KIDNEY STONE, TYPES, CAUSES, SYMPTOMS, TREATMENT AND PREVENTION

Introduction:

In order to produce urine, the kidneys extract your blood waste and fluid. Often when you have too much waste and not enough fluid in your blood, the waste will build up and bind together in your kidneys. These waste clumps are called kidney stones or renal stones.

Causes of Kidney Stone:

Kidney stones often do not have a specific single cause, even though multiple factors may increase the risk.
Kidney stones occur when your urine is more crystal-forming than fluid dilution in your urine may cause — for example calcium, oxalate, and uric acid. At the same time the urine may lack substances that prevent the collision of crystals, providing an ideal environment for the production of renal stones.

Types of Kidney Stones:

Calcium stone:

Most kidney stones are calcium stones, usually in the form of calcium oxalate. Oxalate is a substance made daily by your liver or absorbed from your diet. Certain fruits and vegetables, as well as nuts and chocolate, have high oxalates content. Calcium phosphate is more common in metabolic conditions, such as renal tubular acidosis.

Struvite stone:

Struvite stones are developed in response to urinary tract infection. These stones may develop rapidly and become very huge, often with little signs or little notice.

Uric Acid stone:

Uric acid stones may develop in individuals who lose too much fluid due to chronic diarrhea or malabsorption, those on a high-protein diet, and those with diabetes or metabolic syndrome. Your risk of uric acid stones can also be increased by some genetic factors.

Cysteine stone:

These stones are developed in people with a genetic condition called cystinuria, where too much of the amino acids are excreted by the kidney.

Signs and Symptoms of Kidney Stone:

Typically, a renal stone does not cause signs until it passes around or into the ureters—the channels linking your kidneys and bladder. It will block the flow of urine if it gets stuck in the ureters, causing the kidney to swell and the ureter to spasm, which can be extremely painful. These signs and symptoms can be observed at this point:

Severe, severe side and back pain, below the ribs
Pain that radiates to the lower abdomen and to the groin
Pain that comes and fluctuates in severity in waves
Harm or feeling of burning while urinating

Some symptoms and signs can include:

Urine in pink, red or brown
Foul-smelling or cloudy urine
The need to urinate persistently, urinate more frequently than normal or urinate in small amounts
Nousea and vomiting
Fever and chills if there’s an outbreak
Pressure caused by a renal stone can adjust when the stone passes through your urinary tract, for example, moving to a different position or increasing in strength.

Risk factors

Factors that increase your risk of developing kidney stones include:

Family or personal history:

If someone in your family has had kidney stones, you’re more likely to develop stones, too. If you’ve already had one or more kidney stones, you’re at increased risk of developing another.

Dehydration:

Not drinking enough water each day can increase your risk of kidney stones. People who live in warm, dry climates and those who sweat a lot may be at higher risk than others.

Certain diets

Eating a diet that’s high in protein, sodium (salt) and sugar may increase your risk of some types of kidney stones. This is especially true with a high-sodium diet. Too much salt in your diet increases the amount of calcium your kidneys must filter and significantly increases your risk of renal stones.

Obesity:

High body mass index (BMI), large waist size and weight gain have been linked to an increased risk of kidney stones.

Digestive diseases and surgery:

Gastric bypass surgery, inflammatory bowel disease or chronic diarrhea can cause changes in the digestive process that affect your absorption of calcium and water, increasing the amounts of stone-forming substances in your urine.

Other medical conditions:

Such as renal tubular acidosis, cystinuria, hyperparathyroidism and repeated urinary tract infections also can increase your risk of kidney stones.

Certain supplements and medications:

such as vitamin C, dietary supplements, laxatives (when used excessively), calcium-based antacids, and certain medications used to treat migraines or depression, can increase your risk of renal stones.

Treatment of Kidney Stones:

Treatment is tailored according to the type of stone. Urine can be strained and stones collected for evaluation. Drinking six to eight glasses of water a day increases urine flow. People who are dehydrated or have severe nausea and vomiting may need intravenous fluids.

Other treatment options include:

Medication

Pain relief may require narcotic medications. The presence of infection requires treatment with antibiotics. Other medications include:
allopurinol (Zyloprim) for uric acid stones
thiazide diuretics to prevent calcium stones from forming
sodium bicarbonate or sodium citrate to make the urine less acidic
phosphorus solutions to prevent calcium stones from forming
ibuprofen (Advil) for pain
acetaminophen (Tylenol) for pain
naproxen sodium (Aleve) for pain

Lithotripsy:

Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy uses sound waves to break up large stones so they can more easily pass down the ureters into your bladder. This procedure can be uncomfortable and may require light anesthesia. It can cause bruising on the abdomen and back and bleeding around the kidney and nearby organs.

Tunnel surgery (percutaneous nephrolithotomy)

A surgeon removes the stones through a small incision in your back. A person may need this procedure when:

the stone causes obstruction and infection or is damaging the kidneys
the stone has grown too large to pass
pain can’t be managed

Ureteroscopy:

When a stone is stuck in the ureter or bladder, your doctor may use an instrument called a ureteroscope to remove it.
A small wire with a camera attached is inserted into the urethra and passed into the bladder. The doctor then uses a small cage to snag the stone and remove it. The stone is then sent to the laboratory for analysis.

Prevention

Proper hydration is a key preventive measure. The Mayo Clinic recommends drinking enough water to pass about 2.6 quarts of urine each day. Increasing the amount of urine, you pass helps flush the kidneys.

You can substitute ginger ale, lemon-lime soda, and fruit juice for water to help you increase your fluid intake. If the stones are related to low citrate levels, citrate juices could help prevent the formation of stones.

Eating oxalate-rich foods in moderation and reducing your intake of salt and animal proteins can also lower your risk of kidney stones.

Conclusion:

Kidney stone is one of the leading threat to human health. In this blog we have tried to cover all the necessary information that to need to know on Prevention and Also getting rid of this issue.

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