Kidney and Bladder
Indicators that urinary system is not performing well.
General. The urinary system interacts with all the other systems of the body. A sluggish
A sluggish urinary system is energized by the circulatory system and then the kidney will energize the stomach and spleen. When functioning well, it encourages proper liver/gall bladder function, and when operating poorly, can create extra problems for the heart. My clients have taught me that high blood pressure usually begins here – in the kidneys, AND that poor kidney function makes diabetes intractable. Those with kidney problems report general or overall stiffness, leg heaviness or painful feet in the morning. (If the stiffness is from the liver MSM (#4059-4) will help. If it is from poor kidney function, the remedies in this document will help.)
Body Indicators. A sagging spare ‘water tire’ around the torso from the navel to the groin area (beginning in the front) is a sign of collected fluid due to under-active kidneys, and is a serious sign of poor kidney function. Other signs include fatigue, and insomnia (due to restlessness). If the kidney is imbalanced the Upper Trapezius muscles (on top of the shoulder close to the neck) are painfully tender or rock hard creating some neck and ear problems. Some indicators of kidney weakness can be seen on the face. If you cannot see most of the bone structure in your face (i.e. the jaw line, the cheekbones, the brow ledge above the eye) this indicates kidney weakness. If the area right under the eye is sunken and dark (toxic blood) or swollen like a bag (sluggish filtration), this is another indicator the kidneys need attention.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Indicators. The quality of the hair on the head is an indicator of kidney health. The teeth, bones and nerves are fortified by well working kidneys…or not. Ear issues are indicators of poor kidney function (deafness, ringing, earaches, dizziness) as are anomalies on the index finger only (crooked, painful, swelling), and a salty taste in the mouth. The kidneys are damaged by fear and rebalanced by trust. Kidney people’s decisions are governed by the thought: How will I survive? Those given to conspiracy theories may be kidney people or have a trust deficiency.
Bladder symptoms would include weak ankles, spinal problems (disk compression and resultant loss of height), nose bleeds, knee caps ache, leg cramps. Kidney people don’t like to stand for long periods of time.
German New Medicine Indicators. The damaging issue according to German New Medicine is a ‘marking conflict’. That is, people with chronic bladder problems are those who often suffer violations of their ‘territory’ – whatever that might be. For example, if you consider your responsibilities at work ‘your territory’ and someone else at work is given some of those responsibilities, this is a violation of your territory and bladder symptoms may appear. Your territory can be your home, room, office, yard, car or any of your possessions. When children are old enough to establish a sense of their ‘territory’ and it is violated by other siblings or parents, the child can develop bladder problems. Women who get bladder infections routinely with intercourse may have a sense of violation that triggers bladder weakness and subsequent infection. According to German New Medicine, kidney insufficiency makes all other imbalances worse.
Other characteristics include: mental confusion, perfectionism, blood pressure, fluid retention (although this can be circulation), incontinence (although this is more likely nerve or muscle imbalance but urinary remedies attenuate this nicely), and mid-back non-spinal pain. With longstanding unaddressed kidney problems you will earn problems with the bones and teeth. Spinal disk problems, neck problems and some hip problems signal kidney weakness.
My (politically incorrect) thoughts on dehydration
Dehydration is not only caused by insufficient water. It is just as likely caused by your body’s inability to manage it, or regulate its use. Many people in the health field promote drinking an amount of water that is equal to ½ your body weight in ounces. So a 150# person would be drinking 75 ounces/day according to their directives. (Now think, would God make us to need this much?) I find this is too much for most people. The body has to process everything that is put into it, and some folks adhering religiously to this rule are drowning on liquid overload. We can appreciate that some people have problems processing certain kinds of foods and they usually know this because of their reactions. Similarly, some people CANNOT process water well, and they DON’T know this (well, they’ll have water bags under their eyes if this is the case and they are forcing water). (See remedy below) The pads of your fingers will tell you when you are dehydrated with a prune-like appearance. Coffee and tea will do this to some people. To address this, simply drink an equal amount of water BEFORE your tea or coffee or coke. That is, drink 12 oz of water BEFORE you drink that 12 oz of cola or coffee or tea. You’ll want less of these dehydrating fluids. Check out easy lifestyle compensations.
