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Kidney stones (also called renal calculi, nephrolithiasis, or urolithiasis) are solid stones made of minerals and salts that form inside your kidneys.

Diet, excess weight, other medical conditions, and other supplements and medications are among the many causes of kidney stones. Kidney stones can affect any part of your urinary tract – from one kidney to another. Generally, stones form when the urine is concentrated, allowing the minerals to shine and stick together.

Passing through kidney stones can be very painful, but usually, the stones do not cause permanent damage if detected in time. Depending on your condition, you may need nothing more than to take painkillers and drink plenty of water to clear your kidney stones. In some cases – for example, if stones are inserted into the urinary tract, are associated with urinary tract infections, or cause problems – surgery may be required.

Your doctor may recommend preventive treatment to reduce the risk of recurrence of kidney stones if you are at high risk of recurrence.

How common are kidney stones?

Each year, more than half a million people go to emergency rooms because of kidney problems. It is estimated that 1 in 10 people will have a kidney stone at some point in their lives.

The prevalence of kidney stones in the United States increased from 3.8% in the late 1970s to 8.8% in the late 2000s. The prevalence of kidney stones was 10% between 2013-2014. The risk of kidney stones is almost 11% for men and 9% for women. Other diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity may increase the risk of kidney failure.

What is a kidney stone?

Kidney stone is a solid substance made by chemicals in urine. There are four types of kidney stones: calcium oxalate, uric acid, struvite, and cystine. Kidney stone may be treated with shockwave lithotripsy, uteroscopy, percutaneous and prolithomy or prolithotripsy. Common symptoms include severe pain in the lower back, blood in your urine, nausea, vomiting, fever and chills, or urine that has a bad odor or appears to be swollen.

Urine contains various solvents that dissolve in it. When there is too much waste in too little liquid, crystals begin to form. The crystals attract other nutrients and combine to form solids that will be larger unless it is excreted in the urine. Typically, these chemicals are excreted in the urine by the body’s main chemist: the kidneys. For most people, having enough fluid washes them away or other chemicals in the urine block the stone. The chemicals that make up rocks are calcium, oxalate, urate, cystine, xanthine, and phosphate.

After construction, the stone may remain in the kidneys or flow down the urethra into the ureter. Occasionally, small stones are excreted in the urine without causing severe pain. But stagnant stones may cause urinary retention in the kidneys, ureter, bladder, or urethra. This is what causes the pain.

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Causes of kidney stones

Possible causes include drinking too little water, exercising (too much or too little), obesity, weight loss surgery, or eating foods high in salt or sugar. Germs and family history may be important to some people. Eating too much fructose is associated with an increased risk of developing kidney stones. Fructose can be found in table sugar and high fructose corn syrup.

Types of kidney stones

There are four main types of stones:

Calcium oxalate: The most common type of kidney stone created when calcium mixes with oxalate in the urine. Lack of calcium and adequate fluids, along with other conditions, may contribute to their formation.

Uric acid: This is another common type of kidney stone. Foods such as meat and shellfish have a high concentration of natural chemical compounds known as purines. A high purine diet leads to a high production of monosodium urate, which, under optimal conditions, forms kidney stones. The formation of these types of stones often runs in families.

Struvite: These stones are rare and cause infections in the upper urinary tract.

Cystine: These stones are rare and commonly run in families. 

Symptoms of kidney stones

Some kidney stones are as small as a grain of sand. Some are as big as a stone. Few are as big as a golf ball! As a general rule, the larger the stone, the more visible the symptoms.

Symptoms may be one or more of the following:

• severe pain on both sides of your lower back
• excessive unexplained pain or chronic abdominal pain
• blood in the urine
• nausea or vomiting
• fever and chills
• urine that smells bad or looks cloudy

Kidney stones begin to hurt when they cause irritation or blockage. This quickly builds up in severe pain. In most cases, kidney stones pass without causing damage — but they usually do not occur without causing much pain. Pain relief may be the only treatment needed for small stones. Other treatments may be needed, especially for those stones that cause permanent symptoms or other problems. In severe cases, surgery may be necessary.

Treatment of kidney stones

The treatment of kidney stones is the same in children and adults. You may be asked to drink plenty of water. Doctors tried to let the stone pass without surgery. You can also get medicines to help make your urine less acidic. But if it is too large, or obstructs the flow of urine, or if there is a sign of infection, it is surgically removed.

Shock-wave lithotripsy is a rare procedure that uses high-pitched sound waves to blast stones into urine. In ureteroscopy, an endoscope is inserted through the ureter to remove or remove the stone. Rarely, in very large or complex stones, doctors will use percutaneous and prolithotomy / nephrolithotripsy.

If you think you have a stone. What can you do?

See a doctor as soon as possible. You may be asked to drink extra fluids in an effort to remove the stone from your urine. If you are pressing your urine and you can save a piece of past stone, bring it to your doctor. Or, the stone may need to be surgically removed.

Diagnosis of kidney stone

• Kidney stone diagnosis begins with medical history, physical examination, and imaging examination. Your doctors will want to know the exact size and shape of the kidneys. This can be done with a high-quality CT scan from the kidneys down to another or an x-ray called “KUB x-ray ‘(kidney-ureter-bladder x-ray) that will show the size of the stone. KUB is often consulted by surgeons to determine if a stone is suitable for shock treatment.