First of all, the following fact should be known about kidney stones, symptoms and treatment: a person may not have the slightest idea about the presence of this disease before the onset of pain. She simply can not manifest herself in any way. Nevertheless, it is important to begin treatment at the earliest possible stage.
general information
There are a large number of varieties of kidney stones and their names. The thing is that this is one of the most common diseases in urology. The causes of kidney stones in women and men lie in the characteristics of the climate, nutrition, and drinking water that they consume. Most often, the disease affects adult men or girls in their teens.
Causes
Any kind of kidney stones belongs to the category of chronic metabolic diseases. In this case, cases of relapse of this disease are not uncommon. An ailment is characterized by stones in the urinary system. They can be located both in the kidneys, and in the ureter, bladder.
The main reason for any kind of kidney stones is a metabolic disorder. It is because of it that insoluble salts begin to form. The composition of kidney stones is predominantly represented by them. Their number can be anything. As can be seen in the photo of varieties of kidney stones with names, and their location can be different.
A uniform diet can also lead to the development of this disease. In addition, in cases where the urinary system of the body develops abnormally, the risks of encountering any kind of kidney stones increase. And the lack of vitamins A and D, chronic diseases pyelonephritis and cystitis also negatively affect the body. Often the answer to the question why kidney stones appeared at an early age is heredity.
Types of stones
It is important to note that the types of stones are diverse. So, most of them are calcium stones. Their share among all cases of the occurrence of such a pathology is approximately 70%. And also there is a uric acid variety of kidney stones. Their share is 12%. More often, infected stones occur - in 15% of cases they arise. Cystine accounts for approximately 3% of cases.
Symptoms
It should be noted that the symptoms of this disease are largely influenced by the location of stones in the body. If the stone is located at the top of the ureter, usually the patient’s pain occurs in the back or under the ribs. It can be blunt or sharp. Large kidney stones can cause pain attacks with a frequency of 20 minutes. Sometimes a break between bouts of pain can be 1 hour.
Usually they are easy to predict: they begin immediately after a person drank a liquid, engaged in physical activity. While the stone is moving along the ureter, the location of the pain syndrome also changes. The pain can be given in the perineum, and in the stomach, and in the hips. And also discomfort is accompanied by urges to urinate.
In no case should renal colic be confused with acute appendicitis, cholecystitis, pancreatitis, ectopic pregnancy and a number of other pathologies. For this reason, even after reading a photo, a description of the types of kidney stones, you should not self-medicate. The doctor needs to be diagnosed. It may be about the life of the patient.
The second serious symptom is a blood impurity in the urine. Such a phenomenon is always preceded by colic. If the urine is cloudy, it smells bad, it also indicates that the stone is moving away.
You can not ignore the fact that overall health is deteriorating. Vomiting and nausea are symptoms of both kidney stones and pyelonephritis. When the stone leaves, a rather high temperature can develop.
Diagnostics
When the first symptoms of this disease appear, it is important to immediately contact a urologist. He will carry out all the necessary diagnostics. It includes examination, analysis of blood and urine, ultrasound of the urinary system. In addition, urography is needed.
In some cases, additional diagnostics may be required. She, in turn, will include computed tomography. It is on it that, as in the photo, a variety of kidney stones will be visible, it will be possible to analyze the state of neighboring tissues.
Sometimes 3D reconstruction is also used . Sometimes urine culture is performed, which allows you to detect the presence of infections in the urinary tract, as well as the degree of inflammation.
Treatment
Only after obtaining the results of the analysis can we speak with accuracy about the presence of urolithiasis. There are many treatment methods at the moment.
So, drug treatment implies that the stone will go away by itself. In addition, drugs can contribute to the fact that the formation simply dissolves. In some cases, surgical intervention is indicated. Applied and remote shock wave lithotripsy, percutaneous nephrolithotripsy. They can also use endoscopic surgery to get rid of urolithiasis.
It is noteworthy that more recently, kidney stones were removed precisely during surgery. But as the technology improved, this method became considered obsolete. At the present moment, they resort to it only if there are strict indications, for example, when the disease is already running. Only a qualified specialist will be able to choose the exact method of therapy suitable for a particular person, and you should not forget about this.
Additional Information
It should be borne in mind that, among other things, those who drink a little liquid are at risk. It is worthwhile to be especially careful for those who have already encountered kidney stones, because the probability of encountering a relapse is very high. For example, within five years after the release of the first stone, the chances that more stones will soon be discovered increase to 50%. In recent years, children are increasingly suffering from them. This is probably due to a change in the human menu: more salty dishes, as well as sweet liquids, began to appear. If a child drinks sweet water instead of usual, then the concentration of substances that provoke the disease increases.
