Kidney stones are one of the painful and annoying conditions faced by numerous individuals around the globe. In case you experience kidney stones, you may know how painful it is. The major sound made by the kidney to indicate the presence of a stone is hematuria or blood in urine. Have you ever imagined why this happens? This blog will explore this in detail, so keep reading it.

What are kidney stones?

Kidney stones are nothing but a solid mass that forms from substances such as minerals, acids, and mainly salts in your kidneys. The size of the stone greatly varies, from as small as the sand or very rarely larger than a golf ball. Kidney stones are otherwise called renal calculi or nephrolithiasis.

Based on the size of your kidney stone, you can’t even realize that you have stones, like in the case of smaller ones, it can effortlessly pass through your urinary tract when urinating, simply, you can’t even recognize that you have a stone. While large-sized stones will get trapped in your ureter. As a result, your pee will get stored and restrict your kidneys’ ability to filter waste from your body. Eventually, it remains the main causes of blood in the urine.

Typically, it will take up to three weeks for the kidney to pass out the stones on its own. Even those tiny stones can cause intense and unbearable pain when passing through your urinary tract and out of your body. All you need is the best urologist in Coimbatore for kidney stones removal, which cannot pass out naturally.

What are the symptoms of kidney stones?

The most prompt signs of kidney stones include pain in your lower back, belly, or side. It actually feels like it extends from your groin to your side. Either it can be a dull or sharp pain, often it is also referred to as colicky pain as it gets worse in waves. Other, kidney stone signs include:

Nausea and vomiting
Blood in pee
Pain or discomfort when peeing
Inability to pee
Often feeling the urge to pee
Fever or chills
Cloudy or foul-smelling pee

Also, those smaller stones won’t exhibit any symptoms like causing pain or other symptoms.

What causes kidney stones?

Your pee contains minerals, acids, and other substances such as calcium, sodium, oxalate, and uric acid. In case these particles are present in a large amount and a smaller amount of liquid, in your urine, it will start to stick together, developing into crystals or stones. Also, kidney stones will take several months or years to form.

Further, let’s see the common types of kidney stones:

Uric acid stones: Consuming more animal proteins, such as beef, poultry, eggs, fish, and pork, will cause uric acid stones to form.
Struvite stones: The actual culprits behind these kinds of stones are bacterial infections. Chronic infections will result in staghorn calculus, which is really a huge stone that requires surgical removal.
Cystine stones: An inherited condition known as cystinuria causes cystine stones. Cystine will be formed when two cysteine amino acids are bound together.
Calcium-oxalate and calcium phosphate stones: These types of calcium stones can be formed when consuming more oxalate-rich or low amounts of calcium foods and not drinking sufficient amounts of water. Calcium oxalate stones are experienced by more individuals

Who is at higher risk of developing kidney stones?

You can easily develop kidney stones if you are:

Not drinking sufficient water
Consuming more meat and other protein-rich foods
Consuming foods rich in sodium or sugars
Taking vitamin C supplements
Having a family history of kidney stones
Having blockage issues in the urinary tract
Previously underwent stomach or intestine surgery, like gastric bypass surgery
Have other underlying health conditions.

What are the other health issues that trigger the risk of kidney stones?

Few health conditions will put you at a higher risk of kidney stones, like:

Cystic fibrosis
Cystinuria
Gout
Diabetes
Hypertension
Hypercalciuria
Inflammatory bowel disease
Obesity
Kidney cysts
Osteoporosis
Parathyroid disease
Primary hyperoxaluria

How do kidney stones remain as the causes of blood in the urine?

We can say that the presence of blood in urine is one of the hallmark signs of kidney problems like kidney stones. At times this bleeding can be microscopic (visible only under a microscope) or macroscopic (visible to the naked eye, urine will turn brown, red, or pink). Further, let’s have a close look at how kidney stones remain as causes of blood in the urine:

Stone movement causes damage:

When kidney stones move through the urinary tract, it will scratch and irritate the delicate lining of the kidneys, ureters, and urethra. This irritation will result in bleeding and hematuria.

Sharp edges of stones, that tear the tissues:

Several kidney stones will have rough edges, when these stones pass through the urinary tract, obviously, it will scrape and cut the tissues, resulting in bleeding. Simply, those large stones remain the main reason for the visible blood in the urine.

Blockage of urinary flow:

Certain pressure will be applied to your kidney when those stones are blocking the urinary tract, which leads to swelling and inflammation. This kind of pressure will cause tiny blood vessels in the kidney to rupture and remain as causes of blood in the urine.

Infection-related bleeding:

At times, kidney stones will result in urinary tract infections (UTIs), causing inflammation and damage to the urinary tract. UTIs can irritate the bladder and urethra, which remains as causes of blood in the urine.

