Tag: Kidney Stones

What You Need to Know About Kidney Stones

Kidney stones can happen to anyone but this happens more often to men than women. So for you guys out there, you should be careful.

You may also already have kidney stones if you have one of these symptoms which include bloating, blood in the urine, cloudy or foul-smelling urine, an increase in the frequency of urination, nausea and vomiting, pain during urination and tenderness in the abdomen and kidney region.

Some people also complain off pain coming from the back or the pelvis that goes on and off. It may last for several minutes to a few hours. You might also experience chills, fevers and a loss of appetite which happen are same symptoms associated with urinary tract infection or UTI.

There is no doubt that something is wrong. What now? Well, you have to see the doctor to find out what is really going on. Once you arrive at the clinic, fill up the questionnaire, wait for your name to be called so the doctor can do a physical exam.

To be sure, the doctor will probably get a sample and run some more tests and if you do have kidney stones, its size will determine if this can be expelled by your body or with a little help.

Doctors determine what course of action to take based on the size of the kidney stone. If they have found the kidney stone to be 4mm in diameter or less, then surgery is not required. But if it is larger than 8mm. doctors have no choice but to perform surgery because the stone cannot exit the bladder on its own.

There are 4 procedures currently being used to treat kidney stones. You have ESWL or extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy, PNL or percutaneous nephrolithotomy, ureteroscopic stone removal and open surgery.

What will be used does not only depend on the size of the kidney stone but also the type that is inside your kidney. Doctors know that you have one of four types and this could be calcium, uric acid, struvite and cystine.

It is important to know what type of kidney stone is inside so during post treatment, your doctor can tell you what steps you can take so this will not happen again.

When the doctor tells you that there are kidney stones in your body, dont panic and learn more about the problem. Yes you know what it is and what caused it but you should ask also how serious this is.

Are there risks to the procedures? Has the kidney stones caused any permanent damage in the body? If surgery was successful, what steps should you take so this will not happen again.

Your doctor should be able to answer all your questions. If you have doubts, seek a second opinion. If you do have kidney stones, do whatever it takes to get rid of it.

You may not need surgery after all to get rid of kidney stones since most of the time, the body will be able to do it. But if surgery is required, dont panic. Find out everything there is to know about it so you are well briefed on what will happen. Yes there are risks but things could get worse if you do not do anything about it.

What Diet is Ideal for People Suffering from Kidney Stones

What Diet is Ideal for People Suffering from Kidney Stones

Indeed, there is no more effective means of fighting any disease but proper diet. Many experts agree that having the right diet is one of the keys in treating and preventing common diseases such as kidney stones. This is because is there is controlled diet, people can choose not to consume foods that can lead to the faster formation and faster growthin the cases of those who already have kidney stones.

Kidney stones refer to the salts and other minerals formed in the vital organs such as kidneys, ureters, and bladder. There are a large percentage of people who can be prone to this because these stones tend to form naturally. However, not all kidney stones should be neglected because they can cause extremely uncomfortable pangs of pain and can even result to more complicated related diseases.

How can diet help

Specialists in the field of medicine would agree that the easiest way to fight kidney stones is by having a diet that is balanced and appropriate for age. This is because having a balanced diet would not ensure that one is getting all the key nutrients he or she needs but also assures them that they will have lesser chances of developing diseases such as kidney stones.

For people who are suffering from kidney stones, experts advise them to take specific preventive measures in preventing kidney stones as early as now. This is because the earlier the possible causes are prevented the greater chances of having kidney stones risks. Here are suggestions when it comes to diet to lessen the chances of having kidney stones:

– increased fluid intake. This is quite effective in fighting kidney stones because if you have enough amount of liquid in your body, it can wash away toxins and flush then out from the body. Increasing fluid intake, especially water, is the simplest yet most effective way of fighting kidney stones because it can help you keep hydrated while leaving your system clean. The ideal water intake should be 8 glasses but since people with kidney stones need more to flush out salts and other minerals in the body, 10 to 12 glasses is recommended daily.

– controlled sodium intake. Too much salt or sodium is one of the primary causes of kidney stones because it increases the calcium levels present in the person’s urine. Doctors advise people with calcium stones to cut down or totally eliminate sodium intake from the foods that they eat. This is because too much salt intake will only make the condition more complicated and may also cause other related diseases.

– higher the intake of fiber-rich foods. Fiber is considered beneficial to people with kidney stones because it contain several compoundsmostly are phytatethat guards the kidney against the formation of stones. Experts say that people who are suffering from kidney stones and those who would want to be spared from it should increase their calcium intake coming from the foods they eat such as wheat, rice bran and soybeans.

More and more experts agree that along with early diagnosis, eating the right set of foods is very crucial in keeping one’s self away from kidney stones. For those who are already suffering from this condition, all the more that they need to pay attention to their diet because this directly affects the degree or severity of the kidney stones.

