Tag: Formation Of Kidney Stones

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 to cure kidney stones

As in any sickness, the key to the formation of kidney stones is in prevention especially since a person who had more than one kidney stone in her life will most likely develop kidney stones in the future. Regular check-up to the doctor is one way to ensure that all kinds of sickness are prevention. Paying extra for a regular set of tests like sugar, urine and blood tests will even better your chances of preventing certain conditions from developing. Think how less expensive that would be than when you actually become sick and you have to buy expensive medicines and pay a lot more for certain procedures.

Most kidney stones pass through the urinary system easily so drink lots and lots of water and do not mind going to the bathroom to urinate every now and then. Often times, people with kidney stones are only told to take lots of fluids and maybe some medication. Although the actual kidney stones are important in assessing the actual status so the patient may also be tasked to preserve their kidney stones and submit it for testing. Depending on the diagnosis, patients urine may also have to be analyzed for a whole day. Another day after initial medication or treatments are taken and done will also be set aside for another 24 hour urine analysis.

A change in lifestyle is also a very effective treatment. If you are not the type who drinks lots of fluids then it is high time that you learn to drink enough liquids in a day so that you will be able to produce at least 2 quarts of urine. While certain food are believed to contribute tot eh formation of kidney stones, moderation is really the key.

In the past, food high in calcium are shunned but recent studies have proven that calcium high foods including dairy products like milk can actually prevent formation of calcium stones. What should be watched out is the intake of calcium pills, food added with vitamin D and certain types of antacids that have a calcium base. A person who has a relatively high presence of acid in his urine is also advised to eat less meat, fish and poultry because eating these will further increase acid in urine.

There are medicines that maybe prescribed by doctors to somehow control the production of acid and alkali in urine. This is vital because acid or alkali are key factors in the forming of crystals. Allopurinol can be useful for cases of hyperuricosuria.

Hydrochlorothiazide favors calcium retention hence reducing the amount of calcium released by the kidneys which is in turn results to low or no formation of calcium tones. Sodium cellulose phosphate, on the other hand, secretes calcium in the intestines to prevent it from leaking to the urine.

As for surgical procedures in taking out kidney stones, the very popular procedure is Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy or ESWL. This most frequently used procedure works when shock waves that are created outside the body travel into the skin and body tissues until they reach the denser stones. The shock causes the tones to break down in smaller particles so that they can easily pass through the urinary tract.

This sounds simple but potential risks and complications that may arise should always be discussed with the doctor before agreeing to go through the procedure.

Causes of Kidney Stones

Kidney stones are not necessarily as common as say coughs and colds but it is one of the top reasons why people come rushing to the emergency wing of the hospital. Urine liquid is usually colored white or yellow so when you see that your urine is in a different color, say pink, then you worry so you troop to the hospital. When you sense a different kind of pain somewhere below your stomach, you begin to rattle because you know it is not just a simple case of indigestion.

When that sot of thing happens you also rush to the clinic or the hospital. After initial interview and certain tests, you are then confronted with the results you have kidney stones. So how in the world did you get kidney stones?

Not a lot of people are aware of kidney stones. Sure there are medical groups who push for more education about the kidney but most people only hear of kidney transplants. These are pretty major stuff already, kidney stones are very basic but it is a good place to start when it comes to discussing kidney and the importance of a healthy functioning kidney. The formation of kidney stones spring from crystal that are not excreted through urination but the real question is why does this happen. Doctors are not quick to point at any one particular cause but what can be done is discuss the several factors that can be attributed to this condition. Then maybe, the factors can be isolated as per patients case.

For one, it can be hereditary so if your parents and grandparents have it then most likely you will have kidney stones as well. It has been observed that a person with a family history of kidney stones are prone to forming kidney stones as well. This is probably the reason why urinary tract infections, kidney relate disorders such as cystic kidney diseases and some metabolic disorders like hyperparathyroidism which are all found to be linked to kidney stone formation are believed to be inherited as well.

Certain food in major food groups are also seen as potential causes of kidney stone formation. However people in the medical field believe that eating these food are major causes of kidney stone formation. People who tend to form high calcium which leads to the formation of one kind of stone called calcium oxalate are requested to limit or avoid certain foods.

These include spinach, beets, soybean crackers, peanuts, okra, chocolate, sweet potatoes, grapes, celery, fruit cake, strawberries, marmalade and liver. These are a bunch that includes delectable delights which is really sad news for those who have to cut down on them so work on keeping those kidneys healthy to keep enjoying those treats.

Just as the causes of kidney stones are quite a blur so are the symptoms and in fact most of the signs go unnoticed. For this reason kidney stones ahs been aptly called as the silent stones. These silent stones should eventually be found out. Scanning the urinary system through special tests called computerized tomography, more popularly known as CT scan, or an intravenous pyelogram help doctors detect kidney stones.

The results from these tests are also vital in finding out the proper course of action to treat the existing condition.

What are Kidney Stones?

Kidney is one of the most sensitive and important organs of the body so if something happens to it, necessary steps have to be taken to make sure that there is still time to fix the problem. When the kidney fails then there is a greater chance that the organs will fail as well. One of the most common ailments to strike the kidney is the formation of kidney stones and even though it seems to be trivial, it has to be given attention.

Kidney stones have affected human beings for many years already. It has been said that traces of kidney stones were found in a 7000 year old Egyptian mummy which means that kidney stones are actually part of ancient history.

Another fact to consider is that more than half a million people rush to hospitals emergency rooms are found to have kidney stone problems. It simply shows how prevalent it is and the commonality of it should not be a reason to take it for granted but it should also not cause us to panic. Despite the long history of humans with kidney stones and the startling increasing number of people affected by it, most cases of kidney stones are actually very minor in the sense that the stones can be flushed out of the body without outside intervention through regular urination.

If however discomfort lingers or complications arise in relation to the presence of kidney stones in the body then there is a need to consult your doctor so that proper assessment can be done. There is nothing to fear though because most of the medical steps needed to get rid of kidney stones do not involve any major surgery.

A kidney stone is scientifically defined as a hard lump of mass that are formed from crystals that are left behind in the urinary tract. For a normal person, the urine has chemicals that disables these crystals from forming. It is when these inhibitors fail to do their job that causes the problem but as mentioned earlier you can easily get rid of smaller stones.

However if the kidney stones are bigger in size that it cant be simply gone then there are procedures available to take it out. The good news is because of advancements in technology, most of these procedures do not require for the person afflicted to be opened up. There are special instruments that can melt or crush the kidney stones and putting them inside the body do not have to involve having a knife go through ones body.

For unqualified reasons, more and more people seem to be getting kidney stones. As per cases reported, it is men in their forties and seventies that are prone to getting kidney stones. It is also important to mention that once a person gets stones then that person is more susceptible to forming kidney stones in the future. Hence the key here is really prevention. The main problem though is that there are really no singularly very particular cause of kidney stones.

Doctors though are one in saying that the best way to prevent it is in drinking fluids preferable water. This is not the same though as in drinking just eight glasses of water a day but rather it is highly advised to drink water whenever you can.