What Are Kidney Stones?

There are a few different conditions that many people will share in common over the course of their lifetimes. One is pregnancy; most women will experience the pain of childbirth at some point. Another, and distributed across the sexes (though not evenly as we shall see) is kidney stones. Kidney stones are a problem that has actually been on the rise among the population of the modern world for several decades now, across all demographics. While they are not fatal, kidney stone pain is one of the worst that can be borne by the human body. Women tend to develop kidney stones far less often than men do (only 20% of women are kidney stone sufferers), and those who have passed a kidney stone liken the pain to that of childbirth. This guide will look into kidney stone causes, symptoms, treatment, and prevention.

What Causes Kidney Stones?

There are actually several different types of kidney stone, all of them caused by different factors. However, one type of kidney stone is responsible for most cases, and that is the calcium oxalate kidney stone. These stones are caused when crystallized calcium particles begin to clump together within the kidneys. Contrary to what you might think, this “floating” calcium is not actually caused by an excess of calcium in the diet. Instead, recent research on calcium kidney stones suggests they are actually caused by a lack of calcium. Calcium is supposed to bind to oxalates in our system, neutralizing them and passing them out easily as waster. However, when more oxalates are ingested than calcium, the oxalates have nowhere to go but to the urine. There, they bond much better with the calcium, resulting in a precipitate matter which clumps and forms the stone. 80% of kidney stone cases are Calcium oxalate stones .

Much less frequently occurring are urate stones. These are caused by the uric acid which is formed naturally within people's urine. If there is an imbalance in the water to acid ratio, the uric acid crystallizes and clumps together forming the stone. Much less common are struvite kidney stones, which account for less than 3% of kidney stone diagnoses. Struvite stones are always diagnosed in patients who have a bladder infection. The bacteria causing the infection can also cause the urea to split into the chemical ammonia. This makes the urine less acidic, and therefore less able to dissolve crystals.

Kidney Stone Symptoms

Many people form and pass kidney stones, but never even realize it. There are constant clumping of the different vitamins and minerals and other particles our body uses every day, but they tend to be very small. Small stones (and we mean REALLY small) are easily passed through the available openings. However, every once in a while a stone develops that grows quite large, by the standards inside of our bodies. When we think stones we think of large rocks, but in fact even large kidney stones are quite tiny. They have to be at least 2-3 millimeters in size in order to block the ureter. Blockage of the ureter is of course one of the first symptoms of a kidney stone. A patient may find they have trouble urinating, or that they can't urinate at all.

The subsequent kidney stone symptoms are much worse. While they do indicate that a kidney stone is present, it might be more accurate to say that what they really indicate is that the kidney stone is passing. It has forced its way into the ureter, and is beginning to travel through the body. It is quite a painful process. That pain is a significant indictor of a kidney stone; it passes through one's body in constant waves, rising and falling but always there. It is first felt from the kidney to the bladder, and is technically called renal colic. It may be accompanied by severe cramps, blood in the urine or pus in the urine, and flu like symptoms including nausea and vomiting. There is also a marked feeling of failure to achieve relief after urinating by the person who is passing a kidney stone.

Kidney Stone Removal

Unfortunately, passing the kidney stone, as painful as that is, is also the most effective and least invasive way to rid yourself of kidney stone pain. First, though, you want to make sure it is a kidney stone and not something else, and you can do that by going to a doctor. Your symptoms may be enough for a diagnosis, but it's likely she will want to confirm a stone through X-ray or ultrasound imaging, or through digital geometry processing (also called a tomography, which is fun but expensive). Once confirmed, you do have several options. If you decide, as the majority of patients do, to pass the kidney stone naturally then it can be broken down into smaller fragments by lithotripsy. That's the short term for extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy. Extracorporeal is what makes the lithotripsy attractive, because it doesn't require any surgery. A sonic wave generating machine is used to direct a blast at the affected area; the blast breaks the stone into pieces which are much smaller and easier to pass (this is effective for calcium oxalate stones but not for all stones, and the position in the body must be right as well for the lithotripsy to be effective). Once that is done, it is the job of the patient to keep drinking lots of water and possibly taking pain killers and aids such as Uriflow while the kidney stone passes. There are also a few natural remedies out there outlined in many books like No More Kidney Stones. The most popular are drinking cranberry juice and lemon juice, though these have not been proven effective. In addition, drinking too much cranberry juice may actually hinder progress if you have a kidney stone made of calcium, due to the juice's high oxalate count.

Other forms of treatment for kidney stones are not as hands off. There is a form of surgical removal for kidney stones, but it is not for the squeamish either in print or in practice. After days of preparatory work on the part of the patient (drinking lots of water and avoiding food high in oxalates), a catheter and hook are inserted into the urethra (and guess where that goes in) and pushed to where the stone is. The hook is then used to bring the stone out, causing all of the pain of passing the stone naturally in addition to the pain of the procedure and after. Kidney stone relief is almost always immediate when one opts for natural stone passing.

Preventing Kidney Stones

Once a person develops stones in the kidneys, the likeliness of recurring stones is heightened. There are some ways to prevent this naturally, including the use of different products on the market such as Planetary Herbals. We'll get to those in a second, but first it's important to note that if you do have recurring kidney stone condition, it might be indicative of a bigger problem and you should consult your doctor. If not, then preventing kidney stones is almost strictly a matter of diet. First, patients must remember to drink a lot of water, up to half a gallon each day. They must also limit the amount of protein, nitrogen, sodium, and Vitamin C in their diets. Foods that may contribute to a kidney stone problem are chocolate, soybeans, rhubarb and other dark leafy vegetables. Finally, using a diuretic drug to increase urine flow can be effective in kidney stone prevention. Furosemide, hydrocholrothiadize, and aldosterone antagonists are all options here.

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