Category Archives: Urinary System
Saw palmetto (Serenoa repens) is a small palm native to the south-eastern United States which grows to about 2-3 metres with leaf fans comprised of narrow leaflets. The leaflets are supported on a narrow stem lined with spines, hence the name saw. The fruits were collected for both food and medicine by the indigenous people.
(more…)Stones can be found in the kidney, ureter or bladder, and while most are passed without symptoms, others grow large or irregularly shaped and lodge in the tissues, causing obstruction. The most common stones are made of calcium oxalate (80%), the less common are calcium phosphate, uric acid, struvite and cysteine.
(more…)Pellitory-of-the-wall (Parietaria officinalis) can be found in gardens across the city growing on walls, beside shady paths, over rubble and along fences. It has reddish, brittle stems, downy leaves and small flowers at the base of the leaf stem. It is abundant, yet a largely an unknown nuisance, being responsible for pollen allergy all over Europe, and most academic research focuses on this aspect.1
(more…)Parsley is a common culinary herb found growing in household gardens. The two most familiar cultivars are curly-leaved parsley (Petroselinum crispum crispum) and the flat-leaved ‘Italian’ parsley (Petroselinum crispum neapolitanum). When eaten regularly parsley is a nutritive tonic containing minerals such as iron, potassium, manganese and copper, as well as B-vitamins, vitamin C, E and K. It also contains a considerable amount of the antioxidant lycopene.
(more…)The symptoms associated with prostate problems are urging, pain on urination (dysuria), urinary frequency, incomplete emptying of the bladder, hesitancy and dribbling. This may be caused by an acute or chronic infection (prostatitis), or be the result of chronic benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Urinalysis, a test for prostate specific antigen (PSA), and a physical exam (DRE) will help differentiate prostatitis, BPH, kidney disease, diabetes and prostate cancer.
(more…)Gout is a painful inflammatory condition arising from the formation of needle-like monosodium urate crystals in joints, tendons and other tissues. It is popularly associated with over-eating and excessive drinking, the indulgences being punished with a very painful big toe (podagra). There is, however, considerable variation in sensitivity to diet among sufferers.
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