Unlock the secrets to maintaining a healthy bladder with insights from our special guest, Dr. Kaushik! Discover the fundamental functions and anatomy of the bladder, along with the critical role it plays in our overall health. From understanding how much urine your bladder can hold to recognizing the different levels of urges that signal the need to urinate, this episode is packed with essential knowledge. Dr. Kaushik debunks common myths, such as the potential harm of the "just in case" pee habit, and explains why keeping your bladder in good shape is vital for eliminating waste, regulating blood pressure, and maintaining electrolyte balance.
Pregnancy brings with it unique challenges, particularly for the bladder and pelvic floor. Dr. Kaushik sheds light on the physiological changes expectant mothers face, like the displacement of abdominal organs and increased pressure on the pelvic floor, which can lead to urinary incontinence. We tackle the common misconception that only vaginal births affect the pelvic floor, emphasizing that C-section deliveries can also cause issues. The importance of seeking early intervention from pelvic floor specialists is underscored, providing a realistic timeframe for improvement and reassurance that these issues are treatable.
Practical tips for optimal bladder health round out this episode, from diaphragmatic breathing techniques to managing intra-abdominal pressure. Learn why it's crucial not to hover over public toilets and the benefits of staying hydrated, even if you struggle with urinary incontinence. Dr. Kaushik shares exercises to manage urinary incontinence and stresses the importance of early intervention to prevent long-term complications like prolapse. Whether through in-person or telehealth consultations, Dr. Kaushik provides guidance on navigating bladder health issues, making this episode a must-listen for anyone looking to improve their daily well-being.
Thank you for listening. Please subscribe to this podcast and share with a friend. If you would like to know more about my services, please message at fueledbyleo@gmail.com
Unlock the secrets to maintaining a healthy bladder with insights from our special guest, Dr. Kaushik! Discover the fundamental functions and anatomy of the bladder, along with the critical role it plays in our overall health. From understanding how much urine your bladder can hold to recognizing the different levels of urges that signal the need to urinate, this episode is packed with essential knowledge. Dr. Kaushik debunks common myths, such as the potential harm of the "just in case" pee habit, and explains why keeping your bladder in good shape is vital for eliminating waste, regulating blood pressure, and maintaining electrolyte balance.
Pregnancy brings with it unique challenges, particularly for the bladder and pelvic floor. Dr. Kaushik sheds light on the physiological changes expectant mothers face, like the displacement of abdominal organs and increased pressure on the pelvic floor, which can lead to urinary incontinence. We tackle the common misconception that only vaginal births affect the pelvic floor, emphasizing that C-section deliveries can also cause issues. The importance of seeking early intervention from pelvic floor specialists is underscored, providing a realistic timeframe for improvement and reassurance that these issues are treatable.
Practical tips for optimal bladder health round out this episode, from diaphragmatic breathing techniques to managing intra-abdominal pressure. Learn why it's crucial not to hover over public toilets and the benefits of staying hydrated, even if you struggle with urinary incontinence. Dr. Kaushik shares exercises to manage urinary incontinence and stresses the importance of early intervention to prevent long-term complications like prolapse. Whether through in-person or telehealth consultations, Dr. Kaushik provides guidance on navigating bladder health issues, making this episode a must-listen for anyone looking to improve their daily well-being.
Thank you for listening. Please subscribe to this podcast and share with a friend. If you would like to know more about my services, please message at fueledbyleo@gmail.com
Hey, hey, welcome back to another episode in the Simple Nutrition Insights Podcast. I am your host, leonila Campos, registered dietitian, and today I welcome back Dr Kashyap for another amazing episode. Today we are actually going to talk about bladder health and all about bladder. I'm sure if you have questions, hopefully we get to answer them. If we don't, there is actually a new feature when the podcast is released. I want to say that it's also on Spotify, but for sure in Apple Podcasts, where you can send a text. If you have a question and you're like, oh my gosh, I need to ask that question, look for that little icon that says send us a text and then we can answer your question. But, dr Kachek, thank you so much for coming back to the episode or to the podcast.
