Urinary tract stones, commonly known as kidney stones, affect more than 500,000 people annually. They consist of minerals and salts that crystallize and stick together. When this happens, a person may experience severe abdomen, flank, and/or groin pain.
Kidney stone identification and prevention is key. Now, let’s take a look at everything you need to know about kidney stones.
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Types of Kidney Stones
Common types of kidney stones are:
- Calcium Oxalate: Form when calcium combines with the chemical compound oxalate in the urine. About half of all stones are calcium oxalate.
- Uric Acid: Occur due to a high concentration of uric acid and acidic urine pH. Uric acid is made from purines (natural chemical compound found in organ meats and shellfish) in the body.
- Struvite: Occur mostly due to upper urinary tract infections. Can become very large and be silent.
- Cystine: Result of cystinuria, a rare disorder that causes cysteine (amino acid found in most proteins) to leak into the urine.
Causes of Kidney Stones
- Dehydration
- Chemical compound imbalance in the urine
- Chronic diseases such as diabetes or high blood pressure
- Hypercalciuria (high calcium concentration in the urine)
- Medications such as diuretics or calcium-containing antacids
- Metabolic disorders
- Obstruction to the flow of urine
- Urinary tract infections
Kidney Stone Symptoms
Kidney stones vary in size. Contrary to the popular belief, stones that are sitting in the kidney and not blocking the flow of urine actually do not cause pain. Once stones move into the ureter (tube that connects the kidney to the bladder and allows urine to flow) they can cause obstruction and that usually leads to significant pain and discomfort. The symptoms associated with a large stone generally are more noticeable than those associated with a small stone.
Common kidney stone symptoms include:
- Blood in the urine
- Flank pain and discomfort
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Severe pain on one or both sides of the lower back or sometimes radiating to the genitals in the front
Kidney Stone Diagnosis
An individual who experiences kidney stone symptoms should go to an emergency room for immediate diagnosis and treatment. A kidney stone diagnosis may involve the following tests:
- Abdominal X-rays
- Non-contrast CT scan
- Ultrasound imaging
- Urine and blood tests
Kidney Stone Treatment
Kidney stone treatments include:
- Observation (Trial of passage): May require a patient to drink lots of fluids, take medications, and/or exercise while waiting to pass the stone. Observation techniques vary based on a patient’s symptoms, the size and location of a kidney stone, and other factors.
- Dissolution Therapy: Involves the use of medications to change urine acidity and dissolve a uric acid stone.
- Extracorporeal Shockwave Lithotripsy: Leverages shockwaves generated outside the body to pulverize and break a stone into sand-like particles.
- Ureteroscopy: Requires the insertion of a small scope into the ureter to identify and break/remove a stone. Laser energy is commonly used to fragment larger stones and small baskets are used to retrieve the fragments or small stones.
- Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy: Involves entering the kidney through a small hole (tract) made in the back to find and remove large kidney stones.
- Pyelolithotomy (rarely performed nowadays): Requires a urologist to open the kidney’s collecting system to remove a stone.
Kidney Stone Prevention
Preventative measures for most common kidney stones include:
- Drinking plenty of water
- Avoiding oxalate-rich foods like beets, chocolate, nuts, and spinach
- Managing animal protein (poultry, eggs, etc.) consumption (6-8 Oz/day)
- Reducing sodium intake (low salt diet)
- Increasing citric acid (citrate) intake: lime and lemon juice
- Do NOT to limit calcium intake as normal calcium intake is very important
Contact the Urologists at Comprehensive Urology in Los Angeles
If you or someone you care about is suffering from kidney stones, get in touch with the kidney stone specialists at Comprehensive Urology in Los Angeles. Call 310-341-2557 today to schedule an appointment or contact us online.
Sources:
https://www.kidney.org/atoz/content/kidneystones_ureteroscopy
https://urologylosangeles.com/five-signs-may-kidney-stones/
https://www.livestrong.com/article/282321-how-to-cure-high-uric-acid/
https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/L-cysteine
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/kidney-stones/symptoms-causes/syc-20355755
https://www.uwhealth.org/urology/how-common-are-kidney-stones/11208
https://www.kidney.org/atoz/content/kidneystones_PNN
https://www.uwhealth.org/urology/kidney-stone-treatments-observation/11231
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/5-steps-for-preventing-kidney-stones-201310046721
https://kidneystones.uchicago.edu/the-five-steps-to-stone-prevention/