Movember - the hairest health challenge of the year. Men, get ready to raise awareness and funds for your health. Ladies, be prepared for fuzzy-feeling kisses and flashbacks to the '70s.
What is Movember?
Movember is a movement started by the Movember Foundation, which is committed to helping men live happier, healthier, longer lives. One way to participate includes Mustaches in Movember. For 30 days your mustache turns you into a walking, talking billboard for men’s health. Another way to help raise awareness is by participating in a 30-day physical fitness challenge MOVE in Movember. Funds go to support prostate and testicular cancer, poor mental health and physical inactivity in men.
Urology Care
This Movember, men should think about their own health and visit your doctor for annual check-ups. One important aspect of men’s health is Urology Care. Urologists are surgeons of all things related to urine and organs of male reproduction. The kidneys, bladder, prostate, ureters and testicles are the main organs often affected.
Kidneys
What they do: Every day, your kidneys filter more than 30 gallons of blood and produce 1–2 quarts of urine, which helps the body eliminate waste products and extra fluid. Kidneys also regulate salt, potassium and acid content, and release hormones that affect blood pressure and the production of red blood cells.
What could happen: Stones form in many kidneys and can cause pain and bleeding — and slow loss of the kidney itself. Kidney cancers occur in many patients without any symptoms at all.
Bladder
What they do: The bladder is a stretchy hollow organ that stores urine and slowly relaxes to hold more as it comes down from the kidneys.
What could happen: Bladder control problems include urinary incontinence, when urine leaks involuntarily during stress, and retention, when the bladder doesn’t fully empty because of muscle or nerve failure, or obstructions in the urinary tract. Bladder cancers are particularly worrisome, and painless blood in the urine is a typical sign.
Prostate
What they do: The gland, about the size of a walnut, supplies enzymes that help sperm survive and reach the egg during intercourse. It also acts as the valve that keeps urine in the bladder when a man ejaculates and relaxes to permit emptying the bladder.
What could happen: The most common cancer in men is prostate cancer, which could necessitate full or partial removal of the gland. With benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH, the gland enlarges and is not cancerous, but can restrict urinary function. And prostatitis, an inflammation of the prostate, is the most common cause of urinary tract infections in men.
Ureters
What they do: Two tiny, muscular tubes constantly flex and relax to transport urine out of the kidneys and down to the bladder. Every 10–15 seconds, ureters empty a small amount of urine into the bladder.
What could happen: If urine stands still or backs up, kidney infections can develop. Stones from the kidney can get stuck here, and cause pain or worrisome infections as they get stuck along the way out. Cancers can arise in the lining of the ureters typically with bloody urine as a sign.
Testicles
What they do: Testicles are mainly responsible for testosterone production and the formation of sperm. They are connected to the other organs through long cords that pass down to the scrotum through the groin area.
What could happen: In younger men, testicular cancer is a concern and should be considered if unusual enlargement occurs. Older men suffer low testosterone as a reduction in output occurs with age. Older men can also get masses of a different kind in the kidney. Varicoceles can form due to dilated testicular veins. Many men ask for vasectomies to become sterile.
Luckily, treatment options for all these conditions are available at Ochsner Medical Center. And you won’t have to wait to see a specialist – in fact, same-day appointments are often available. Book your appointment online today.
Source: https://us.movember.com/?home