Speaker 2:
Hi, thank you for inviting me over. I really enjoyed our last podcast and I'm excited for this one.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, so if you haven't heard the last episode, right, we did one on constipation and public health, and so you know, please go back to it, listen and then let us know what you think. But yeah, so let's start with maybe what is? I mean, I'm sure people know what a bladder is, right, but what is essentially a bladder? And then why is it important to have good bladder health?
Speaker 2:
Right. So you would think, yeah, what is a bladder Bladder is? It looks like a little pear, it's a sac-like organ and it sits in your pelvic cavity. So what it does? It's an expandable organ. So it contracts when it is fully empty, but when it is at a relaxed state it holds the urine. So it's basically like a reservoir that holds all your pee.
Speaker 2:
Now you would say how much can a bladder really hold? That's like one of the major questions I get from all my patients. So average human adult bladder at its full capacity is able to at least hold 16 to 24 ounces of urine, which is about 400 to 600 ml of urine. And then when a bladder is stretched out, its size can go from approximately, which is about like two inches, to about six inches, depends on how much liquid you're able to intake. And then usually people would ask, hey, when does the bladder know when it has to go pee?
Speaker 2:
So you know we have different urges. You have, like, usually we say you have three urges. So you get the first urge when your bladder is about 25% full. Then you get the second urge when it's about 75% full, and then the third urge when it's about more than 75 percent full. When it's the third urge is like literally, like I need to go right now is when you got to go at that point. So that's what the bladder does you wanted me to talk about. What is the importance of bladder?
Speaker 1:
Yeah, but one question that comes to mind thank you so much for explaining that right, and just that visual of how much our bladder can hold. And then the urges right, okay, when it's 25%, right, we need to go right. And I see that. I think I visualized it with my kid right when he's like, oh, I need to go to the restroom, but they wait, they wait, they wait until it's like okay, I need to go now. So that's very, yeah, I love that visual as well. And so, yeah, I think now let's talk about the importance of a healthy bladder, right?
Speaker 2:
Yeah, so what does bladder do to our body, or why is it important in our body? One what bladder does? It prevents that excess fluid or built up that we have in our body. One what bladder does? It prevents that excess fluid or built up that we have in our body because it actually, or even waste the waste products that we have in our body. It keeps those waste like in the form of urine and then you pee them out. So that's what it does. And then, if you knew, the bladder also has some hormones that actually helps regulate the blood pressure in our bodies. It has those hormones that can help. It also helps keep with your electrolyte balance, especially with your potassium and your phosphate levels. It helps regulate those two in your body.
Speaker 2:
The way the bladder works, so the urine from the kidneys it comes and moves and it goes down through the little tubes that we have and it stores in a little reservoir until your bladder gives that signal to the brain hey, I'm about one-fourth full and I need to go pee. That's your first urge that your body can send to your brain. And then you know, usually, like you said, that's when your kids or you yourself you're like oh, probably I should go pee Now. Is it? Yeah, is it important for you to go pee at that moment? If you can hold it, that's fine.
Speaker 2:
Sometimes, what people do, and I'm going to emphasize on that Hold it, that's fine. Sometimes, what people do and I'm going to emphasize on that what? Sometimes what people do is and as parents we've done that you would say hey, we're going to go for shopping, why don't you just go pee right now so you won't bother me? When we are out shopping, or sometimes in the hospitals, when I used to work at, I've heard a therapist say hey, I'm going to go see this patient and they take about an hour I should just go pee in case and we call it just in case pee, which is actually a bad thing for your bladder health, because what that does is say, for, like, when we talked about how much a bladder can hold, so it can hold about 400 to 600 ml of milliliters of urine, right? So think about it like a ball. It's fully inflated with so much urine in it, right? So when you go just in case pee, it probably is.