Water Management/Processing Problems in the Body
There is other evidence that people have problems processing liquids. They have ‘dry’ eyes yet ‘wet’ or swollen ankles. So why doesn’t that excess water come to moisten the eyes? They have overall dry skin issues yet swollen or runny sinuses. Ever notice this and wonder? Or their lips are dry and cracked but they can’t get their rings off for the swelling in their fingers. What’s up with that? The body’s water regulation needs rebalancing, and THE best remedy that all my clients vote for is Chinese HY-C (#1886-5). Remember ‘HY’ is for ‘hydration’. The main indicator for this remedy is dry eyes. Take lots of it (Start w/4B,4D and reduce dosage w/symptoms). You’ll love it. And it may be helpful to know that the Adrenal glands are responsible for minerals and water handling in the body. That document may have more supporting indicators to see if you fit that profile. If so, begin with the adrenal remedies first and then the kidney remedies.
The second and perhaps as likely cause of this phenomenon is a fluid transportation problem. That is the blood is not getting everywhere, nor is the body’s drainage working. Read the blood supply document to see if this applies to you. Certain pharmaceuticals also cause this problem, blood pressure meds being one of them.
Frequent Urination
This is a common problem in men and women. Like most unpleasant or worrisome symptoms, bladder issues rarely originate with the bladder but rather an imbalance elsewhere is manifesting at the bladder. So frequent urination can have several contributors, and they seem to fall into two main categories.
The first has to do with things that affect bladder volume. In other words, the amount your bladder can hold has been reduced by its neighbors encroaching on its space, producing crowding in the lower pelvic. So you’ve gone from a 2 cup volume to a 2 Tablespoon volume. Most often this is due to distention of the bowel and long-standing constipation, or, the digestive organs prolapsing down onto lower pelvic affecting the bladder. So if bowels are slow AND you have frequent urination then do whatever necessary to keep the bowels clear. You can prevent a lot of other problems that way too. A very beneficial assist and cheap remedy for this is the Abdominal Massage. Commit to it for a month. Many people report improved bowel function PLUS relief from frequent urination, waking many times at night to urinate, and even incontinence.
Growths within the lower pelvic can also invade the space reserved for an expanding bladder so that it is unable to hold much. Often people can palpate hard structures like fibroids, etc. (These are discovered doing the Ab Massage.) Structures like this exist due to poor liver function. So reading the liver document may provide clues if the liver is a contributor to your frequent urination.
The second category is inflammation. Long standing inflammation invites frequent infection. The most common culprit in this case is lowered circulation. Unfortunately our circulation is affected by so many things. So see if that document provides any clues. It is also helpful to do the Blood Type diet to reduce inflammatory factors in the diet.
A general herbal aide for the urinary system in Urinary Maintenance. Several have reported improvement in their symptoms while taking it, but, if you do not address the real underlying cause, then after a while even that won’t help.
General Urinary Remedies
Pain on either side of the spine in the small of the back indicates swollen kidney tissue. This pain is often mistaken for a muscle pull BECAUSE in certain postures the inflamed and swollen kidney is compressed and that hurts like the dickens and stays hurting – and muscle relaxers won’t touch it. Your ‘hot’ kidneys need some wonderful cooling Juniper Berries (#400-4) 3B, 3D which is the main herb for the adult urinary tract and has been used to increase the flow of urine thus the removal of irritating substances from the blood. Juniper Berries have an astringent action on swollen kidneys. However, the berries also contain strong anti-inflammatory and analgesic (pain-relieving) properties which are helpful overall. Juniper Berries are effective for chronic prostate and urinary tract infections in men with benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH), a.k.a. enlarged prostate. Reduce dosage w/symptoms.
