Kidney Stones Symptoms and Causes – Part 1
March 11th, 2010
- Image via Wikipedia
Ask a sufferer…there are not too many medical conditions that are more painful than kidney stones symptoms!
Improvements in contemporary medicine mean that the existence of kidney stones (a problem also called nephrolithiasis) is now very rarely a threat to life. Not only that, the management and treatment of this distressing condition is usually now much simpler and more likely to generate better final results from the new kidney stone treatment options available.
Nonetheless, kidney stones are undoubtedly still one of the more uncomfortable and debilitating conditions frequently encountered by doctors. And it could be that the 21st Century lifestyle and diet of contemporary human beings is largely responsible.
Thus if you’ve ever before endured kidney stones yourself, or know anyone who has, you will be interested in what exactly a kidney stone is, what are the typical syptoms experienced by affected individuals and precisely what treatment or management choices are readily available? With this, and a follow-up article, we’ll discuss these essential questions and try to flesh out several basic and easily understandable answers.
To begin with, kidney stones result from stones or renal calculi in the ureter. which is the tube connecting the kidneys and the bladder. The stones tend to be solid items that form within the kidneys from dissolved urinary mineral deposits.
Kidney stones generally depart our bodies in the regular course of passing urine, usually without causing any signs or symptoms at all. However, when they develop to about 2 millimeters for the majority of adults, they might trigger an obstruction of the urinary system and the upper ureter to stretch out and dilate in an effort to remove or pass the stone. This in turn causes an intensive colicky-like pain, most often manifesting in the lower belly and groin area.
Other kidney stone symptoms or signs of renal colic might include nausea as well as vomiting, blood in the urine brought on by damage to the lining of the urinary tract, a fever, chills, and a lessening or blockage of urine flow.
There tend to be various kinds of kidney stones, the majority of which may be traced back to a build-up associated with some kind of calcium deposit…. hence the commonly heard expression calcium kidney stones. Often bacteria are responsible and in unusual situations, metabolic abnormalities may create uric acid stones. And they can achieve a substantial size… the record 11.86 cm (4.66 in) wide stone weighing 356 g (12.5 oz) removed from the right kidney of an Australian ended up being shattered in 2009 with the removal of a 1.1 kg (2.48 lb) monster spanning 17 cm surgically removed from the Hungarian Sarkadi.
Suspicions associated with the existence of extra-large kidney stones are going to be proved by radiology, ultrasound assessment as well as urine and blood tests.
In terms of management and kidney stones treatment, passing kidney stones as naturally and painlessly as possible is best. But the question of will a kidney stone dissolve or how long does it take to pass a kidney stone are hard ones to respond to, and will be dependent upon a huge variety of factors relating to the host patient as well as the stone itself. Best for you to ask a medical specialist. Otherwise, basic pain control is normally the first measure. Past that, some stones can be shattered into easily passable fragments by soundwaves (extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy) or kidney stone laser treatment. More invasive treatment via a kidney stones stent into the urethra, bladder and ureter (ureteroscopy), can be an alternative, as is keyhole kidney stone surgery.

- Image via Wikipedia
Certainly preventing kidney stones (or uric acid kidney stones) is better than cure, especially if you have been a sufferer! Doctors may recommend preventive measures like consuming sufficient amounts of water to keep the kidneys working consistently and perhaps changes to dietary patterns.
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