Speaker 2:
When you're just say, for example, it's about one fourth full and you're like I should just go pee right now, just in case. So you're teaching your body or your bladder to empty itself. Every time it's only one fourth full. So what happens over time when you just keep doing that, that just in case pee next thing you know that's all your bladder can really hold. You must have heard this from a lot of people when they say, as I got older, I cannot hold my pee for that long. A lot of times they have that they've trained their bladder to just go pee every time they are doing something. They're like let me just do this because I'm going to go cook, or let me just do this because I'm going to go do some grocery shopping. So don't do just in case, pee.
Speaker 1:
I love that, you know, because it is so true, right, and you know, as you're talking about it, I'm like, oh my gosh, yeah, I definitely do that, like, oh, I'm going to go on a trip and I should go to the restroom now. Now something that comes to mind that also has been brought up, and I don't know if this is more like cultural or if it's like something that we've heard in the past, but I've heard, like, if you hold your pee or your urine, you can get an infection right, and so I want to bring that up, because I do hear that often and again, I don't know if it's like I've heard it so much in the Hispanic population. My mom has said it to me, and so I want to ask that question.
Speaker 2:
Yes, so, yeah. So one was just in case pee. So you don't want to train your body to just go pee every time. You get that first urge to pee, the other is on the other side of the spectrum. There are people that really just keep holding their pee. So you get that first urge, you get that second urge and then, after the third urge, they still train their bladder somehow to still hold and not go to the bathroom.
Speaker 2:
So what happens is, you know, our gut and our urine has some kind of bacteria. It could be a good bacteria, bad bacteria, but there is bacteria in it, right? So what happens? When you let the urine sit there in your bladder for too long? That bacteria can actually travel back up and can actually damage your kidney, which is really bad because you know you don't want to damage your kidney. So again, holding pee for excessive amount of time is also not good. So usually on average, if you're staying hydrated, you would empty your bladder close to about four to six times a day. Every three to four hours Depends on your hydration.
Speaker 1:
Gotcha, okay. Yeah, thank you for answering that question because it is important for you know, anybody to know that difference right, like, yes, you want to train your bladder to not just have that, just in case, pee p, but you also don't want to go into the extreme of holding your p for so long and bypassing that signal right of like man, I really need to go now, but I'm gonna hold it more, right, yes, awesome. Yeah, so, going into, like, maybe more of the clinical conditions, right, so maybe now we have issues with our bladder, right? And so, like, what are some of the not the diseases, but maybe the conditions that can happen to our bladder?
Speaker 2:
Yeah, so some of the most common problems that we see in our, you know, in our practice. One did you know that constipation and your bladder health is linked? And we had the whole podcast on that. So, yes, so if you are constipated, your bladder health can be impacted. That's one of the conditions. Also, did you know, if you're diabetic or pre-diabetic, that could impact your bladder health?
Speaker 2:
And the reason to that is when you're diabetic, you have a lot of sugar in your bloodstream, right that excessive health. And the reason to that is when you're diabetic, you have a lot of sugar in your bloodstream, right that excessive sugar. And then, when that excessive sugar, your body's trying to get rid of that. So when it goes and it sits in the P form in your bladder, it can damage some of the nerves and it can cause some urinary incontinence in the future of the nerves and it can cause some urinary incontinence in the future. So, a lot of diabetics they will often, and one of the signs for being pre-diabetic or diabetic is they have increased urination and they keep telling you hey, I got to go pee so often and that's because you know those nerves.
Speaker 2:
The other problem that we really see that can impact your bladder health is, you know, if you're really low on physical activity. So think about it this way if you're not moving around like you should, your body is not moving around like it should. Our bodies are made to move and when you don't move it like we should, the entire circulation is disrupted and when that happens, your urinary tract also gets impacted. So again, being active, staying active, is always a plus.