Urinary Maintenance (#2880-0) 2-4B is a combination of herbs and vitamins and minerals for the kidneys. It is more for maintenance after you reduce the swelling. If you have a history of kidney problems invest this one into your body. My clients tell me it decreases the number of trips to the bathroom especially at night. It is useful for scant, dark urine, burning urination, hot feeling in the kidneys, and puffiness/darkness under the eyes. This formula is especially useful for older men or women who experience any kind of incontinence (as is the abdominal massage which is cheaper but oddly enough most people just want a pill! Do this massage and you may not need the pill, or at least as many pills.).
Add Marshmallow (#440-0) 4B, 4D if chronic UTI’s. Reduce or increase with symptoms.
A natural herbal diuretic and very useful Chinese combo is Chinese Kidney Activator (#1872-5). It works for swollen painful joints, all wet (swollen) conditions. It is reliable for painful feet in the morning or a heavy feeling in the legs. Several have reported that it helps lower blood pressure. So if a diuretic was used to bring down high blood pressure, the problem likely arose from either fluid processing problems (see above) or kidney function and this will help. B6 (#1626-6) can be added in cases of extreme edema.
P-X (#1234-5) was formulated by Dr Christopher for men with prostate imbalances but the majority of herbs in the formula help the urinary track. It is a male corrective that reduces inflammation and swelling in the urinary system, esp. the prostate and kidneys, and prevents the formation of kidney stones. This formula can be rotated with others.
Parsley (#490-9) is useful for children with chronic bladder infections (see Creative Dosing). Parsley helps with digestion and enhances the elimination of wastes from inflamed joints via the kidneys. Such action makes parsley useful for arthritis, cystitis, dyspepsia, gastritis, gout, jaundice, other liver and spleen ailments, and rheumatic conditions. The Journal of Biological Chemistry published a study which found that parsley exhibited antibacterial and antifungal action in vitro – likely due to its anti-inflammatory action.
Chinese KB-C (#1883-3) is an effective Chinese combination for weakened kidneys with accompanying bone/joint complaints. (It is called the herbal chiropractor.) Chinese KB-C also has shown to be useful for arthritis, to rejuvenate & strengthen body structure, to improve circulation, aches & pains, calcium absorption, osteoporosis, insomnia, poor memory, heavy legs and spine disorders.
For the ‘water tire’ described above take 6 Chinese KB-C /day for 4-6 months. Folks over 60 with compromised digestion (on acid blockers, etc.) or are in general poor health should use the concentrated version of Chinese KB-C (#1016-0) 2B, 2D as it is easier to digest and extract the full benefit of the herbs.
Kidney/Bladder Infections
If you are plagued with chronic UTI’s consider a supportive therapy as discussed above, and consult with lifestyle compensations for water drinking options and some other ‘feeling sick’ suggestions. Remember inflamed tissue is a home for infection.
My clients prefer to address suspected kidney/bladder painful imbalances with JP-X (#1222-7). This is Dr. Christopher’s formula which contains Juniper Berries and Parsley (see above) and other synergistic herbs. It’s just good for this. This benefits both the kidney and the bladder. You can also start adding 2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar to a glass of water to drink at meals.
If this doesn’t finish the job you can add Cranberry & Buchu (#834-5) (which has an affinity for the urinary mucosal linings). Much research suggests cranberries prevent infection-causing bacteria, such as Ecoli (escherichia coli), from adhering to the lining of the urinary tract – likely because berries are anti-inflammatory obviating a need for the bacteria to be there. Buchu has long been used for afflictions like arthritis, bedwetting, bladder infection, enlarged prostate, flatulence, high blood pressure, kidney stones, leucorrhea, painful urination, urinary tract infection, venereal disease, and weak bladder. Some docs say cranberry doesn’t work. Well it does.
Kidney Stones – Ouch!
