What causes kidney stones?
Kidney stones are known as renal calculi or urolithiasis. Kidneys are supposed to remove wastes from our blood in the form of urine. Sometimes these wastes may stick together and form stone-like structures, which is undoubtedly referred to as kidney stones.
These may be small enough in size. Sometimes, one might not even be able to notice and pass it out through urine. While sometimes it is big enough and immensely painful for which surgery could be the only option left. If treatment is done at the right time, no permanent damage is likely to be caused.
It is estimated that men often have kidney stones than women. It can be caused due to various types of reasons ranging from diet to intake of certain medications.
Causes of kidney stones:
It is better to stop eating these kinds of food. A diet rich in sodium can raise the chances of having kidney stones. Avoiding red meat is a good option because it increases uric acid, increasing the tendency to have kidney stones.
2. Not drinking enough water: It is essential to drink the average required amount of water a day so that enough urine can form to dilute the wastes that may have the ability to create stones. One can go for drinks from citrus fruits like lemonade or oranges; they can help stop forming kidney stones. Not giving enough water to the body is one of the main reasons to suffer from kidney stones.
3. Obesity: Obesity may have the ability to change the acid levels in the urine, which leads to stone formation in the kidney. Weight loss can help prevent it, but if one goes for weight loss surgery, they have to be careful, especially if they are obese. Weight loss surgery that can cause malabsorption is a risk because afterward, it can cause kidney stones.
4. Family genes: The probability of having kidney stones is higher if someone in the family has it. The person is most likely to have it from either their siblings or parents.
5. Medications: Some types of drugs that can cause kidney stones are drugs to treat HIV and AIDS, vitamin C and calcium supplements, and certain antibiotics.
6. Medical conditions: Certain medical conditions like type 2 diabetes, hyperparathyroidism, genetic diseases like medullar sponge kidney, or a congenital disability can increase the risk of forming kidney stones.
Symptoms of kidney stones:
1. Nausea and vomiting
2. Sharp pain in the flank areas.
3. Pain while urinating.
4. Blood in the urine.
The above symptoms are only applicable to larger kidney stones. If there is a smaller kidney stone, one might not even know about it, and it will move out through urine.
It is advised to visit a doctor’s office if any of the above symptoms are seen because there might be a chance of having kidney stones. There are different treatments available depending on the size of the kidney stone, what it is made of, and either it blocks the urinary tract.
If the kidney stone is small, the doctor will most probably prescribe some medicines and advice to increase drink fluids as much as possible to push out the stone through the urinary tract. But if somehow the kidney stone is large enough, different treatments are available; the doctor will provide the one which will be more convenient according to the size.