Speaker 2:
Sometimes your bladder health can also be affected if you have weight issues, and the reason is, if you have a lot of weight that you carry around your abdominal area, it causes that extra pressure on your little organ, on your little you know urinary bladder, and it can cause a lot of bladder issues too. Also can cause urinary incontinence. There's an ample of research that's done on the impact of smoking on your bladder health. So, as we all know, smoking can increase your risk for bladder cancer. Sometimes we've seen people on certain medication they can have some bladder issues too, and then there can be some foods that they are taking that can impact their bladder.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, one of the things that I really like you know that you mentioned is the blood sugar, right, the diabetes or pre-diabetes we're having these elevated blood sugars and that high amount of sugar circulating in the blood.
Speaker 1:
And, yes, excessive urination, right, it's one of the signs of diabetes, or increased blood sugars, as well as increased thirst, right, Usually we have that as well.
Speaker 1:
And there are some foods this is more so right, when we, in terms of foods, if there's already a condition, right, of the bladder sensitivity, or if there is more bladder issues right, where we're like, okay, do we need to watch out for acidic foods, right, or caffeine or more irritants that can maybe trigger the bladder or affect the bladder even more, and so, definitely looking into that too, and maybe, as we go along, right, we'll focus more on those foods too.
Speaker 1:
And, as you were mentioning, right, that excess abdominal weight and pressing down on the bladder. It almost made me think about during pregnancy, right, that we have to use the restroom so much because there's that pressure right. Now I think I want to pause it a little bit and talk about that more specifically, right, because I do hear a lot of moms or women that have had kids, right, and so they say you know, I used to go to the restroom a lot, but now the issue is like I can't hold my urine right, like I pee, even when, like I'm walking or like if I cough or sneeze, I'm having some leakage right or some urination. Is that more so because of bladder issues or is it more related to something else?
Speaker 2:
Good question. It could be because of both or it could be because of one factor or the other. So what happens during pregnancy? Like you said, because the baby is growing, it's taking up most of the space in the abdominal area. All the organs are pushed to the side wherever they get the space, basically right. So yes, there's a lot of pressure that goes down towards your pelvic floor. Also, during pregnancy because of your hormonal shift, that happens sometimes. That can also lead you to have urinary incontinence, and we've seen that a lot with postpartum women After they've given birth. Because of the shift in their hormones, it can cause them to have urinary incontinence.
Speaker 2:
Completely treatable, completely reversible. So not like you need to worry about. Oh my gosh, now I got to live with this forever. But yeah, and then another thing with a pregnancy. So what happens when you're pregnant?
Speaker 2:
Your diaphragm goes up because you know it's the baby's taking most of the space, and then all the organs are pushed down in the pelvic cavity and around in your abdominal cavity too. So there's a lot of pressure around that area. So think about your core like a pressure management area. So there's so much pressure that's there that anytime that you do any high impact activity. If you are not really managing that pressure correctly, you will have some kind of leakage. And again, like I said, even during pregnancy or postpartum it's not normal to have that. It's normalized to an extent that we talk about it so much that new moms or to-be moms they all think, oh, this is normal, it's going to happen to me, it happened to my mom. They all think, oh, this is normal, it's going to happen to me, it happened to my mom, happened to my grandma. It's actually. You can train your body, you can really manage that pressure well and you won't have those leaks. You can still have some accidental leaks, you know, but usually it's completely treatable.
Speaker 1:
Right, yeah, thank you for sharing that, and I think that is you brought up a really good point right of because it has been more normalized maybe not so much in the positive sense. I guess it's happening right. I guess after you have a baby, it's normal that you're going to have leakage, or like you might find yourself having a little bit of urination after you left right through your life, right. But, like you said, it's treatable, right, and I think it should be talked about like hey, yeah, this might happen, but this is what you can do about it, right, like there is a solution forever. So it's like, well, I had kids and then after that you know that area is wrecked, right, and like I can, I don't know what to do, there is no solution. And it's not that there is no solution.
