The hard deposits of minerals and acid salts that stick together in concentrated urine can be defined as kidney stones. Other names for kidney stones include renal calculi, nephrolithiasis, or urolithiasis.
They are usually found in the ureter. They may seem small but can grow large as time passes. They may even end up filling the inner hollow structures of the kidney.
Are kidney stones a painful affair?
Being fist-size organs, they handle the body’s chemical levels and fluids. Your kidneys clean all kinds of waste from the blood and discharge it through urine. They maintain the right levels of sodium, potassium, and calcium in your blood. There are certain cases in which the kidney stones travel down the ureter, reach the bladder, and are excreted out of the body through urine.
And in some cases, they can stay in the kidneys, blocking the flow of urine from the kidney. Of course, kidney stones are a painful affair as they cause you severe pain by blocking the passage of your urine.
Symptoms of Kidney Stones
- An intense urge to urinate.
- You spend more time urinating.
- You have a burning sensation while passing urine.
- The urine has little amount of red blood cells, not visible to the naked eye.
- Nausea.
- Vomiting.
- The tip of the penis may cause you severe pain.
Causes for Kidney Stones
- A small amount of urine
- Worse bowel condition
- Unbalanced diet
Diagnosis for Kidney Stones
The health exam includes taking an X-ray or a CT scan based on your body or health condition. Sometimes, these kidney stones are diagnosed when a kidney stone is passing. These tests or scans can diagnose a kidney stone. The kidney stone specialist gets to know where exactly the kidney stone is located and how big or small the stone is by going through the results of these tests.
Know how to treat kidney stones
The kidney stones treatment is based on the duration of time you had the symptoms, the present condition of the kidney stone, and the type of stone, it is. The treatments include both surgical and nonsurgical methods
Surgical Methods
⦁ Shock wave lithotripsy (SWL)
The Shock wave lithotripsy involves shock waves to treat the stones. They are used to focus the stone with the involvement of X-rays or ultrasound. The stone breaks when there is repeated firing of shock waves on it. This stone ends up breaking into smaller particles of itself and gets excreted through the urine.
⦁ Ureteroscopy (URS)
Kidney Stones are also treated with this surgical procedure at urology hospitals. The ureteroscopy uses a ureteroscope, a very small telescope, into the kidney. It does not involve incisions and lets the urologist have a look at the kidney stone, grab and remove them. In the case of the stone being large, it is first broken into smaller pieces and then removed by the urologist.
⦁ Percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL)
The Percutaneous nephrolithotomy treatment involves the general usage of general anesthesia. It makes use of a half-inch incision in the back or side to make room for a telescope. To break the stone and to suction out the pieces, an instrument known as a nephroscope is employed. It is known as the best renal stone treatment because of the ability to suction the right pieces that need to be suctioned.
⦁ Other surgery
Other forms of surgery may include a laparoscopic or kidney stone laser treatment or robotic surgery, they are used in case the other forms of surgery fail to break the stones. These types of surgeries are also used to break the stones.
Non-Surgical Methods
⦁ Safe hours
The duration that your kidney stone specialist suggests to wait for the kidney stones to pass by themselves is known as the safe hour’s treatment. You can wait up to three to six weeks or as suggested by your healthcare provider. The smaller stones mostly pass on their own and the pain is resistible or bearable. During the period, you may be advised to take the right amount of fluids intake and to take pain medication if needed. You may also be asked to check for any other alarming symptoms and to report immediately if there are any.
⦁ Medication
The doctor may suggest certain medicines or medications for the stone to pass. It can make things easy for your body and can help in the breaking or dissolving of kidney stones. It relaxes the ureter and reduces your pain. The doctor is the best kidney stone hospital in Coimbatore may suggest anti-nausea medications or pain killers if needed.
