Tag: Kidney Stone

Kidney Stones

There are different kinds of kidney stone and it forms from different salts in our urine. There are 4 different types around and here they are.

The first is called a calcium stone and among the 4, this is the most common. It looks spiky or large and smooth. This is made from calcium oxalate or calcium phosphate.

It is very common because there are a lot of people who have excess levels of vitamin D or have an overactive parathyroid gland. This may also develop in people who are suffering from cancer or kidney disease.

Next you have uric acid stones which are smooth, soft and color brown. You can get this from eating a lot of meat products. Patients who have undergone chemotherapy are at risk of getting uric acid stones. Both the calcium stones and the uric acid stones commonly occur among men.

You also have struvite or infection stones. These are usually large and have a horn like shape and often develop when there is too much ammonia present in your urine. This occurs if you have UTI or urinary tract infection because the bacteria that causes this infection generates ammonia. This type of stone is found generally in women.

Lastly, you have cystine stones. What makes this different is the fact it is color yellow and crystalline. From the name itself, you can only get it if you have high levels of cystine in your urine.

In some cases, cystine combines with arginine, lysine and omithine. This is a genetic disorder known as cystinuria which happens when the kidney tubules are not reabsorbing the amino acids adequately. This is very rare and it can happen to anyone between the ages of 10 and 30 regardless of gender.

The good news is that despite the different types of kidney stones around, it can be prevented. The best way to do that is to drink lots of water which is equivalent to about 3 liters of water everyday because this helps make the urine clear rather than the color yellow.

Since more people are at risk from developing calcium stones, you should reduce your calcium intake and cut down on vegetables like asparagus and cooked spinach. Do the same for the amount of tea that you drink and the chocolate that you eat.

To prevent having uric acid stones, you should cut down on fish, meat and poultry products. If necessary, your doctor may also prescribe some medicine to help you along the way which is the same to reduce the risk of developing cystine or struvite stones.

Should you already have kidney stones and it is causing problems, you have to see your doctor so both of you can figure out what treatment option is best suited for the situation. You have to remember that the doctor has to figure out first what type of stone is in your system.

With that, he or she will be able to tell you what needs to be done. Your response to this should be more questions so you know what you are getting yourself into. Yes there are ways to deal with kidney stones but you have to know how effective is the medication or treatment, what measures you have to take to prevent this from happening again and if there has been any permanent damage.

Kidney Stones Research

Kidney stones have been present for a very long time in human history. It was said to have been found in a mummy that is over seven thousand years old. That should be enough proof that humans have long been afflicted by it. These days though people are more aware of kidney stones, why they exist and what to do about them.

Proper information that states how usual it is to develop kidney stones reduces a lot of panic because now you do not have to immediately rush to the emergency room. People now know that drinking lots of water is not just for beautiful skin but also for a healthy kidney.

There maybe times though when drinking tons of water is not enough so more drastic measures need to be taken because the kidney stones cannot be flushed through urine. Here then comes the next option which is surgery. It used to be open surgery procedure for kidney stone removal but in recent years, doctors have found a way to take out kidney stones without the patient having to go under the knife.

Three of the most popular kidney removal surgeries are extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL), percutaneous nephrolithotomy and ureteroscopy. It is very important to remember that all your decisions should be carefully though of and that you should always be constantly coordinating with your doctor. There should be a thorough understanding of the different procedures and more significant is the awareness of the different risks involved.

The Division of Kidney, Urologic and Hematolgic Diseases of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) maybe a mouthful but its cause is something that is really worth fighting for. The group sources and manages funds for research on the causes, treatments, and prevention of kidney stones. This group affiliated with the National Institutes of Health in Bethseda, MD is so passionate that new medicines and the growing field of lithotripsy have been a great help in finding safer and better treatments for kidney stones. This is really good news for those who are victims of kidney stones otherwise known as the silent stone because it can go on undetected.

Some of the questions this group want answered include: Why do some people continue to have painful stones? What are the long term effects of lithotripsy? What is/are the natural substance(s) found in urine that blocks stone formation? How can medicine help people identify symptoms of kidney stone formation? Finding the answers to these questions are very crucial in advancing the research so that soon kidney stones prevention and treatment will be as easy as preventing or treating coughs and colds.

With the hope of good things to come in the field of kidney stone research, we go back to the basics. First, someone who is at risk for developing stones may need certain blood and urine tests to determine which factors can be controlled to reduce risks. Second, the first and most elementary way to prevent kidney stones from forming is to drink plenty of fluids and that means more than eight glasses of water a day.

Last and certainly not the least is to keep in mind that getting treated is not enough. A person undergoing treatment should be patient in doing follow up tests to make sure that the treatment is working.