Speaker 2:
There's not a lot of information right out there or more education, right, Right, Another thing that we've really seen with our postpartum moms.
Speaker 2:
When we'll do their little assessment, they'll tell me and this is less at the clinic and more at the hospital that I work at. They will say less at the clinic and more at the hospital that I work at. They will say, yeah, I don't have any pelvic floor issues or anything. It's because I did not give birth to my child vaginally, I gave, I had a C-section, and it's a very common misnomer when women think because I did not go through the whole, you know the delivery did not happen vaginally, my muscles there are completely intact and I don't need no pelvic floor therapy after that. If you do have symptoms, like we talked, you have leakage, with laughing, coughing, sneezing, jumping, picking up your kids, picking up your pets, picking up anything, you know, if you have all those symptoms, if you have pain during sexual intercourse, all those are symptoms that you do need pelvic floor specialist to take a look at of what's going on and what is the root cause and how we can fix it, regardless of however you gave birth.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, so absolutely right. Looking into, like, if you're having any kind of discomfort, right, if you're having any of these bladder issues, anything to do with your pelvic floor, right, it doesn't matter how you had your children. I think it's important to know that it may feel normal, right, Because maybe you've lived with that for a long time, but clinically it's not normal. So, asking for help, right. Requesting to see a physical therapist but not any physical therapist, right. Someone that specializes in pelvic floor health is, I think, is that super important? Am I correct?
Speaker 2:
Yes, you are correct. Yes, so always, you know, asking is that first step that you take towards your health. You ask somebody you are being a good advocate about hey, I have the symptoms, what should I do? So asking is the first step you take. So we are here to educate you. At least now you know those things are. They are normalized, but they're normalized for all the negative things. They should not be normalized for that. There are always ways to correct it and prevent it and treat it. So that's first thing. You ask for a pelvic floor therapist and then you should be able to get some help and then you can see some really good improvements. I've seen about it takes about four to six weeks for women to really see some good improvement. Yeah, you said three to four, six, three to six weeks.
Speaker 1:
Four to six weeks, thank you. Four to six weeks, yeah, and so I think, keeping that in mind, right, and I'm sure you know, when you, when you see your patients, you tell them about the expectations and what to look for, which is great and so, yeah, perfect, okay. So I just wanted to talk about that, right, in the sense of the pregnancy aspect of it, but when we think about just bladder health in general, right, men and women can be affected by any kind of problem. Now, do you know specifically, maybe in your experience as a professional, is there a like, not a percentage, but maybe people that you see, or g gender that you see the most, that have more of these issues? Or age wise?
Speaker 2:
Yeah, so great question again. So I don't have exact evidence based answer to that. But yes, in general females are more susceptible to having stress incontinence. So incontinence, urinary incontinence, which means just leaking of your urine Urinary incontinence can be all different types. It could be stress incontinence, it could be urge incontinence, you could have overactive bladder, you could have mixed incontinence. So in general, stress incontinence is very common in females. The reason is one our anatomy, the way our body is made. Our anatomy is different than males. So one is that reason. Two is after childbirth or even during your pregnancy, your pressure management system is not disrupted but it's trying to grow a baby, so it's different compared to when you're done having the baby. So because of that, pressure management system is a little off after having baby. A lot of females have stress incontinence after that. So yeah, in general, one because of our anatomy. Two, because of you know, childbirth does not matter if you've had a vaginal delivery or a C-section delivery, both ways we see more stress incontinence in females compared to males.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, thank you for that answer, absolutely Okay. And so then we have more of these problems, right, or concerns, and so, as a therapist, what are some of the things or some of the interventions that you have if someone is having, like, bladder issues?
