Kidney stone – an overview:
Chemicals that are dissolved in urine stick together to form kidney stones. When the amount of these substances reaches a certain level, they form stones by crystallizing into a solid form.
The most common stone is made up of calcium, oxalate, or phosphate.
Kidney stones come in different sizes; sometimes, they are too small to feel or see in the urinary tract. If not, these can be about the size of a golf ball.
The ureter dilates and stretches when a stone blocks the flow of urine. This causes muscle spasms that cause a terrible pain called renal colic. This pain can be felt in the flank, lower abdomen, groin, or leg on the side with the stone.
These are the most typical forms of kidney stones:
Calcium stones:
Most kidney stones are composed of either calcium oxalate, apatite, calcium phosphate, or brushite more than three out of four kidney stones consist of calcium These stones can form when:
- Need to drink more fluids.
- Eating the wrong things.
- Problems with how your kidneys filter waste or keep your body’s pH balance in check.
- Bowel disorders
- Hyperparathyroidism
- Genetic abnormalities
Uric stones:
In terms of frequency, this is the second most frequent form of kidney stone. Normal X-rays can’t show these stones. If they are big enough, you can only see them with a computed tomography (CT) scan or an ultrasound. Diabetes and what you eat are linked to these stones.
Struvite stones:
Bacteria from a urinary tract infection cause these stones.
Cystine Stones:
These stones can be caused by cystinuria, a rare genetic disorder. If you suffer from cystinuria, you excrete a lot of amino acids in your urine. This causes kidney stones to form.
The signs that usually indicate the presence of kidney stones:
In most cases, kidney stones do not cause discomfort until they move inside the kidney or enter one of the ureters. The ureters are responsible for transferring urine from the kidneys to the bladder.
A kidney stone in the ureter can produce spasms in the ureter and enlargement of the kidney, both of which are exceedingly painful disorders. Can you feel these things if something happened:
- Sharp, stabbing pain in the lower back and side.
- Sharp, shooting pain in the groin and lower stomach
- A fluctuating, wavelike pain
- You feel pain or a burning sensation when you urinate
Other signs and symptoms could be:
Constant urge to urinate, urinating more frequently than usual or urinating in small amounts
- Pink,red or brown urine
- Cloudy or foul-smelling urine
- Nausea and vomiting
As a kidney stone travels through your urinary path, the pain it causes may evolve, moving to a new area or becoming more severe.
When should you visit a doctor?
A person should see a doctor if they have trouble going to the bathroom or other symptoms like blood in their urine or pain in their back or side. If the symptoms are bad, the doctor may send the patient to a specialist, like a nephrologist or a urologist with a lot of experience. Seek help from the best urology specialist in Coimbatore if you are experiencing severe pain.
How to identify if you have kidney stones?
Your doctor may perform the following tests to find out how large and what type of kidney stone you have:
Blood tests can show if your blood contains too much calcium or uric acid.
Urine tests show what kinds of wastes are in your urine. For this test, your doctor may ask you to save your urine for two days.
Imaging tests, like an X-ray, CT scan, or ultrasound, can show if you have kidney stones in your urinary tract.
If you get kidney stones often, your doctor may tell you to urinate through a strainer to catch any stones you pass. Then your doctor will find out what they consist of, to find out what caused them and how to prevent them from recurring.
Why are kidney stones examined after the procedure?
Stones are classified into four categories. Studying the stone can help you understand why you have it and how to limit your chances of getting more. Common stones include calcium. Calcium should be a part of everyone’s daily diet.
The kidneys are responsible for flushing out any extra calcium in the bloodstream. People who have stones frequently retain an excessive amount of calcium. Stones form when this calcium combines with other waste products such as oxalate The most common mixture is calcium oxalate.
Less common types of stones include infection-related struvite stones, which contain magnesium and ammonia, and uric acid stones, which are formed from monosodium urate crystals and may be related to obesity and dietary factors.
What are the possible treatment options for kidney stones?
If your kidney stone is small, your doctor may tell you to take painkillers and drink fluids to help move it through your urinary tract and out through your urine (pee).
If you have a big kidney stone or one blocking your urinary tract, you may need a different
treatment for kidney stones. Some options for treatment are:
Lithotripsy:
Shock waves are used in the lithotripsy procedure to shatter the kidney stone into smaller pieces. Subsequently, the fragmented stone is flushed out of the body through the urine. A typical session of this treatment lasts over an hour, and if you opt to have it done while under general anesthesia, you will be completely out during the entire time.
Ureteroscopy:
During a ureteroscopy, a long, tubular instrument is inserted into the ureter and the stone is either removed (if small) or broken into small enough fragments (using a laser) so that it can be excreted through the urinary tract and via the urine (if large).
Surgery:
While it is extremely rare, sometimes surgery is needed to remove a kidney stone. During kidney stone surgery, doctors insert a tube into your kidney to remove the stone. It will take two or three days for you to fully recover from this procedure. During this time, you will need to stay in the hospital.
How to prevent kidney stones?
For those who want to avoid kidney stones, here are some preventative measures to take:
Make sure you’re getting enough water every day. In general, most people need only eight to twelve glasses of fluid per day.Talk to your doctor about how much fluid you should consume daily if you have renal disease and are on a fluid-restriction diet.
Limit your salt and protein intake from sources such as meat and eggs. It may be possible to prevent future kidney stones by following a special diet prescribed by your doctor once he or she has determined the composition of your kidney stone
If your doctor has prescribed medication to address a condition that increases your risk of developing kidney stones, be sure to take it exactly as directed.
Always consult your doctor before beginning or ending any new medication or eating plan.
Is it dangerous to operate on kidney stones?
Kidney stone treatment is well-proven to be both safe and effective. However, minor complications are always possible during surgery.Before choosing the treatment, speak to your urologist to see kidney stone removal costs in Coimbatore to make a better decision.