An Overview on Kidney Stones
Initially, a person who suffers from kidney stones will not experience any severe symptoms of the ailment. Kidney stone symptoms become more severe as time passes and can turn fatal if neglected for a longer duration. These stones are hard concretions which may include foreign substances, as well as dead tissues produced from the body itself.
As kidney stones grow in size and the urinary tract remains the same, you can well imagine that the larger stones start blocking the passage of urine. Depending on the volume of the stones, they also affect the operation of the kidneys by stopping them from performing their primary function.
The first symptom is usually pain in the abdominal region varying from mild to severe. The second symptom that the owner of kidney stone faces is pain during urination or menstruation when the stone or a group of them block the flow of urine form the kidney to the urinary tract. This pain also varies in degree depending on the size of the blockage.
Patients have mentioned that they started to worry when they started to increase the number of times they had to urinate and that the urine seemed to contain blood and was cloudier than before. At the same time they were suffering pain in the lower back and in the stomach area which may be mistaken for gastritis symptoms.
The smaller stones that form in the kidney can usually pass through the urinary tract within a few nights, especially if they are as small as a grain of salt. However, the larger kidney stones affect the body which shows signs of increased periods of fever, chills and infections. As the stones make their presence felt in the kidneys, attacks become more frequent and can last up to four weeks.
To reduce kidney stones attacks and to possibly eliminate the smaller stones, you can take steps by modifying your eating and drinking habits. If the change is substantial, you should discuss with your personal physician. Drinking large amounts of water and reducing the intake of high and medium content calcium and high and medium content oxalate foods and drinks will aid your kidney in the elimination of these unwanted substances in your body.
Medical experts normally have the same opinion that the recommended calcium supplements dosages should be nearly 1,200 mg per day. Yet, one study does indicate that women who took calcium supplements had a 20% higher risk of contracting kidney stones. Research indicates that dosages of calcium above 2,000 mg per day are directly related to the formation of kidney stones. Few experts argue that this higher risk occurs due to supplements that are often taken in the morning, either without food or with breakfast, which is typically low in oxalates. Risk of formation of such kidney stones is reduced if these supplements are taken after meals.
The removal of kidney stones depends on their size. Small stones can be eliminated by drinking lots of fluids, taking medicine and having them flow naturally out of the body through urination. Medical technology has developed different mechanical and surgical procedures to directly remove or powder down the stones.