Speaker 2:
Yeah, like I just briefly touched on that topic about urinary incontinence, like I said, there's different types of urinary incontinence. So if you have stress incontinence like the name suggests, stress so stress could be any kind of exercise. It could be jumping, running, lifting weights, lifting a baby, lifting a pet or lifting any object around your house, or you're bending down and you're leaking. That places a lot of stress on your pelvic floor. If you have incontinence with that, that's stress incontinence. Then there's urge incontinence. Then there's urge incontinence which is, for example and a lot of females have that too you're standing in the line at the grocery store and your body's already given that second urge.
Speaker 2:
I have to go pee and for some reason, because you're standing in the line for getting your groceries checked out, you can't make it to the bathroom. You start leaking right away. You don't have that time that you can buy, so you can get all your stuff and then make it to the bathroom that time. Your body does not let you buy that time basically. So that's urgent continence.
Speaker 2:
A lot of people tell me the urgency comes when they are driving back home and they're almost about a mile away from their home and their body's like, oh gosh, I have to go pee. And then from that it doesn't even give them that time to make it to the bathroom and you start leaking. So that's urge incontinence. And then most of the time we see stress incontinence and urge incontinence they go hand in hand. Sometimes we'll see some females with mix incontinence. That's another kind of incontinence. And then we have something called overactive bladder, which is your bladder is overly activated and it could be because of some foods and stuff that people have, and it just gives you that signal all the time that you have to constantly go to the bathroom.
Speaker 1:
So yeah, thank you for mentioning that Right, and so then they're having these more, these issues right, and they come to you and and now you have to support them right and help them with that. And you mentioned a little bit about the training your bladder right, and so that is that something that you guys also support or help with that specific plan.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, good question. So one, like we talked about just in case pee, you don't do that. So that's first thing that we talk about to our patients. Two, obviously we talk about their diet modification and their hydration, because a lot of times people think, hey, I leak a little, so I'm not going to drink enough water, so I don't leak, and that's really bad, you should not do that. And then we sometimes teach them what's.
Speaker 2:
You know, there's a good way of urinating, good way of peeing and a bad way of peeing. So basically what I mean by that is most of the time when you're at home, you're in a relaxed environment, you can go. You sit down on the toilet, you relax and you go pee. But what happens when you're sometimes in the public restroom or you're at work? A lot of females have told me they hover over toilet and then they try to pee then. So what that does is it really weakens your pelvic floor muscles because you're hovering over the mechanism. The way that your pee comes out of your body is your bladder needs to really contract to squeeze that urine out of your body and the pelvic floor muscles that are right underneath they need to relax. So imagine, when you're hovering over the toilet, those pelvic floor muscles are not relaxing. When you're not relaxing and you really do that so often, like you're hovering over the toilet and you're peeing that really weakens your pelvic floor muscles. So that's what we teach them about the right way to urinate. So sit down, take a little moment, breathe and then don't push your pee out. The pee is going to come out, like I said, the urinary bladder is going to contract and the pelvic floor muscles are going to relax. So the best way you can pee is to sit down and to relax and let that happen.
Speaker 2:
Another thing we always tell our patients and most of us now know this people are very aware when you're wiping after you pee especially with females you should be wiping from front to back because you don't want that UTI, you don't want that bacteria being introduced from the rectum to your vagina, right? We also tell you know this is a very usually it creates a lot of confusion. But they say, hey, when's the good time to go pee? You're saying you cannot go pee when you don't do, just in case pee. So what's a good time to go pee? You should actually try to go pee right after having sex. So the reason is after having sex there could be all these kind of bacteria that are introduced in your vaginal area kind of bacteria that are introduced in your vaginal area. So when you go pee, at least that bacteria is going to be pushed out outside and it won't be introduced into your bladder. So that's like make it your habit. You want to go pee after having sex. That's a good time to go pee. Another thing you should be wearing a very breathable underwear. So that means you know all the fancy underwears are pretty good, but then cotton underwear that is breathable will not introduce a lot of bacteria there, because you know that area is already it's not very breathable. And then on top of that you wear a lot of constrictive clothing and not breathable underwear. That's not going to do us any good. That's another thing.