Depending on the species, kidney stones in the photo are yellow, brown. They differ in size - there are small formations, the size of a grain of sand, sometimes there are formations the size of a pearl. It is noteworthy that in the same body different types of stones can accumulate.
Danger
It must be borne in mind that in case of timely treatment, the stones will not be dangerous. But if the patient is not helped in time, kidney infection begins. This entails many unpleasant manifestations.
However, small stones are able to pass through the urinary tract themselves. Large ones can provoke quite serious pain. If they get stuck in the ureter, then the outflow of urine is impaired. This is called renal colic. In this case, a person is tormented by severe pain.
First steps
It is important to contact a urologist as soon as possible. Usually, he first prescribes anti-inflammatory drugs - Ibuprofen or Naproxen are popular. It must be borne in mind that the absence of contraindications is important here.
Removing only the pain syndrome will not work, it is important that the outflow of urine also comes back to normal, and the stone comes out. In many ways, the conditions where this will happen are determined by the severity of the situation. It is important to monitor the patient's condition carefully.
If a person is left at home treatment, he is advised to drink more, carefully monitor urine output. Sometimes a stone comes out by itself, and sometimes with the participation of medications prescribed by a specialist. It is important, when the education comes out, pass it on to a professional. He will determine the composition of the stone, prescribe a further course of therapy.
If the stone itself does not come out
In some cases, it is immediately clear that you cannot get rid of the stone yourself. For example, it is very large and causes serious pain. In this case, remote shock wave lithotripsy can be prescribed. During this procedure, the stones are crushed by shock waves. It is most effective to apply to formations with a diameter of not more than 1 centimeter.
Formations are also removed by urethroscopy. In this case, the procedure is carried out through the urethra, and there is no need to make an incision. Thanks to the endoscope, the doctor observes the stone and breaks it into pieces. Most often, they get rid of the formations located directly at the bladder.
Percutaneous nephrolithotomy is also used . During it, large stones are removed, making punctures in the back. This method is used in cases where no other patient is suitable for certain reasons.
Already after a month or two from the moment the stone was released, the specialist often prescribes the patient to give urine for analysis. So it’s possible to understand why stones are formed in the human body. And during the tests, the chances are that the patient will again encounter this disease.
Prevention
Like any other disease, urolithiasis is preventable. It is easier to prevent than to treat. In addition, due to the high likelihood of relapse, people devoted enough time to eliminating the causes of kidney stones.
So, it is important to drink as much water as possible throughout your life and eat less salty foods, animal protein.
In no case should you lead a sedentary lifestyle. It must be remembered that the human body was created in such a way that most of life is spent in motion. And this is a condition of his health. It is important to ensure that not even a mild form of dehydration occurs.
The formation of phosphate stones most often begins in an alkaline environment. And urate and oxalate stones usually appear in an acidic environment.
Alternative to surgical treatment
In addition, often therapies and prophylaxis are folk methods of treating kidney stones. But this is an individual question. And most often, such drugs are used by elderly patients who are contraindicated in surgery.
The most common alternative medicine methods are in Asia and Indonesia. It is important to note that here the percentage of surgical intervention for the treatment of kidney stones is reduced. Herbal medicine is also actively used in Russia. But such treatment is worth starting only after consultation with a doctor. After all, only he can give guarantees, as well as track the condition of the patient with the help of modern equipment.
Folk remedies
Before using alternative treatment, it is important to achieve a complete remission of the disease. Otherwise, there are great risks of harming the body with inflamed kidneys. It is important to consult with your doctor at all times.
In addition, you need to find out about the size of the stones in question. If they are large - more than 5 mm, the consultation of a urologist is required. Otherwise, during the intake of medicinal tinctures, the stones will move, and this can lead to blockage of the ureter, as well as to kidney hydronephrosis.
When preparing folk remedies yourself, you must always carefully follow the recipe. It is unacceptable to change the dosage or order of taking folk remedies. It is important to consider that a number of infusions are recommended to be taken strictly through a tube. Otherwise, tooth enamel can be damaged.
Rosehip roots
One of the most popular methods to get rid of kidney stones at home is a decoction of rosehip roots. Sometimes in hospitals patients of the urology department also offer this tool. Sometimes herbal decoction serves as an alternative to antibiotics. It also allows for the abandonment of surgical operations.
The use of such a decoction normalizes metabolism, accelerates metabolism. Due to the high concentration of vitamins, the body's immune properties increase, and this serves as a preventive measure for the development of many ailments. And also the rosehip roots restore the salt balance in the body. And this is extremely important when it comes to kidney stones.
In this case, one should not forget about the presence of contraindications for this drug. These include pregnancy, allergies, bleeding disorders, the presence of increased acidity of gastric juice. Rosehip root is not recommended for people with a tendency to constipation. In such a case, it is possible to supplement such therapy with a decoction of dill or parsley with celery.