You drink, you pee. But urine is more than just that drink you had a few hours ago. The body produces pee as a way to get rid of waste and extra water that it doesn't need. Before leaving your body, urine travels through the urinary tract. The kidneys are key players in the urinary tract. They do two important jobs — filter waste from the blood and produce pee to get rid of it. If they didn't do this, toxins bad stuff would quickly build up in your body and make you sick.
That's why you hear about people getting kidney transplants sometimes. You need at least one working kidney to be healthy. You might wonder how your body ends up with waste it needs to get rid of.
Body processes such as digestion and metabolism when the body turns food into energy produce wastes, or byproducts. The body takes what it needs, but the waste has to go somewhere. Thanks to the kidneys and pee, it has a way to get out. When you're asked to give a urine sample during a doctor's visit, the results reveal how well your two kidneys are working.
You may feel uncomfortable discussing incontinence with your doctor. But if incontinence is frequent or is affecting your quality of life, it's important to seek medical advice because urinary incontinence may:. Your urinary system — which includes your kidneys, ureters, bladder and urethra — removes waste from your body through urine. Your kidneys, located in the rear portion of your upper abdomen, produce urine by filtering waste and fluid from your blood.
Urinary incontinence can be caused by everyday habits, underlying medical conditions or physical problems. A thorough evaluation by your doctor can help determine what's behind your incontinence. Certain drinks, foods and medications may act as diuretics — stimulating your bladder and increasing your volume of urine.
They include:. Urinary incontinence can also be a persistent condition caused by underlying physical problems or changes, including:. Urinary incontinence care at Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products.
Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission. This content does not have an English version. This content does not have an Arabic version. Overview Urinary incontinence — the loss of bladder control — is a common and often embarrassing problem.
Request an Appointment at Mayo Clinic. Female urinary system Open pop-up dialog box Close. Female urinary system Your urinary system — which includes your kidneys, ureters, bladder and urethra — removes waste from your body through urine.
Male urinary system Open pop-up dialog box Close. Male urinary system Your urinary system — which includes your kidneys, ureters, bladder and urethra — removes waste from your body through urine. Share on: Facebook Twitter. Other conditions that may prevent a man from urinating, when he feels the need, are bladder stones, prostate cancer and scarring of the urethra. A woman may have trouble urinating, because of a condition called cystocele, which is a bulging of the bladder into the vagina.
This happens when muscles and supportive tissues in the vagina and surrounding area weaken and stretch, most commonly after pregnancy and childbirth. A woman also may experience trouble urinating, when her rectum bulges into her vagina, in a condition called rectocele.
Both conditions can be treated with pelvic muscle exercises, a vaginal pessary a support device that fits into your vagina or surgery. If you are frequently having trouble urinating, make an appointment with one of the urology specialists at Keck Medicine. Previous Next. View Larger Image. Read on to find out what may be causing the trouble. The inability to empty your bladder completely, called urinary retention, can result from: Nerve problems Medications Weakened bladder muscles Obstruction of the urethra Urinary tract infections Nerve problems Urinary retention can be caused by a problem with the nerves that control your bladder.
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