How common are kidney stones? Many people go to emergency rooms yearly due to kidney stone problems daily. Therefore, it is estimated that most people will have a kidney stone problem at some time.
What is a kidney stone?
A kidney stone is an entity made from chemicals in the urine.
A kidney stone may be treated with ureteroscopy, percutaneous nephrolithotomy, shockwave lithotripsy, or nephrolithotripsy.
Common symptoms include severe pain in the blood in your urine, nausea, vomiting, fever, chills, or urine that smells bad or looks cloudy lower back.
When the body has too much waste in too little liquid joins together a form, solid elements join together to form an attract together that will get larger and create a kidney stone unless passed out of the body with urine.
However, in most people, having enough liquid washed out or other chemicals in urine stops a kidney stone from forming.
Kidney stone-forming chemicals are oxalate, urate, cystine, phosphate, xanthine, and calcium.
After a stone is formed, the stone may travel through the kidney or the urinary tract into the ureter.
Often, small stones move out of the body through urination without causing much pain. However, the stones that don’t move may travel through the urinary tract causing a back-up of urine in the kidney, ureter, bladder, or urethra. This is what causes the pain.
Symptoms of a Kidney stone
The majority of kidney stones are the size of a grain of rice.Others are as large as a pebble. Rarely are they as large as a golf ball.
A rule of thumb, the larger the stone, the more noticeable the symptoms are.
Some of the symptoms of a Kidney Stone may be:
- Severe pain in your lower back
- Vague pain or stomach ache
- Blood in the urine
- Nausea or vomiting
- Fever chills
- Urine with an order or looks cloudy
Possible causes include:
- Drinking too little water, exercising (too much or too little)
- Obesity
- Weight loss surgery
- Intake of food with too much salt or sugar
Overeating fructose correlates with an increased risk of developing a kidney stone.
Kidney Stone Treatment
Suggests drinking a lot of water, letting the stone pass easier without possible surgery.
A medication may help make your urine less acidic.
But if it is too large, blocks the flow of urine, or produces infection, it is removed with surgery.
Lithotripsy is a noninvasive procedure that utilizes high-energy sound waves to blast stones into fragments. This makes it easier to pass out in the urine.
In ureteroscopy, an endoscope is positioned in the ureter to get or obliterate the stone. Rarely is this used for very large or complicated stones.
I think I have a Kidney-Stone. What do I do?
It would be best if you saw a doctor as soon as possible. The initial recommendation will be to drink extra fluid to flush the stone out in the urine. Next, you probably will be asked to strain your urine and, save every particle of the stone that has passed, take it to your physician. Or, the stone might need to be removed by having surgery.
Why send the stone for pathology?
Studying the stone can help you understand what type of stone and how to reduce the chance of any more stones.
The most common type of stone contains calcium.
Calcium is a healthy part of your diet. The kidney typically removes extra calcium that the body doesn’t need. However, many times people with stones keep too much calcium. This calcium mixes with waste products like oxalate, forming a stone. The most common combination is called calcium oxalate.
The least common types of stones are infection-related stones, containing magnesium and ammonia, called struvite stones, and stones formed from monosodium urate crystals, called uric acid stones, which can be related to obesity and dietary factors.
The rarest type of stone is a cystine stone that tends to run in families.
Kidney stones increase the risk of developing chronic kidney disease. In addition, if you have had one stone, you have a higher chance of developing another stone.
Prevention
Drinking more water will assist in your urine being less concentrated with waste products. Your urine will be very light yellow or clear if you are well hydrated. Having concentrated urine will be much darker.
You should drink more than 12 glasses of water a day. Talk with your medical professional about the correct amount of water best for you.
Eat more fruits and vegetables, which makes the urine less acidic. When the urine is diluted, stones may be less able to form. In addition, you can reduce excess salt in your diet. Maintain an average weight. It would be best to have adequate protein, but it needs to be part of a balanced diet.
Don’t be confused about having a “calcium” stone.
Dairy products have calcium, but they help prevent stones because calcium binds with oxalate before it gets into the kidneys.
Those with a low dietary calcium intake increase their risk of kidney stones. A stone may form from salt, protein, and potassium waste products. The most common type of kidney stone is a calcium oxalate stone. Most kidney stones are formed when oxalate, a byproduct of certain foods, binds to calcium as urine is made by the kidneys.
Both oxalate and calcium increase when the body doesn’t have enough fluids and too much salt. Your doctor will determine which dietary changes are needed in your case based on blood and urine tests.
Some herbal substances claim to help prevent stones. However, you should know that no
published medical evidence supports using any herb or supplement to avoid stones.
Did you know there is a Kidney Donor Program? You can check out the National Kidney Foundation at https://www.kidney.org/transplantation
The Center for Diabetes and Endocrine Care is here for all your endocrine and diabetic needs or questions. We have provided a link for you to make an appointment online or feel free to give one of our team members a call: 954-963-7100
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