What Are The Symptoms of Kidney Stones?

What Are The Symptoms of Kidney Stones?

Kidney stones are hard deposits that form in the urinary tract. Kidney stones (renal lithiasis) usually start in the kidney but can grow big enough to block urine flow out of your bladder. This causes pain and blood in the urine. If you have had more than one kidney stone, it is more likely that you will get another one.

Symptoms include:

Pain when urinating often indicates a urinary tract infection, but it may also show a kidney stone. Other symptoms associated with a kidney stone include Pain in the side or back below the ribs, Pain above or around the navel, Fever, Chills, Feeling sick, Nausea Vomiting. The severity level depends on where exactly along the urinary tract the stone is located. The symptoms of a particular kidney stone attack vary in severity from mild to very severe, depending on where the stone is lodged or stuck along the urinary tract.

what are the first signs of kidney stones:

Sudden, excruciating pain in your back or side will not subside after a few minutes.

Pain so bad you may feel the need to pass out.

Blood in your urine.

What are kidney stones? 

Kidney stones are hard deposits of minerals and salts that form inside your kidneys. Urine is composed of fluids, salts, and waste products filtered from your blood by your kidneys.

Sometimes chemicals in urine combine to form crystals that accumulate to form kidney stones. Most kidney stones are small enough to pass through your urinary tract without any problem, but others can get stuck, causing an infection or injury to the lining of the tube (ureter) through which they move.

Do I have kidney stones?

– If you have one or more of the following symptoms, then there is a chance that you might already be suffering from kidney stones:-

Severe pain in your side or lower back.

Pain around your navel.

Urine has blood in it.

Foamy urine with severe Pain during urination.

Discomfort when passing urine, for example, taking a long time to give water or stopping and starting while urinating.

Blood in your stools if they are passed after passing urine.  If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, then consult your doctor immediately to confirm whether you have kidney stones or not.

How do kidney stones affect your health?

Kidney stones can cause a great deal of discomfort and pain for those who have them. In some cases, the existence of kidney stones causes no symptoms at all, but in other cases, it is a very different story. Symptoms that may arise from having a kidney stone include:-

Severe abdominal or back pain that does not disappear after a few minutes.  Kidney stones do not always produce contraction-like pains as there might be another problem with the urinary tract, such as an infection that can result in more severe abdominal pains.

Blood is present in urine due to an existing stone moving through the urinary tract system and causing damage to blood vessels as it passes by them. Sometimes this blood may be seen in urine while washing it. Other times, it may only be seen in the toilet bowl after finishing urination. Foamy urine contains a lot of air. This is due to air being blocked by kidney stones when passing through the urinary tract.

How to prevent kidney stones:

1. Avoid Foods and Drinks That Cause Kidney Stones:

Some foods and drinks contain substances that promote the formation of kidney stones. If you know which foods and drinks to avoid, it may be easier for you to prevent them from forming in your kidneys. High levels of dietary oxalate can increase your risk of creating kidney stones, as can high protein diets. By limiting the amount of protein you eat and making sure that you do not consume too much oxalate, it will be possible to reduce your risk of developing this condition over time.

2. Drink Plenty Of Fluids To Maintain A Healthy Fluid Balance And Prevent Stone Formation:  Kidney stones form when minerals crystallize inside a person’s kidneys. Drinking plenty of fluids helps prevent such minerals from taking shape and joining together to form stones. This is why it is so vital for people who have had kidney stones in the past to maintain a high fluid intake throughout the day.

3. Increase Your Calcium Intake:

Kidney stones may also form when there’s an imbalance between calcium and oxalate in the urine. So, if you’re at risk of developing kidney stones, then you should increase your calcium intake while limiting your consumption of foods that contain high levels of oxalates.

4. Control Blood Sugar Levels In People With Diabetes:

If you have diabetes, this increases your risk of developing kidney stones and other health problems such as heart disease and stroke. Your doctor should be able to monitor your blood sugar levels and treat them accordingly to prevent kidney stones from forming or reoccurring.

How can you save yourself?

There are various treatment options that healthcare professionals recommend to manage kidney stones. Some of these treatment methods include:-

Medicines to dissolve kidney stones without surgery (available in tablet form).

Surgery to break up the stone fragments if a lithotripsy procedure cannot dissolve them. This procedure is an effective way of breaking up larger-sized kidney stones into smaller pieces so that they can pass out of your body safely through urine.

An invasive ureteroscopy procedure involves passing a long thin tube with a camera on the tip through your urethra and bladder to help remove the stone fragments.

A change in diet, for example, reducing protein intake.

Regular follow-up appointments with doctors to monitor kidney function because stones can block urine flow again once removed by surgery or passed naturally.

eating green leafy vegetables will help you prevent the formation of kidney stones:-

1. Beetroot leaves:

Beetroots are a good source of phytonutrients that protects our body from kidney stone. The anti-oxidants present in leaves help flush out toxins from kidneys hence preventing kidney stones.

2. Cilantro(coriander) Leaves:

These are rich sources of dietary nitrates that lower blood pressure by increasing the supply of nitric oxide.

Kidney stones or renal calculi are crystalline concretions that form in the kidneys. Kidney stones usually leave the body by passage in the urine stream but may need medical intervention to assist their passing. Four central kidney stones are based on their location within the kidney, ureter, or urethra.

The vast majority (about 90%) are located in the kidneys, then known as “kidney stones,” and 10% in the ureters, which have been referred to as “ureteral stones.” Urine is a very complex fluid containing many chemicals and crystals needed for the normal functioning of kidneys. Any change in normal composition urine can result in stones in kidneys and urinary tracts.

The factors that lead to the formation of kidney stones are:

In case if a person is identified with any of the above conditions, then there are higher chances for them to develop kidney stones. Anyone can get a kidney stone, but some people might be having more risk factors than others.

.  Kidney stones cause considerable Pain and often recur (around 50%). The Pain usually starts in the flank or lower abdomen on either side of the body; it may extend towards the groin or testicle.

Kidney stone pain location:

Kidney stone pain can radiate to the back and cause what is known as “referred” Pain. Referred Pain happens when nerves send signals from one part of the body to another. In this case, a kidney stone can be guided or felt in other details such as the groin region and lower abdomen.

Kidney stones are essentially crystals that form from dissolved minerals in your urine. They’re mostly made up of calcium and oxalate, and sometimes they can include uric acid and cystine. The formation of crystals occurs when there’s an excess of these substances relative to other chemicals in your urine, so it’s become more saturated with these minerals than average.

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