Tag: Bladder

How to Effectively Prevent Kidney Stones

Kidney stones or “urolithiasis” are known to develop in a person’s body when there is a collection of materialssuch as mineralsto a small stone. These stones are commonly found in the kidney, but there are also those that stay in the ureter or in the bladder. Also called “nephrolithiasis,” by physicians, kidney stones can cause a great deal of pain to an individual when it blocks the urine flow. When this is not diagnosed and given proper treatment as soon as possible, it can lead to a several kidney problems that can last for a long time.

Experts agree that one of the most effective means of treating kidney stones is through prevention. Unlike severe diseases and illnesses, kidney stones can easily be prevented if the person will set his or her mind into healthy lifestyle.

More and more studies show that among the primary causes of kidney stonesaside from clinical history, hereditary factor, and medical condition of a personis unhealthy. This is by living a sedentary life with no regular physical exercise or routine and by eating foods that are not friendly to the kidney.

In order to prevent kidney stones, the first thing that people need to do is to take in lots of fluid, specifically water. Experts agree that the best way to prevent kidney stones is by flushing it out from the system. And what’s the best way to do it? By drinking a large amount of liquids, especially water which is free from major impurities.

Taking in lots of water everydayat least 8 glasses or morewill flush out waste products in the body and can help dilute the minerals or other stone-forming materials such as salts present in the person’s urine. For those who are already suffering from kidney stones or those that are prone to it, experts say that they should avoid drinking liquids with other components such as sodas and other juices to avoid the fast formation of kidney stones.

Next is to develop certain modifications in diet. Undeniably, diet plays a huge role in maintaining good health. Keeping the body free from kidney stones will greatly depend on how balanced the diet of that person would be. Majority of kidney stone-sufferers today share the same type of stonethe calcium oxalate stone.

As the name suggests, this type of stone can only be developed with too many calcium intakes. Experts say that for people to veer away from kidney stones, they should cut down on foods that are high in calcium and oxalate such as dairy products including leafy vegetables, soda-colas, cranberries, chocolates, and peanuts.

To avoid developing stones made of salts, people should also avoid meals that have high sodium content. People should focus on eating foods that are high in fiber and should also increase their citric acid or vitamin C intake. By doing this, you can your kidney stones would be dissolved in no time due to the citric properties of citrus.

Lastly, to effectively prevent kidney stones, people who has it or those who are prone to it must take in proper medication. In severe cases of kidney stones, proper medication would help such as thiazide, sodium cellulose phosphate, oral calcium supplement, allopurinol, polycitra K, thiol, D-penicil-lamine, Acetohy-droxamic acid or AHA, and toradol to help relieve kidney pain and reduce the amount of stone-forming materials in the body.

How can Kidney Stones Affect your Life

Unknown to many people, kidney stones is the most common complication that involves the kidney, uterer, and bladder. They also dont realize the importance of the role that kidneys play in the person’s system. Most people dont realize it but kidneys are very important because they act as the ultimate “filter” for blood. When the kidney functions well, it can remove the waste products and substance from the body. This will help a person to regulate the proper level of chemicals and enables the body to function properly.

Today, more and more peoplebecause of unhealthy diet and laid back living and minimal physical movementssuffer from kidney stones and they have yet to realize how can it affect their overall health. Many experts agree that any person has great chances of encountering kidney stones in one point of his or her life.

But, with early diagnosis, healthy lifestyle, diet to prevent the condition, and regular exercise, one can recover from it. However, recovering might be easy but if people would not religiously follow the keys to avoiding kidney stones, chance are, they will have it again probably in the next 10 or 15 years of his or her life.

What you need to know

Many people tend to neglect kidney stones because they think that they can easily recover from it with all the medications and medical procedures available today. One thing that they dont realize is that if they continue to have their kidney stones unchecked or undiagnosed, they are more prone to develop related diseases which will make their health conditions more complicated.

To avoid further complications when it comes to kidney stones, it is best that you arm yourself with all the knowledge that you can getespecially if you think that you are prone to the condition.

The first thing that you need to know about kidney stones is what it really is. Kidney stones are made up of minerals and other excess substances in body. It is the product when these substances and minerals are formed in the person’s urine. The process of developing kidney stones involved the crystallization of minerals and other elated substances then form a “lumps” which can be hard as a real stone.

Experts say that people who have kidney stones don’t have to worry so much about its size but should more focus on where its is located. The location of the kidney stones matter that much because it can cause the kidney and other related organs not to function very well.

Doctors agree that kidney stones that sit in the kidney itself are not much of a problem. But if it’s located it the utererthe tube that connects to the bladderit is a very big problem. This is because the stoneregardless of its sizecan block the path where the urine should pass. When this happens, it will cause the person a great deal of pain because it will stretch the kidney so much.

Another thing that you should also pay attention to is the possible causes of the condition. Experts say that there are a number of factors that may cause the development of kidney stones.

