Anyone who has ever dealt with kidney stones will tell you that the experience is one that is far from pleasant. Aside from knowing that they are in for a painful time, though, most people are unsure of what to expect when they are diagnosed with a kidney stone.
Unfortunately, kidney stones are quite common, with one in ten people developing a kidney stone at least once in their lives. In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know about kidney stones, including what they are and why they form, how they are treated, and the lifestyle changes that can help prevent kidney stones from developing.
What Are Kidney Stones and What Causes Them?
Kidneys are organs that remove liquid waste and extra water from the body which is eliminated as urine. When urine has a high concentration of solid particulates such as calcium, oxalate, and uric acid, they can form crystals, which in turn aggregate to form bigger particulate matter called kidney stones
In some cases, kidney stones can be as small as a grain of salt and can be passed through the urine without you ever noticing them. However, when kidney stones grow large enough they can’t easily fit through the urinary tract. This can block the flow of urine causing symptoms such as pain or difficulty urinating. In fact, many women who have experienced both say that passing a kidney stone is more painful than childbirth!
Symptoms of Kidney Stones
The common symptoms of kidney stones include:
- Pain in your lower back or the side of your body
- Severe pain when urinating
- Difficulty urinating
- Seeing blood in your urine
- Feeling the need to urinate more frequently
- Nausea and vomiting
- Fever and chills
If left untreated, kidney stones can become dangerous, potentially interfering with the function of your kidneys. However, the symptoms of kidney stones are impossible to ignore, and those suffering from a kidney stone need no extra encouragement to seek medical treatment if it does not quickly pass on its own.
How Are Kidney Stones Treated?
The treatment for kidney stones depends on the size of the stone. Smaller kidney stones can often be passed without any medical intervention. For these smaller stones, taking over-the-counter pain relievers and drinking large amounts of water may be the only treatment required. In some cases, doctors will also prescribe an alpha-blocker to help relax the muscles in your ureter so that the stone will pass more quickly and without as much pain.
For larger kidney stones, though, more intensive treatment is sometimes required. Many times, doctors will attempt to break up a large kidney stone into smaller pieces that can be more easily passed using either sound waves or an ureteroscope. However, if these methods are unsuccessful at breaking up the stone or if the stone is especially large, a surgical procedure known as percutaneous nephrolithotomy may be required. This procedure involves removing the stone from your kidney using a telescopic instrument that is inserted through a small incision in your back.
How to Prevent Kidney Stones From Developing
If you are prone to kidney stones, there are a number of ways to help prevent them from happening or at least reduce their frequency. Lifestyle changes that may be able to save you from the suffering that kidney stones bring include:
- Drinking plenty of water – Not drinking enough water means that your urine will become more concentrated, making it more difficult to dissolve the particulates that turn into kidney stones.
- Getting more calcium in your diet – The fact that kidney stones are often made of calcium deposits leads many people to believe that they are caused by too much calcium. However, the opposite is true. Calcium that you consume through the foods you eat will bind with oxalate in the stomach and intestines before it reaches the kidneys, preventing calcium deposits from forming.
- Eating less sodium – A high-salt diet increases the risk of calcium kidney stones.
- Eating less animal protein – Diets high in beef, poultry, fish, and pork increase the likelihood of both uric acid and calcium kidney stones.
Passing a kidney stone is one of the most unpleasant experiences that life has to offer. If you are prone to kidney stones and the suffering that they bring, we at Bikham Healthcare hope that you will find this information useful for preventing it from happening again!