Speaker 2:
You asked about the things that they can do when they have stress or urge incontinence. So during our sessions we give them these tools and these exercises. You know, obviously we go through the whole entire education that I just talked about. So under exercise we really teach our clients.
Speaker 2:
The first thing that's very important to reduce that urgency to go pee is your breathing. So your breathing is so important. That's why I talked about it briefly, about diaphragm. So we teach them a lot of breathing techniques where your diaphragm should be able to breathe both sideways and front and back. So think about your diaphragm like an umbrella and it should open up in your abdominal cavity that way. So we teach them that diaphragmatic breathing, so you teach them that, and then we teach them how to really manage their pressure, their intra-abdominal pressure, during activities which are higher impact activities for their body. Sometimes the higher impact activities could their body. Sometimes the higher impact activities could be just getting out of bed, because we've had some pre-postpartum women that will tell us hey, I just turn in bed to, you know, get up and go and I'm already peeing, so that's also increased abdominal pressure.
Speaker 1:
So we teach them different techniques, what you can do, and then as you progress so we start with like level one, level two, and as they progress we increase their, their exercise intensity and then you know, we train them functionally how to manage that pressure with different activities yeah, and so I think it's so important right, how, like there's so much that goes into like, if you have these issues right either bladder incontinence or more stress issues right, anything to do with your pelvic floor that is affecting that area right that you go to the professional right A pelvic floor specialist that is going to help you with that, and I think it's also really important to get those services.
Speaker 1:
And I think it's also really important to get those services right even before you need them right. Let's talk more specifically for women right, like if you are already having, maybe, issues with going to the restroom, right, or you cannot, like you have out for help right away, maybe even before you are going to decide to have children, because it's not that it's going to get fixed that way, right, I think that it's important to mention that if you're already having these issues that you know you ask for help and then, obviously, as you are, you know, during your pregnancy and, for sure, postpartum, right, I think having that progression really helps and being able to address those issues ahead of time versus, like you know, we have now, we now we have these issues and I have to wait forever because I can't find somebody to help me, I don't know. What are your thoughts on that?
Speaker 2:
Yes, I would say that's a very good take home from this podcast that when you start seeing some symptoms and symptoms could be just like a little bit of peeing, a little bit of drops here and there, with like coughing, sneezing, all the stress activities that puts a lot of pressure on your abdominal area, and if you're seeing even like few leaks here and there, that could be just few drops you don't want to wait for too long. I've had some patients that have waited for about 20 years to get any help and you know it just starts with that and, as a result, what happens is the pelvic floor has it holds these organs right. So when people have so much weakness in their pelvic area, they start having prolapse and prolapse can be really severe and can really affect their life. So before it gets that bad, you want to seek help, you know.
Speaker 1:
Right, Thank you, and I think I'm sure we'll have to do another episode on that specifically.
Speaker 1:
Right, I'm sure that is an episode on its own, but keeping it, you know, with the topic today about, you know, just, bladder health, right, and the things that you can do to help with that.
Speaker 1:
Maybe prevent, prevention, right, the bladder training, you know, not going just in case P, which are the take-home messages right, but also not going into the extreme of like waiting too long that now you know that can lead to an infection. Right, Because, yeah, absolutely, when you think about the bladder and the purpose of it, as you mentioned, right, the job of it, it's holding that urination right, which has lots of toxins and it has byproducts, right, bacteria and things that we need to get rid of, because your kidneys have done that job of filtration and getting rid of toxins and so you're holding them there right for a longer period of time that you shouldn't and so that can. Yeah, you know, when you think about UTIs, right, and other infections, kidney infections and so on. So, yeah, great points. Any final tips, any final thoughts that you want the listeners to know in terms of bladder health? Anything?