Treating Kidney Stones

Treating kidney stones may or may not involve surgery. Ninety-percent of the time, you dont even have to go under the knife because your body will be able to expel it. But what happens to the remaining ten percent?

That remaining ten percent requires surgery because the stones which have clogged up your system are too large to pass through your bladder and is still growing bigger. It could also block urine flow, give you constant pain, damage your kidney tissue or cause you to have UTI or urinary tract infection.

There are currently 4 methods to deal with kidney stones.

The first is ESWL or extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy. Here non-electrical shock waves created outside your body will travel to the skin until it reaches the dense stones. Within minutes, the stones will form into san. For this to work, you will be placed in a tub or warm, purified water or onto a machine that acts as a medium for the non-electrical shockwaves to pass through.

Second, you have PNL or percutaneous nephrolithotomy. This is used when the kidney stone is quite big and ESWL does not work. Here, the doctor will make a small cut on your back to create a tunnel into the kidney. The stone will then be removed using an instrument known as a nephroscope. If the stone is too large, an energy probe will be used. There are two types namely ultrasonic and electrohydraulic.

Third, there is what is known as ureteroscopic stone removal. Here, a small fiberoptic instrument goes through the urethra and bladder to reach the ureter. Once inside, the stone is located and removed with a special instrument that emits a shockwave. After surgery, a tube will be left inside the uterer for a few days to help the lining of the ureter heal.

The fourth option is open surgery. Basically, the doctor will open the affected area and then remove the kidney stone. It is also possible to inject a solution consisting of calcium chloride, cyroprecipitate, thrombin and indigo carmine into the kidney first to trap the stones in a jelly like clot so it will be easy to remove using forceps.

Kidney stone can come back even after you have had surgery. Should it happen again, it only means one thing and that is you did not take preventive measures.

These precautions include drinking 6 to 8 glasses of water a day which is about 3 liters as this will make your urine look clear instead of yellow. You should make changes in your diet because too much calcium is bad for your health. Some of the things you should reduce include apples, black pepper, chocolate, coffee, cheese, grapes, ice cream, oranges, tomatoes and yogurt.

Reductions should also be made in fish, meat or poultry products because this increases your uric acid. If you drink alcohol often, cut it down since there is no harm if this is taken in moderation.

Now we all know that it is impossible to eat the same things everyday to maintain a balanced diet. What you can do however is take supplements.

The best way to treat kidney stones is prevention. It will also save money since you have to pay for the doctor, the medication and the fees that are done to make the correct diagnosis.

Kidney Stones in Kids

More and more studies show that majority of the children who are prone to developing kidney stones are those that suffer from underlying medical conditions which increases their risk of developing stones this early. For parents to understand how to deal with kidney stones in case their kids suffer from it, they must first understand everything about the condition. Having a broad understanding of the condition can help parents trace possible causes, identify symptoms, and give immediate response to the child in pain.

Kidney stonesjust like in adultshas different types of stones which can either be “calcium oxalate” which is the most common and caused by too much presence of calcium in the urine, the “struvite stones,” “uric acid stones,” and “cystine stones.” These types vary depending on the levels of the minerals found and their characteristics.

Parents would never know if their children are suffering from kidney stones if they are not familiar with its symptoms such as abdominal or back pain, blood in the urine or hematuria, vomiting or nausea, and the often need to urinate. In younger kids, these symptoms cannot easily be recognized that is why there is a need to undergo laboratory evaluation and tests. Since kidney stones is not common among children, especially to younger ones, it is a must to identify the risk factors present such as:

1. History of the kidney stones. If the family has history on this disease, it is likely that children will become more prone to the condition in the future. Studies show that kids who have history of kidney stones are likely to suffer from the same problem in the next 10 to 20 years of his or her life.

2. Low fluidespecially waterintake. If the child exhibits this habit, he or she is prone to kidney stones because it affects the ideal amount of urine that should be released daily. It should always be remembered that if there were lesser water or fluid intake, the chances of developing kidney stones are much higher because there will be more concentration of substances that leads to faster kidney stone formation.

3. Diet and amount of food intake. This especially those high in animal protein such as beef, pork, lamb, or chicken are likely to develop kidney stones because they have higher concentration of protein which is one of the primary causes of kidney stones. Many experts believe that children who consume too much protein are at risk in developing “calcium oxalate stones” along with problems in terms of intestinal absorption.

Other symptoms to look out for include experience in cystic fibrosis, suffering from urinary tract abnormalities like dysfunction of the bladder or the kidneys, some inherited disorders from the parents, and undergoing medications such as “furosemide,” “allopurinol,” and “acetazolamide” which are known to promote formation of urine crystals that leads to the formation of kidney stones.

Experts say that before, children are lesser prone to kidney stones because they are healthier and more physically active. But, over the years, there has been a constant increase in the number of children that are being affected by kidney stones.

Maybe because more and more kids now are living sedentary lives by being in front of the computer or by eating foods that are high in protein, calcium, and sodium.