How Do You Get Kidney Stones

Kidney stones are very common, you might have encountered them directly or know someone who has or just heard about them in passing. If you are learning about kidney stones for the first time, whether for yourself or someone else, welcome! You can review the information in this blog and find valuable resources to learn more.

Basically kidney stones are hard deposits of minerals and salts that develop inside your kidneys. They are also known as renal calculi, nephrolithiasis, or urolithiasis.

Various body wastes are dissolved in urine, crystals start to develop when there is too much waste in too little liquid. The crystals draw in other substances and combine to produce a solid that will only grow unless it is eliminated from the body through urination. 

The kidney, the body’s chief chemist, often eliminates these compounds in the urine. Most people’s kidney stones are either washed out by adequate liquid or prevented from developing by other substances in the urine. 

Calcium, oxalate, urate, cystine, xanthine, and phosphate are the substances that cause stones to form.

The stone may remain in the kidney once it forms or go through the ureter and into the bladder. Occasionally, even little stones leave the body through the urine without causing too much discomfort. Nevertheless, immobile rocks can result in a urine backup in the kidney, ureter, bladder, or urethra, this brings on anguish.

Familiarize Yourself With Kidney Stones 

For issues related to kidney stones, more than 500,000 patients visit emergency departments annually. One in ten people, according to estimates, will have kidney stones at some point in their life. 

Kidney stones were more common in the US, from 3.8% in the late 1970s to 8.8% in the late 2000s. In the years 2013–2014, kidney stones were 10% common. 

Around 11% of men and 9% of women are at risk of developing kidney stones. Kidney stones are more likely to form in people with other illnesses, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity.

Types Of Kidney Stones

Kidney stones may come in four different forms as follows:

1. Calcium Oxalate: The most typical kidney stone is calcium oxalate, which is produced when calcium and oxalate mix in urine. Insufficient calcium and hydration intake, among other factors, may aid in their development. 
2. Uric Acid: Another prevalent kind of kidney stone is uric acid. Foods rich in purines, a naturally occurring chemical component, include organ meats and shellfish. Increased monosodium urate synthesis results from excessive purine consumption; under the right circumstances, this substance may produce kidney stones. These kinds of rocks frequently develop in families. 
3. Struvite: These less frequent stones are brought on by upper urinary tract infections.
4. Cystine: Cystine is a red-colored stone that is often passed on genetically.

The Role Of Urinary Tract

The urinary system is essential to your body due to the fact that it eliminates waste and surplus fluid. It is made up of your bladder, urethra, kidneys, and two ureters. Each organ performs a crucial function in the sequence listed below: 

1. Kidneys: Your kidneys are the size of a fist and shaped like beans. They are situated on either side of your spine, below your ribs. They filter 120 to 150 quarts of your blood daily to eliminate trash and maintain fluid equilibrium. One to two quarts of urine are produced by your kidneys each day.
2. Ureter: Urine passes through the tube-shaped ureter and into the bladder after being produced by your kidney. Each kidney has one ureter. Ureteric stones can either pass through them or become lodged there if they are too large. If the stone is huge, surgery can be necessary. 
3. Bladder: Your bladder, an organ holding pee, is located between your hip bones. It may extend to hold between 1.5 and 2 cups. 
4. Urethra: It is a tube through which pee travels, and is similar to your ureter. That is where your pee and kidney stones depart your body at the end of the urinary tract. Urination is the term for this.

How Long Does a Stone Take To Form?

Kidney stones can exist for years while you are unaware of them. You won’t feel anything as long as these stones are in your kidney where they are. As a kidney stone passes through your kidney, it usually causes pain. A stone can occasionally develop faster, in only a few months. 

Your risk factors should be discussed with your doctor. To determine how rapidly stones form in your body, they could do a 24-hour urine test.

Causes Of Kidney Stones Formations

Kidney stones develop when the calcium, oxalate, and uric acid crystals in your urine combine with other components and form a high concentration in your urine. Stones are formed when two or more crystals bind together. When your pee lacks the moisture and other ingredients necessary to prevent stones from forming, they do. 

You may pass a kidney stone undetected, and it might be as tiny as a grain of sand. But a larger one might harm you and obstruct your pee flow. Others claim that the discomfort might even surpass childbirth. 

Kidney stones can be caused by various factors, including what you eat and specific drugs. You are more likely to get kidney stones if someone in your family already did.

How Are Kidney Stones Diagnosed?

Your doctor will talk to you about your health history and could perhaps recommend certain testing. These tests consist of the following: 

• Imaging Tests: Your doctor can identify your kidney stones using imaging tests, including an X-ray, CT scan, and ultrasound, to determine their size, shape, location, and number. These tests assist your doctor in determining the best course of therapy for you.  

• Blood test: A blood test will show the health of your kidneys, search for infections, and check for biochemical issues that might cause kidney stones. 
• Urine test: This test also checks for infection symptoms and assesses the presence of kidney stone-forming chemicals.

Some Ways To Treat Kidney Stones

Your healthcare professional will first decide if you require therapy after a diagnosis. As you urinate, some tiny kidney stones can pass from your body. This may cause severe discomfort. Your treatment choices, if determined by your doctor to be necessary, include both medication and surgery. 

