Tag: Kidney Stones

How to Simply Avoid and Prevent Kidney Stones

Many experts agree that kidney stones if not diagnosed as early as possible can cause a person a great deal of pain and discomfort. Aside from that, it can also cause people to develop many complications as time go by.

Kidney is a very important organ in the body that is why it is a must that people take care of it to avoid having complications such as kidney stones. Experts agree that the primary way of avoiding kidney stones is having a major lifestyle modification. By doing this, you can eliminate bad and unhealthy practices that affect your kidney.

One of the most practical means of preventing and avoiding kidney stones is through a diet modification. This diet modification should involve fiber, protein, calcium and sodium. Experts say that by increasing fiber intake and decreasing protein intake during your meals, there are greater chances of being spared from kidney stones. People who are prone to kidney stones should also decrease the amounts of calcium in their diets.

In fact, having moderate intake of calcium is very a simple yet very effective means of staying safe from kidney stones because it reduces the chances of developing the most common type of kidney stones, the calcium oxalate. Cutting down is sodium intake is also a must because you lessen the risks of developing kidney stones easily. Experts advise that people who are prone to kidney stones should only consume less than 1,500mg everyday.

Another effective step is to increase water intake. Being a universal solvent, drink sizeable amounts of water can definitely help you avoid kidney stones. When there is enough water on your body, you can eliminate wastes from the bodyespecially in the kidney. Experts say that two liters of urine will keep people away from kidney stones. Since this is the case, you need to drink at least eight glasses to ensure that you will have enough liquid to wash away impurities in your body.

You should also stay fit and active. Like in all illnesses, having a fit body can keep you safe from the pangs of kidney stones. When people have sedentary lives, they are more prone to kidney stone due to lack of physical movements. Being activethrough regular physical exercisewill not only help you achieve a sexy body but can also prevent development of kidney stones.

How? When people are into regular exercise or physical routine, they develop a good sense of discipline, which can lead them to healthy habits. Once this discipline is achieved through exercise, nothing will serve as a hindrance in maintaining healthy lifestyle.

And lastly, you must listen to what your body says. This is probably the most sensible tip that people who are prone to having kidney stones can do. They must understand that as they bodies grow older, there are some functions that tend to go slower such as those of the kidney. To avoid developing kidney stones and suffer from it, people must know when to listen to what their body says.

It means that if they feel something bad, they should always be open to the possibility that they might be suffering from something. Indeed, the best way to listen to what the body says is by scheduling a check up with a physician to do an overall checking.

How kidney stones are diagnosed

To avoid the pain brought by the development of kidney stones and its risks to your health, it is a must that you undergo immediate diagnosis once you suspect that there’s something wrong. The following are some of the steps to help you get diagnosis for kidney stones:

1. Go to a specialist. If you think that you are suffering from it, the first thing that you need to know is to consult a kidney specialist. He or she should administer diagnosis for kidney stones. Usually, the doctor will make a diagnosis of kidney stones using an assessment of the person’s clinical history. Here, he or she will ask a couple of questions that involve the person’s lifestyle, diet, fluid intake, past experience with kidney stones, and if there is possible family history of kidney stones.

This is very effective in the initial assessment of kidney stones in a person because it provides the doctor with information on what caused the stone formation. From here, the specialist can make a hypothesis or and “educated guess” and will refer you to undergo the needed medical procedures.

2. Undergo a thorough physical examination exam. Another effective means of diagnosing kidney stones is a thorough physical examination. Here, the specialist will run a series of physical tests that can help him or her determines conditions, which can put an individual at higher risk for kidney stone formation. Through a thorough physical examination, the doctor can discovers risks such as specific diseases and medical conditions, certain injuries, recent immobilization, and abdominal scars that might be effects of any previous medical procedure or surgery.

3. Opt for a laboratory study of your blood and urine. This is also another effective means of diagnosing kidney stones. During a laboratory evaluation, the person’s blood and urine samples will undergo thorough observation and studies. Collecting a sample of urine to be analyzed is called “urinalysis”. Urinalysis is one of the simplest tests to detect the presence of blood and bacteria present in the urine.

This is also done by the specialist or the attending assistant to accurately measure the levels and amount calciumwhich is the primary component of common kidney stoneselectrolytes, and uric acid as well as the other components in the samples. Aside from the acidity of the person’s urine, other components in the blood is also paid attention to ensure that there will be not further complications.

Other significant laboratory tests include blood tests for “creatinine” which evaluates the proper function of the kidney, the “BUN” and “electrolytes” which is used to detect levels of dehydration, “calcium” which is done to detect hyperparathyroidism, and a complete “blood count” which is primarily done to detect any infection in the person’s system. During the laboratory evaluation, the kidney stone sample is also collected to analyze and determine what type of is it stone. Knowing the type of kidney stone is important so the physician can plot the appropriate treatment for it as soon as possible.

4. Follow up the diagnosis with X-ray. Kidney stones can also be diagnosed through a possible follow-up with an X-ray evaluation. Here, the specialist or the assistant will use x-rays to identify the location of the kidney stone. Through x-ray, the size of stones and its number can be seen.

It may also help the doctor to identify which type of kidney stones is present in the person’s kidney.

How Do You Treat Kidney Stones

How do you treat kidney stones? This depends on its severity so it may or may not involve surgery. The good news is that 90% of the time, your body will be able to expel the stones on its own. But what if you are one of the unfortunate who belong to that 10%?

Should that happen, then your doctor will have to recommend surgery. This procedure may be the only option if the size of the kidney stones is too big which means they cannot get out of your body through the bladder. If you do undergo surgery immediately, you will experience constant pain or cause complications like kidney tissue damage or UTI also known as urinary tract infection.

There are 4 procedures that can help get rid of kidney stones.

There is ESWL or extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy. In this procedure, a device that produces non-electrical shock waves is used to turn the kidney stones inside your body into sand. You dont lie down in an operating table for this because this is done in a tub filled with warm or purified water.

The second option is PNL or percutaneous nephrolithotomy. This is done when the first option is not successful. The procedure begins by making a small incision in your back so a tunnel can be created all the way to your kidney. An instrument known as a nephroscope will then go in to remove the stone. If this instrument cannot do the job, an energy probe will be used and there are currently two types namely the ultrasonic and the electro hydraulic.

Third, the doctor may recommend ureteroscopic stone removal. This procedure is done by using a small fiber optic instrument that travels through the urethra and bladder to reach the ureter. Once the instrument is in position, it will emit a shockwave to destroy the stone.

The last option which is the oldest of the 4 is open surgery. The doctor will cut you open and remove the kidney stone. To make sure that all the kidney stones are collected during the operation, you may first be injected with a solution consisting of calcium chloride, cyroprecipitate, thrombin and indigo carmine so it will be easy to remove using the forceps.

Even if surgery is successful, kidney stones can once again appear in the body. To prevent this from happening, you should now take preventive measures.

The simplest way is to drink 6 to 8 glasses of water a day which is about 3 liters as this will make your urine look clear instead of yellow.

Some dietary changes may also be recommended. You dont have to stop eating certain foods but simply limit your consumption on items like apples, black pepper, chocolate, coffee, cheese, grapes, ice cream, oranges, tomatoes and yogurt.

The same goes for fish, meat or poultry products because it helps increase your uric acid. Since kidney failure has been associated with alcohol consumption, you should also cut this down as well.

You can treat kidney stones the hard way or the easy way and you dont get to decide how this will be done. Sadly, we only learn our lesson when it is too late so you should be thankful if you dont have to go under the knife.

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.