These factors may include the Urinary Tract Infections (UTI) that the person has developed, kidney failure, diseases that may have been inherited that involves the kidney, foods that contain high levels of calcium, sodium, oxalates, and others, as well as lack of regular movement or exercise.

How Are Kidney Stones Diagnosed

Do you have kidney stones? You will never know until you are examined by a doctor because the symptoms associated with this problem are very similar to UTI or urinary tract infection.

So, you have to set an appointment with the doctor. While there, he or she will review your medical history and conduct a physical examination before running some tests.

If you are a regular patient of the doctor, it will be easy to pull your file out. However, if this is your first time, you will have to fill up the form and get your medical files.

Your medical history does not say much about kidney stones especially if you have never had this before which is why the next step is to conduct a physical examination. Here, the doctor will look at you physically and touch certain areas. This is hard for the doctor to do if the patient is in extreme pain.

So the best way to confirm initial findings is through laboratory tests. The doctor will either extract blood or ask a urine sample from you.

You may also have to be scanned and there are a variety of machines for that. These include a computed tomography (CT) scan, intravenous pyelogram (IVP), retrograde pyelogram, and the regular X-ray.

The CT scan is used for various examinations. A scanner and a computer are used to create images of the urinary system. The only problem is that it has difficulty detecting small stones if they are located near the bladder. If a stone is found, an x-ray follows to determine the orientation, shape and size of the kidney stone.

Intravenous Pyelogram or IVP is done after a contrasting agent is injected into the vein. Within minutes, the test will show if there is a kidney stone blocking the ureter. This is perhaps the best method to check if you have kidney stones even if there is a slight risk for an allergic reaction to the fluid that was injected into the vein.

If you think that the ultrasound is only used to see the baby growing inside the womb, think again because it can also be used to detect a dilated upper urinary tract and kidney if the stone is lodged in the ureter. Its limitation is that it cannot detect kidney stones that are no longer in the kidney area.

Another term for retrograde pyelogram is a cytoscopy. The test begins by inserting a telescopic instrument into the bladder. Then, similar to the IVP, a contrast agent is injected into this opening and an x-ray is done to find the kidney stone.

Some doctors say this is better than IVP because there is no way to get an allergic reaction from the contrasting agent. This is because you will first be injected with anesthesia so in essence, you dont feel anything.

Among the different tests done to detect kidney stones, this is only used when other tests have proven to be inadequate or unsuccessful.

It is only after careful diagnosis that doctors will be able to tell if you have kidney stones or not. From there, they can treat you by giving some medication or advising you to drink lots of water because you may be able to expel the stones on your own. But if this does not work, then surgery is the next option.

Do You have Kidney Stones

Is there blood when you urinate or do you feel pain coming from your back or pelvis? If your answer to these two questions is yes, then you may have kidney stones in your body and the only way to be sure is to have yourself examined by a doctor.

The two symptoms mentioned are just some of the symptoms that tell you if you have kidney stones. Other symptoms include fevers or chills, feeling or being sick, frequency urinating and feeling a burning sensation when you urinate.

It is hard to tell just by how you feel if you do have kidney stones because these symptoms are also felt by those who have UTI or urinary tract infection.

When you go to your doctor, he or she will have to do a system of checks. This will include reviewing your medical history, conducting a physical examination and doing some tests.

The best way to rule out UTI is to extract a sample of urine or blood and scanned using one or two machines that may be a computed tomography (CT) scan, intravenous pyelogram (IVP), retrograde pyelogram or X-ray.

To give you a better understanding of what these machines are;

The CT scan is used not only to tell if you have a kidney stone because it can be used for other purposes. In the case of kidney stones, the doctor will tell the technician to focus on your urinary system.

The only problem with the CT scan is that it cannot detect small stones when these are located near the bladder. TO be sure, an x-ray will be done to tell the doctor its orientation, shape and size.

The Intravenous Pyelogram or IVP is another option and this can only work after you have been injected with a contrasting agent. Once this is flowing through your kidney, it will be easy for the machine to see if you have a kidney stone blocking the ureter.

There are risks for conducting this test especially if you have a slight allergic reaction to the fluid that was used.

The ultrasound has other uses and letting you know the size of your baby is just one of them. The doctor may also use this device to check if you have kidney stones located in your upper urinary tract or in your ureter. Unfortunately, it cannot be used to check for kidney stones in other parts of the body.

Another test is called the retrograde pyelogram is a cytoscopy. This test is similar to the IVP because it also uses a contrasting agent. The only difference is that once you are injected, a slam telescopic instrument is sent it to check the bladder.

In most cases, patients who may have kidney stones do not need to undergo these tests because the others mentioned have already confirmed that.

When doctors are sure that you have kidney stones and determined the type this is in your body, only then will they be able to treat it. The doctor may or may not have to give you medication. In extreme cases, surgery may be the only option.

Kidney stones happen more often to men than women. If you feel something wrong down there, dont wait until things get worse to see your doctor.