This recipe works. If you are in the middle of an attack, take the following…
- 4 JP-X (#1222-7) 4 times daily
- 4 HydrangeaRoot(#395-6) 4 times daily
- 2 MarshmallowRoot (#440-0) 4 times daily
- 1 Magnesium(#1786-6) 4 times daily
- Drink filtered water with as much fresh lemon squeezed in it as you can tolerate.
- Apply Distress Remedy (#8778-3) topically over the area every 15 minutes. You’ll start getting some relief right away. It takes about a week for the kidney soreness to go away.
However, IF you know there are stones in your kidney, it makes NO sense to wait until they start to move and cause pain! If you want to slowly dissolve the stones that are there, cut the recipe to 1/2 the amounts given above and stay on the program for 3 months.
(The reason that you have kidney stones can be a long-standing Magnesium deficiency, or the ill-advised practice of taking calcium supplements, or a long-standing stress-caused pH imbalance. Other problems caused by these imbalances/deficiencies include cataracts, bone spurs and other depositions of free calcium. The kidney stone program will be helpful along with some circulation herbs like GC-X (#1212-1) or make an appointment.)
Invest in your health. It pays great dividends. You’ll not only live longer, but enjoy a better quality of life.
©Pat Block ND 2007
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I have water bubles on the kidney dr told this is due to age nothing can be done what can i do
Best regds
Hey George,
The appearance AND composition of the urine has as much to do with the liver as it does the kidney. When sick people report various kidney symptoms or diagnoses, they seem to respond the most to liver formulas, so you may want to consider doing the Gentle Liver Cleanse.
Pat
Very informative. I’m kind of confused as which to do in my case. I have started measuring volume, logging color and frequency of urination. I will drink maybe 32 ounces per day, but I am urinating alot more everyday. I will go 3-6 times per night, and 14 times during the day with anywhere from 2oz-8oz each time. No pain. I am 32 year old female, 148 lbs, no other health conditions except for starting to dehydrate. Have been tested for pregnancy, diabetes mellitus and insipidus. I have been to several MD’s, but they can’t find anything. Looking toward natural path.
Yes Estella,
First, likely some of the ‘extra’ water that you are not measuring is coming from the food you eat. Many fruits/veggies are more than 70% water. Second, you didn’t mention blood tests of sodium and potassium levels. Were they normal?
Third, to me it sounds like a regulation issue, that is, the organs designed to regulate the fluids in your body are not functioning as designed. This responsibility generally falls to the adrenals. For a first course of support I would consider conc. Chinese HY-C 2B, 2D and reduce with symptoms. This is a Chinese hydration formula. (The concentrated formula has 30 caps in it) If this does not completely resolve the issue, you may want to make an appointment.
Pat
Hi I actually have been having weird symptoms and a lot of pain and the doctors just dont help. I have a tugging pulling kind of pain/discomfort in my chest and left arm and it feels a bit better if I drink tons of water but it gets worse if I take any kind of medication. Have a DVT so I’m on warfarin but they just cannot figure out how I got it in the first place. I’ve read online if the kidneys aren’t functioning properly they can cause problems with the blood and liver i’m just not sure if this pain I’ve been feeling is from my kidneys any ideas?
Hey Bran,
For your symptoms I would consider doing a consult as much more info is needed to make any suggestions.
Pat
Thank you for your response, Pat. I wish I had read it before making myself a cup of dandelion tea this morning which almost resulted in the same thing! It was just that all websites I visit tell me I need a diuretic when my kidneys are not functioning correctly when, as you say, it’s the last thing my body needs!
Bless you for all the wonderful research you do. I’m now off to hydrate!
Bless you for having such a truly informative website. I’m about to unsubscribe from all health newsletters I get and study every inch of yours because I can now understand the bubbles under my eyes, my crooked index fingers, and prune-like fingertips which I’ve not seen mentioned elsewhere.
I found your website, Pat, whilst trying to understand something really frightening that I experienced recently which I’d never seen before (or even heard of) and am wondering if you have? I will submit it anyway for your information and records.