The doctor may prescribe medication in order to:

1. Lessen the discomfort. Your healthcare professional may suggest an over-the-counter drug like ibuprofen or, if you’re in the emergency department, an IV narcotic. 
2. Control nausea or vomiting. 
3. To help the stones pass and to relax your ureter. Tamsulosin and nifedipine are two drugs that are frequently recommended.

Ibuprofen should only be taken after consulting a healthcare professional. When used during an acute kidney stone attack, this medication might raise the risk of kidney failure, especially in people with a history of renal disease and related conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and obesity. 

Surgery:

Four different surgical procedures are available to treat kidney stones. The first three are minimally invasive, which means the doctor enters your body by a small incision or a natural entrance (like your urethra).

Ureteroscopy: A little tool called a ureteroscope is introduced into the urethra, the bladder, and the ureter to perform ureteroscopy. This device displays the kidney stones and removes them in a surgical “basket” or uses a laser to split them apart. These tiny fragments of kidney stones can then readily pass through your urinary tract and leave your body. 

Shockwave Lithotripsy: You are positioned on a certain kind of surgical table or tub for shockwave lithotripsy. The stone is subjected to powerful shockwaves that travel through water (s). The shockwaves split the stones, making it easier for them to leave your body.

Percutaneous nephrolithotomy: It is an option when existing treatments for kidney stones are ineffective due to the presence of too many stones, the size or weight of the stones, or the placement of the stones. 

With a little incision in your back, a tube is directly placed into your kidney during this treatment. An ultrasound probe is then used to break up the stones, and they are suctioned out such that no pieces need to be passed. After that, a urethral stent is implanted (an internal tube from the kidney to the bladder, which is removed one week later). Usually, patients are held overnight for observation. 

Open Stone Surgery: An extended cut is made during open stone surgery. It’s less frequent than minimally invasive procedures.

Foods That May Cause Kidney Stones

1. Salt: The quantity of calcium in your urine increases if you eat a lot of sodium, a salt component. Any additional oxalate “sticks” to calcium in the kidneys after you’ve finished eating. Stones may result from it. Limit your intake of canned goods, packaged meats, fast meals, and sauces. 
2. Animal protein: Reduce your intake of meat, pork, eggs, cheese, and seafood since they may increase your risk of developing most kidney stones.
3. Vitamin C: Your body may create oxalate if you consume too much Vitamin C. Hence, limit your daily dosage to 500 mg.
4. Processed Food: Phosphorus is a common additive and preservative in processed foods. Therefore avoid eating too many frozen meals, luncheon meats, bottled colas, and fast foods. Look for components beginning with “phos” on the label. 
5. Table Salt: Most Americans already consume too much sodium. Limit your intake of table salt to one teaspoon each day.

Some other popular food products that may increase the risk of kidney stones are as follows: Spinach, Rhubarb, Almonds, Cashews, Miso soup, Grits, Baked Potatoes with Skin, Beets, Cocoa powder, Okra, Bran Cereals and Shredded Wheat Cereals, French Fries, Raspberries, Stevia Sweeteners, Sweet Potatoes, Organ Meats, like Chicken or Beef Liver, Milk, Cheese, and other DairyProducts, Eggs, and Seafood.

How To Avoid Getting Kidney Stones?

Any individual would want to avoid health inconveniences such as kidney stones. Here are some of the ways you can prevent getting kidney stones:

Eat Calcium-rich Food: Consume meals high in calcium to reduce the amount of oxalate absorbed into the circulation and then eliminated by the kidney. Dietary calcium binds to oxalate in your intestines. As a result, there is less of a possibility that oxalate will attach to the calcium in the urine. The danger of kidney stones is lowered as a result.

Stay Hydrated: Water is essential to consume in large quantities since it dilutes the urine stones-causing chemicals. Try to consume as much liquid as necessary to produce 2 liters of pee each day, or around eight regular 8-ounce cups. Orange juice and other citrus-flavored drinks, such as lemonade, may be beneficial. These drinks’ citrate content prevents the development of stones.

Avoid Foods With Oxalate: Oxalate, which can cause kidney stones, is found in abundance in beets, cocoa, spinach, rhubarb, tea, etc., in addition to the foods mentioned above. Your doctor might suggest avoiding these certain foods or eating them in moderation if you have kidney stones.

Avoid Consuming Animal Protein: Reduce your animal protein intake since it raises uric acid levels and increases the risk of kidney stones. Examples of animal protein include red meat, poultry, eggs, and seafood. A high-protein diet also lowers urinary citrate levels, a molecule in urine that aids in stone prevention. Limit your daily meat consumption to no more than a deck of playing cards if you are prone to stones. This component is also good for your heart.

Limit sodium: Since it raises the level of calcium in your urine, a high-sodium diet might induce kidney stones. Hence, for those who are prone to kidney stones, a low-sodium diet is advised. According to current recommendations, a daily salt consumption of 2,300 mg is the maximum. If you have a history of kidney stones, consider keeping your salt consumption to 1,500 mg daily. Your heart and blood pressure will both benefit from this.

Conclusion

At best, kidney stones can be annoying; at worst, they can be incredibly painful. You should be assessed by a healthcare professional as soon as possible to prevent your condition from growing worse. Surgery may be required if the discomfort becomes severe. Remember to take your medication as directed, drink enough water, and adhere to dietary recommendations. Moreover, keep in mind that kidney stones are a transient ailment. They won’t continue to harass you.