Speaker 2:
I'll give you a quick fact. So a lot of women think that hey, I'm not like I spoke about before. I'm not going to sit down on the toilet because of the risk of UTI. Did you know that you don't catch a UTI just from sitting on a toilet? Yes, it could look dirty to you. So in that case, if you're using a public restroom, you want to line it up with tissues you want to line it up with. Sometimes they have these extra covers that you can put on. But you don't get a UTI from sitting on a toilet seat. You actually can get UTIs and that's again a separate topic for another day, another podcast. But yeah, utis are not common because you sat on a public toilet. There are other ways that you catch UTIs, so don't worry about you know getting that.
Speaker 2:
You should not hover over the toilet Just in case. Peeing is not good for you. On the other side of the spectrum, holding pee for too long is also not good for you. Peeing after sex is a good habit and everybody should do that. Wiping from front to back is also a great habit that you should be teaching as a parent. You should be teaching to your kids too. So they are learning as you know, they are getting into that adulthood what to do and you know how to how to take care of their health. Again, a lot of times females, or even males, they think oh, I have urinary incontinence, I should not be drinking enough water. So staying hydrated is actually good for your bladder health, because your bladder is created to store that urine. So imagine that reservoir that's supposed to take urine and store it doesn't have a single, not single, but doesn't have enough urine. That's not a good thing for that organ. So staying hydrated, eating the right kind of food, is all very important.
Speaker 1:
Great point in take home messages, right? The nutrition aspect of it right, and I'll link some research on that and some tips to help you. Right? So if you are driving or you're busy, you can always look at the show notes and look at that, right, but the hydration is huge, right. Yes, you might not like water, but you can still add. You know hydrating foods, but definitely you need water. Right, even if you hate water, at least adding some infused flavors in it.
Speaker 1:
Training yourself to drink a little bit of water at a time right, if that is a first goal that you need to have. But when you think about you know we're pretty much made out of water. Our cells need water, our skin needs water. Your kidneys need water, right, so oftentimes and I see these mostly in my elderly population right, that winter time is tough for them because they don't drink water. But they're drinking lots of coffee and we know that coffee can dehydrate, you can put more strain on your kidneys but also can affect your bladder, and so I think being really intentional about that hydration is so important and, of course, all the other tips that you provided as well. So, dr Kashyap, where can the listeners find you. Where can they get in contact with you if they have more questions, if they want to go and visit you? Where can they get in contact with you if they have more questions? If they want to go and visit you, where can they find you? So?
Speaker 2:
yeah, we are located here locally in Fresno on 1616 West Shaw Avenue, and then you can visit us online and we can put the description here along with the podcast, our website link. Another way you can reach out to us is by calling us. Our phone number is 559-515-6465. Perfect.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, and I'll make sure to add all that information in the show notes. You can go to the show notes and find that information. But even if you have questions right, if there is someone that has questions and maybe they don't live here in Fresno they can still call you right and reach out to you and you can provide some insights as well.
Speaker 2:
That's right. Yeah, I forgot to mention we do telehealth appointments too. So if you do have any questions, if you do want to visit us, you can actually book me online and I can do a telehealth visit for you.
Speaker 1:
Perfect, amazing, right. So if you've been wanting, if you've been having these issues right and you cannot find anybody because, again, it's more of a like a special specialty and you're struggling please, you know, don't keep struggling. Like you mentioned, right, someone that had that issue for 20 years, I can imagine, right, struggling for so long. So if that is you, please, you know, pick up the phone, reach out to them and get the help that you need. But, dr Krishak, thank you so much for your time. It's always, you know, a pleasure talking about these things and I love the conversations that we have. I'm sure we'll schedule another one because we have so much to talk about. Yes, we do.
Speaker 2:
And pleasure is all mine. Thank you so much.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, thank you. So thank you everybody for listening to another episode of the Simple Nutrition Insights. I'll talk to you and see you in another episode. Bye-bye for now.