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URINARY / KIDNEY STONE

KIDNEY STONES TREATMENT, SYMPTOMS, CAUSES & DIAGNOSIS

Kidney Stones Treatment Fact :

Around 5% of the world population goes through kidney stone treatment in their lifetime.

Kidney stones :-

The kidney stones are hard deposits of minerals and salts that develop within the kidneys, often called nephrolithiasis, renal calculi, and urolithiasis. The other factors of kidney stones are eating unhealthy food, extra body weight, certain medical problems, and other nutrients as well as medications. Stones also develop when urine is condensed to facilitate the crystallization and adherence of minerals.

There are four main types of stones:

Calcium oxalate : The most common type of kidney stone which is created when calcium combines with oxalate in the urine. Inadequate calcium and fluid intake, as well other conditions, may contribute to their formation.
Uric acid : This is another common type of kidney stone. Foods such as organ meats and shellfish have high concentrations of a natural chemical compound known as purines. High purine intake leads to a higher production of monosodium urate, which, under the right conditions, may form stones in the kidneys. The formation of these types of stones tends to run in families.
Struvite These stones are less common and are caused by infections in the upper urinary tract.
Cystine : These stones are rare and tend to run in families.

Kidney Stones Causes :

Possible causes include drinking too little water, exercise (too much or too little), obesity, weight loss surgery, or eating food with too much salt or sugar. Infections and family history might be important in some people. Eating too much fructose correlates with increasing risk of developing a kidney stone. Fructose can be found in table sugar and high fructose corn syrup.

Kidney Stones Signs and Symptoms :

The kidney stone starts to hurt when it causes irritation or blockage. This builds rapidly to extreme pain

Some kidney stones are as small as a grain of sand. Others are as large as a pebble. A few are as large as a golf ball! As a general rule, the larger the stone, the more noticeable are the symptoms.

The symptoms could be one or more of the following:

severe pain on either side of your lower back
more vague pain or stomach ache that doesn’t go away
blood in the urine
nausea or vomiting
fever and chills
urine that smells bad or looks cloudy

In most cases, kidney stones pass without causing damage-but usually not without causing a lot of pain. Pain relievers may be the only treatment needed for small stones. Other treatment may be needed, especially for those stones that cause lasting symptoms or other complications. In severe cases, however, surgery may be required.

Diagnosis

Diagnosis and tests for kidney stones include-:

Tests in blood-: Tests of your blood can show excessive calcium or uric acid. The findings of blood tests help to track your kidney’s health which will lead the doctor to search for more problems.
Check urine-: The 24-hour urine check will indicate that you excrete too many minerals that shape stone or too few stone-preventing substances. Your doctor may ask for two consecutive days to obtain urine for this examination.
Imaging-: Current imaging scans may identify urinary kidney stones. And minuscule stones may be shown in high-speed or dual-energy CT. Simple abdominal rays are less common because small kidney stones can be missed in this kind of imaging test.
Another imaging option to diagnose kidney stones is ultrasound, a non-invasive, rapid, and easy to perform test.
Passed stones analysis-: You might be told to urinate to gather stones that you move via a strainer. Laboratory analysis will show your stones’ make-up in your kidney. This information is used by your doctor to determine why your kidney stones are causing them and to develop a plan to prevent more renal stones.

Kidney Stones Treatment :-

1 : Flush Therapy

2 : Surgical Treatment

There are 4 common ways to remove stones :

Certain Home Remedies for Kidney Stone Treatment :

The most important advice to avoid kidney stone is to stay hydrated. One should drink at least 2-3 liters of water every day to avoid these stones.

Drink more water - At the preliminary stage, it can get dissolved through certain medications as well. Extremely small sized kidneys get naturally removed through urine if you drink more water.
Avoid Oxalate - rich foods–Do not eat oxalate-rich foods such as certain fruits and vegetables, grains, legumes, nuts and seeds, and even chocolate and tea.
Lemon Juice - Lemon juice can be effective if the stone is formed due to Citrate issues. You can add lemon juice to your water as many times as you want. Citrate in lemon prevents the formation of kidney stones and can even help dissolve small stones.
Basil Juice - Basil juice can also be effective in the treatment of these issues. Basil juice contains acetic acid that helps break and dissolve kidney stones.
Pomegranate Juice - It is a rich source of antioxidants and is good for overall health of kidneys as it flushes out kidney stones and other toxins from your body.

However, it is recommended that you should consult the experts if the problem is getting severe as home remedies may not work in those times.

Kidney Stones Risk factors :

The biggest threat of having kidney stone is for those people who drink less water. It is mostly found among people in between the age group of 25 to 55. Men are affected 3 times more than women; children may also be affected. Climate, temperature and humidity are important factors that contribute to urinary / kidney stones.

Men are often more prone to kidney stones as compared to women. Heredity also plays as a risk factor if someone in the family had such an issue.

Apart from this, other mild risk factors include things such as:

Obesity, eating foods with higher protein content regularly eating foods with higher calories excessive salt intake, etc.
People who have gone through Gastric bypass surgery, chemotherapies, with hyper parathyroid symptoms, etc. also hold risks of kidney stones.
People who take medicines like antacids with higher calcium content can have such problems.
Another health issue that can increase the chances of getting kidney stones is problems in bowel movements, or specifically, the inflammatory bowel diseases.

Kidney Stones Prevention

Formation of kidney stones can be prevented with proper diet, plenty of water and the right medication.

Here are the ways to lower the chance of having kidney stones.

Stay hydrated
Cut on foods having calcium oxalate such as grapefruit, cranberry juice, spinach, potatoes, soybean etc
Limit salt intake
Maintaining a healthy body weight
Avoid alcohol
Cut on caffeine intakes such as foods like chocolate, teas, certain sodas, and energy drinks
Avoid sugary drinks
Get the right amount of dietary calcium such as foods like some cereals, orange juice, tofu, soy sauce etc.
Increase the intake of foods having citric acidic such as lemon juice, orange juice, lemonade, melon, mango juice
Control the consumption of high-acid foods
Taking supplements and vitamins
Taking different natural vitamins can help prevent the formation of kidney stones

Kidney Stone Patients Diet :

People suffering from kidney stone issues are recommended to drink water instead of soft drinks, ginger ale, soda, general juices for improving the fluid level within the body. As said above, citrate juices are highly recommended if the stone is formed due to low citrate level.

These people are advised to minimize the intake of salt in foods. Meat, fish or any kind of animal protein should be avoided. Patients having these problem stones should avoid food rich in Oxalate content.

Still, you eat such food having oxalates, make sure to get some source of calcium too as oxalates bind with calcium during digestion and prevent it from reaching kidneys.

Oxalate-rich foods may include chocolates, tea, beets, spinach, nuts, and sweet potatoes among some more.

A Healthy kidney stone diet Includes:

Drinking at least 10-12 glasses of water
Limit salt intake, high added sugars, and products containing high fructose corn syrup
Cut on animal protein such as red meat, poultry, eggs, and seafood
Drink citrus juices
Eat calcium-rich food
Avoid food rich in oxalates and phosphates