fibroids) Depending on your doctors
course of treatment

Your doctor may prescribed birth control pills for patients with dysfunctional
uterine bleeding, or Progestins or gonadotropin releasing hormones (GnRH) may also be prescribed
to control bleeding (it may take more than 30 days to show any effect and
have many side effects)

*If you decide you do not want surgery, your doctor may
insert into the vagina a plastic device known as a pessary, which sits
in the vagina  (like a diaphram) to hold the uterus in place. This
must be replaced every three to six months and is thus not a long term
solution.  – for Prolapsed uterus.

To strengthen the uterine-support ligaments and to control urination
: do Kegel exercises – a pelvic floor exercises to help hold your prolapsed
uterus in place.  * Start by stopping your urination flow midstream,
hold it for approx. 5 seconds then release the flow.  Once you are
familiar with the targeted muscles, practice tightening and relaxing them.
Start with 4 to 5 sets of the exercises are recommended, up to 10 times
a day.

If you have chronic pain low in the abdomen, your menstrual
cycles are frequent and or excessively heavy, call your doctor promptly.