I’m 72 and have had low functioning kidneys for many years which I believe was due to working in the hot desert for four years when in my 30’s, not drinking much water or taking the salt pills recommended. I dehydrate in an instant if I suffer any kind of emotional distress – which includes small, unimportant things like preparing to pack bags to stay with my sister overnight – and my muscles feel in a constant state of tension. Yes, it’s crazy!
I discovered on YouTube a kidney cleansing drink where I had to boil flat leaf parsley for 10 minutes, strain, and then drink when cool. I drank half a wineglass full of this concoction the other evening and hate to imagine what would have happened to me had I drunk a pint of this stuff. I noticed my eyes were much drier and I had a peculiar feeling throughout my body. The next morning I watered the parsley drink down by half and took a few sips. A little later I noticed that the palm and fingers of my left hand had changed colour to pure white. Not only that, the skin was totally dry and coarse, much like I’d imagine the skin of a dead snake, and it had lifted from the flesh below!!! My hand was back to normal within about half an hour but it was clear my body (or my kidneys) didn’t appreciate the parsley tea one little bit!
Have you ever seen/heard of this before? And why the left hand only? With your knowledge of TCM I’m hoping there is an answer.
With many thanks and gratitude for your wonderful website. I know that you are helping so many.
Brenda (UK)
P.S. I’m not on any pharmaceutical drugs so there was no interaction.
UPDATE: I’ve consulted a herbal medicine book and see that I made far too strong a concoction of the parsley tea. Instead of the recommended spoon or so of the parsley, I used a huge bunch of it to around half a pint of water! It’s little wonder my body reacted so badly and I’m hoping I haven’t done any more damage. A lesson has been learned not to necessarily take what we see on YouTube as always safe and to stick to trusted websites like this one. 🙂
Hello Brenda,
Thanks for your kind words.
For the symptoms you describe, I would not think of parsley as a good choice – it’s kinda drying. It may have been too strong, but, it was also not the right direction to go. You would do much better with Marshmallow Root, and possibly the Chinese hydration formula, HY-C.
‘Cleansing/detoxing’ is a hot topic in natural health circles but about 50% of the time it is the wrong approach. If you nourish and build the body or organ up, it will cleanse/detox itself – at the right time and at a safe pace.
Pat
hello great info 🙂
Thank you ,
I have developed under eye bags one year ago .can you please give some advice which herb would work ,,I am also cleaning my diet so it wont be in vain correcting this problem ?
Thanks a mill
Hey Orla,
Do you have other indicators of urinary dysfunction?
Although swellings are usually associated with kidney/bladder, I have found that when swelling occurs around the eyes, there is liver involvement – generally the liver gets sluggish and water logged and that shows up around the eyes. See if the liver document describes your state of being better than this document.
Pat
Hi Pat! I am new to your site. My partner has been diagnosed with CKD Stage 3. We are looking for ways to help the kidneys not get any worse and even get better possibly. Can you help?
Thank you,
-E
Hello EFH,
The best is to get the body’s correcting and healing mechanisms active. So you don’t waste a lot of time and money trying various ‘gunshot’ approaches, I recommend doing a phone or email consult. Download the form and fax it to me, or if you are local, make an office visit.
Pat
I think you’re misleading people with medical advice and offering those who actually need to see a doctor WITH a PhD! It’s one thing to offer your opinion but you are actually giving medical advice in your replies. Very misleading and I hope people realize that you are not a doctor
Hey ‘Unknown’
On every page there is a notification in the side bar. See it? My Bio is found under the About tab and more explanation is given in the Client info tab. No attempt to hide anything here, Mr ‘Unknown’.
And the reason people are here is because they have suffered from the advice of medical doctors.
Pat
Right On! Pat; your information has helped me in so may ways! Attending Physcian will check for symptoms that your info resolved. He is dumbfounded. Keep On! And thank you. Thank you for the info about the VIRUS Video from EYE ALERT from info. from Italy. NOT A VIRUS!