What are the ways to diagnose kidney stones?

Doctors will mostly suggest imaging, urine, and blood tests to find kidney stones. In case, your doctor suspects that you are experiencing kidney stones symptoms, you will tend to undergo a few more of these tests:

Urine test: A healthcare provider will check your blood and pee, stone-forming crystals, and symptoms of infection.

Imaging tests: CT scans, X-rays, and ultrasound will greatly assist your healthcare provider to witness the size, shape, location, and number of stones.

Blood tests: A healthcare provider will suggest blood tests to check your kidney function, detect infections, and look for more amount of calcium or other conditions that could result in stone formation.

How are kidney stones treated?

In case, you have a small stone, mostly it will pass on its own, and your doctor will monitor your signs until it passes out through the urine. Further, your healthcare providers will suggest some medications that keep you comfortable and assist the stone pass on its own.

While large stones require treatment based on their size, location, whether they are triggering infections or signs, and other factors. In case your stone is too large, and it is not passing through urine on its own for a couple of weeks, doctors will suggest procedures like kidney stones removal.

Mostly, doctors will try to treat kidney stones with the help of medications, also there are a few other kidney stone procedures available, that include:

Shockwave lithotripsy: Healthcare professionals will use shockwaves to break up those stones from the outside of your body. Those small fragments will move through your urinary tract easily.

Ureteroscopy: The doctor will insert a scope through your bladder and urethra and also into your ureter. Instruments that doctors use throughout the scope will break apart and help with kidney stones removal. Those tiny pieces will move through your urinary tract effortlessly.

Percutaneous nephrolithotomy: This method will be suggested by your provider when they find it difficult to break your stone using other methods. During this procedure, a healthcare provider will insert a tube directly into your kidney through a small incision in your back. Those ultrasound probes will split those stones and help with kidney stones removal.

Laparoscopic surgery: During this procedure, a kidney stone specialist in Coimbatore will make a tiny cut in your body and perform medical procedures like kidney stones removal. In some cases, they need to perform traditional open surgery instead of laparoscopy. w

Can stones go away on their own?

The direct answer is yes, more than 80% of kidney stones will pass on their own. The time required for you to pass a kidney stone depends on its location and mainly the size. Simply, those stones smaller than 4 millimeters will pass out through urine within one or two weeks. Likewise, larger stones will take more than two weeks to pass out completely. Once those stones reach the bladder, it will pass out within 2 to 3 days.

If you suspect you have kidney stones, immediately reach out to the healthcare provider to look for blockages or other complications. It is crucial to go for frequent screening and follow-up, in case the stones don’t pass within 4 to 6 weeks.

Are there any ways to prevent kidney stones?

Everything right from the food you consume will greatly impact kidney health. Discuss with your dietitian or healthcare provider how you can alleviate the risk. Mostly they will suggest the following remedies:

Drink more water
Avoid binging animal proteins
Avoiding foods rich in sodium and sugar
Limiting oxalate-rich foods (in case you have calcium oxalate stones, your doctor will suggest you avoid foods such as spinach, peanuts, etc.
Maintaining an ideal weight
Consuming calcium-rich foods (foods rich in calcium will greatly assist in preventing kidney stones, also you should not consider the same thing for supplements or antacids with calcium, because they will negatively affect your kidney health.)
Changes in medications (in case the dietary changes are not helping you, your doctor will make changes to your medications that assist in preventing kidney stones. The type of your stone will determine the medications.

What can I expect with kidney stones?

Over 90% of kidney stones are smaller than 6 mm, while 60% of stones are larger than 6 mm, these types of stones can easily pass through urine. Only if your kidney stones are larger or your stones are blocking the flow of your pee, you should consider undergoing the procedure that involves breaking apart or removing it. Even at times, smaller stones that can pass on their own will keep growing or will move to create a blockage.

Also, remember that, if you have had kidney stones, there are more chances of developing them in the future. You need to work on preventing them by modifying your diet, and at times medications. In case your doctor thinks your kidney stones are small and can easily pass through urine, they will advise you to drink more water to flush it out. Take all the medications as prescribed by your doctor and avoid eating certain foods as per your healthcare provider’s advice.

Final thoughts:

In conclusion, we can say that kidney stones are one of the annoying and agonizing pain, and to stop the progression of your condition, you should consider reaching out to your doctor and initiating the treatment as soon as possible. When overlooking it, the pain will get worse, and surgery becomes the only way to treat your kidney stone. Simply, try sticking to your doctor’s prescription, drinking plenty of water, and try making some dietary changes. Also, keep in your mind that kidney stones are a temporary condition, so they won’t disturb you for a lifetime.