What is a kidney stone?
Due to our normal body metabolism, many waste products are formed in the tissues, that need to be excreted from the body before they become toxic.
Kidneys are one of the main excretory organs in our body. These waste products reach the Kidneys through the bloodstream, where these waste products are all filtered by the Kidney, and all of them are mixed in water - the resultant net product being Urine. Kidney Stones form when there is an aberration in this process:
- Either there is too much of certain waste product to be excreted ( like, for example, Oxalates, which can be due to an improper diet)
- There are too little of certain dates products(like phosphates, again dietary, which would actually combine with excess calcium in the urine and form a water soluble product that can be excreted before it forms a stone!)
- There is too little of Water to dilute these substances.
Kidney stones form when your urine contains more crystal-forming substances such as calcium, oxalate and uric acid than the fluid in your urine can dilute. At the same time, your urine may lack substances that prevent crystals from sticking together, creating an ideal environment for kidney stones to form.
Types of kidney stones:
There are certain main types of stones:
- Calcium oxalate: calcium oxalate stones are the most common type of kidney stones. These are usually very hard stones.
- Uric acid: this is also a common kidney stone that forms when there is too much of Uric acid in the body, a condition which can be Familial, Dietary or because of certain drugs used to treat other disorders.
- Struvite: These stones are less common and are caused by infections in the upper urinary tract. They generally tend to be very large in size.
- Cystine: These stones are rare and tend to run in families.
What are the causes of Kidney stone?
- Not drinking enough water.
- Eating food with too much salt or sugar.
- Being overweight or Obese.
- You have had gastric bypass surgery or another intestinal surgery.
- Having a specific condition that causes your urine to contain high Cystine levels, Oxalate Uric acid.
- Having certain Kidney disorders which can predispose to Stone formation.
What are the Symptoms of Kidney stone?
Kidney stones generally tend to cause pain in the back or abdominal pain that radiates to the groin. The intensity of this pain varies from person to person, and may not correlate with the size of the stone. Most people with kidney stones also tend to have nausea or vomiting. It’s common for most people with stones to notice some blood in the urine.
Presence of more alarming symptoms such as Fever might indicate development of other complications of stones, such as Urinary Tract Infections or Kidney Failure.
However, not all stones in the Kidneys cause Symptoms: some of them can remain undetected in the kidneys for years, silently growing in size and affecting the Kidney function!
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