EYE ALERT Video Italy finding from autopsy Corona NOT A VIRUS A Bacteria WHO purposely LIED Purpose to Kill People Promoting vaccine designed to kill !
How to decrease creatinine level naturally
Hello Sachin,
In my experience most of the body’s chemistry goes back to liver function. I have worked with many people, for example, trying to avoid dialysis and it is usually liver formulas that correct the blood chemistry. Sometimes the liver is congested and sometimes it is of impaired or lowered function. The Gentle Liver Cleanse addresses both.
Pat
Hi Pat, I am thinking I have a problem with my kidneys. I am 51 and since I was about 35 I have had puffy, water filled bags under my eyes which I noticed were worse if I ate salty food. I had started to notice my calves feeling swollen and tight especialy when kneeling. Over christmas I woke up and was so thirsty I couldnt hydrate myself. It took me all day to stop feeling thirsty. This happened twice and I was drinking alcohol. I also had a urine infection which I dont usually get o I took antibiotics. Since then my urine infection recurred within a week. i have been testing my urine and it has constant blood in it and quite acidic number 6. You cant see the blood but it comes up on the litmus stick. I am dehydrated and need to drink a lot. i am urinating more often. My legs and eyes are puffy and even worse if I eat somethiing salty. I have had blood tests that came back fine apart form cholesteral which is 6.5. I am going through menopause and a few years back woke up in a constant panick attack. i couldnt get myself out of it. Then I found natural progesterone and that sorted me out, but if Im in a stressful situation I dehhydrate and my mouth becomes dry. I will be seeing the doctor next week but was wondering if its ok to take a variety of products at the same time
Sorry for the delay. My website was hacked, then an update crashed it, and I wasn’t getting notifications of posts.
Water accumulation is one sign of inflammation. To reduce inflammation in general, follow the Blood Type Diet.
Swelling around the eyes is a sign of liver inflammation in particular so do the Gentle Liver Cleanse. Also, liver stagnation makes life hard for the kidneys but the underlying cause of eye manifestations is the liver.
Pat
So. Here’s the deal. I have a “chronic” irritated urethra…used to be bladder area, but mainly is now lower. I always test with a tiny amount of blood in my urine, and ocassional UTI..once a year? I totally believe it is caused by stress, but ma be hormonal as well(I tried Yuvafem and that seemed to help..could have been placebo?). It comes and goes..and I honestly thought it was gone since I hadn’t had any pain in over a year..but it’s back. The only thing that works somewhat is a bland diet, which means no herbs that contain irritants..nothing spicy or lemons, etc… I am trying to handle the stress but need to calm this in the meantime. Eating bland also makes me sad. Lol! Any recommendations? I take magnesium, licorice root, milk thistle, vitamin d3/k2, probiotics, and a thyroid support supplement since I also have a goiter like mass below my neck.
Hello Renae,
The first step in reducing irritation in the body is to follow the diet according to your blood type. This illuminates inflammatory foods which genetically your body doesn’t reduce without inflammation.
Thyroid issues always come from the liver so I would recommend a liver formula like the concentrated Chinese liver balance. The liver is responsible for balancing the pH of your body. If you have to eat a bland diet that tells you your liver is not alkalizing your body.
As far as stress is concerned I recommend nightly doing the emotional stress release.
Pat
Hi Pat, any thoughts on prolapses? Ive had 5 full term big babes and one small stillbirth and now 23 yrs from the first at 46 things arent staying where they should anymore. It affects bladder and uterus differently through my cycle. Im surprised I made it this long
I’ve edited the ab massage post to include the special case of prolapse.
I wanted to thank Pat Block so very much. For over 5 years, I have had a serious prolapse. I have spent a lot of time and money on physical therapy. Pat Block’s suggestions of exercises and abdominal lifts have been the most helpful and shown the greatest results. God bless you greatly, Pat!
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