| Kidney Stone Education |
Kidney Stones occur up to 10% of population in India. Pain due to Kidney Stone is one of the most painful disorders a person can suffer from lead to expensive and unpleasant hospitalizations, and surgical procedures. Half of all untreated people will form additional stones in next five years.
Prevention of Kidney Stone formation is primary goal of getting its analysis done. Following information will help you to know more about Renal or Kidney Stones ; |
 WHAT IS kIDNEY STONE ? |
| CAN KIDNEY STONES BE PREVENTED? |
| WHAT CAUSES KIDNEY STONES? |
| WHAT DID I DO TO CAUSE MY STONES? |
| WHAT EXACTLY ARE KIDNEY STONES? |
| WHAT ARE DIFFERENT TYPES OF KIDNEY STONES? |
| What is Kidney Stone? |
Human body possesses two Kidneys, one each on right and left side of abdomen. These kidneys act as a filter for blood, removing waste products from the body and making urine.
The Kidney Stones are solid concretions or calculi (crystal aggregations) formed in the kidneys from dissolved urinary minerals.
The size of the stone doesn't matter as much as where it is located and whether it obstructs or prevents urine from draining. The pain and caused by Kidney stone is one of the most painful conditions. More over there is tendency of Stone to form again and again. |
| Can kidney stones be prevented? |
Yes, kidney stones can be prevented!
During the last many years, treatment plans incorporating diet, fluids, and medications have been developed to prevent or stall the formation of new stones. The primary treatments have been proven in controlled clinical trials.
Your preventative treatment may consist of fluid, diet, and/or medications. It is then up to you to follow your treatment every day. Fluid and diet changes are just as essential as any medications your doctor may prescribe. Stopping your treatment will cause your chemistries to go back to a stone forming state within DAYS. |
| What causes kidney stones? |
| Kidney stones form when urine has too many crystal-forming chemicals and/or not enough substances that protect against crystal formation. If the crystals do not rapidly pass through the urinary tract, they can grow and form stones. When the volume of urine is too low, stone-forming materials become concentrated, helping to promote stones. |
| What did I do to cause my stones? |
| Genetics, diet, fluid intake, work environment, and even geographical location are all factors which may influence the formation of stones. |
| What exactly are kidney stones? |
Kidney stones are hard objects made of a solid crystalline material imbedded in proteins usually present in urine. Most stones form on the interior surfaces of the kidney at the site where the final urine leaves the kidney tissue and enters the hollow collecting system that will take it down to the bladder. Because they form on the kidney surface, stones are often without symptom and are found by x-ray undertaken to determine unexplained blood in the urine. Though anchored to the kidney, these hard objects cause local injury and bleeding that doctors detect with routine urinalysis.
When a stone breaks loose of the place it formed on, it falls into the urine collecting system and may attempt to pass through into the bladder. Small stones, less than 5mm in size, usually pass through. Those above 7mm usually do not. Either way, a stone that attempts to pass can produce extreme pain, bleeding, and obstruction of the kidney it is passing from. The pain is what most often signals stone disease to a patient.
The kind of material the stone is made of determines an important part of diagnosis and treatment; therefore all stones should be collected and analyzed whenever possible. 24 Hrs Urine test ‘Litho-risk’ gives reason why your body is forming Stone ? |
| Want to know about the different types of kidney stones? |
| Calcium Oxalate Stones |
| The most common kidney stone is made of Calcium Oxalate. Calcium is a main constituent of bone, and is always present in blood and urine. Oxalate is a by-product of metabolism and is also present in many foods. When they combine in the kidneys, calcium and oxalate produce a very insoluble salt that easily forms a solid stone. Once they form, these stones can never dissolve and must be passed or broken up by a surgeon using modern technologies. |
| Calcium Phosphate Stones |
| Less common are Calcium Phosphate stones. Calcium Phosphate crystals are the stiffener that makes bone rigid. Large amounts of phosphate from food are eliminated in the urine of normal people everyday. The usual cause of calcium phosphate stones is a disease that increases urine calcium and also makes the urine abnormally alkaline. When the urine is not alkaline, high urine calcium concentrations produce mainly calcium oxalate stones, but when the urine is alkaline, calcium is bound by urine phosphorus, and calcium phosphate stones are produced. Minor amounts of calcium phosphate are usual in calcium oxalate stones and have no clinical significance. When the bulk of the stone (more than half) is calcium phosphate special treatment is often needed. |
| Uric Acid Stones |
| Also less common but very important are stones made of uric acid. These can either be pure uric acid or a mixture of uric acid with calcium oxalate. Uric acid is a breakdown product of DNA and RNA, and crystallizes into stones whenever the urine is chronically acid in character. Uric acid stones can dissolve if the urine can be made to be less acidic. The causes of abnormally acidic urine include heredity, gout, renal disease and intestinal disease, as well as dietary extremes. |
| Struvite Stones |
| Stones composed of struvite (magnesium, ammonium, phosphate) are always produced by infection. Some bacteria that infect the kidneys and urinary tract can break down urea, a universal constituent of urine, to ammonia. The ammonia makes the urine in the vicinity of the bacteria extremely alkaline, and the normal amounts of magnesium and phosphorus present in all urine form crystals with dissolved ammonia and make this serious and large type of stone. Unlike calcium oxalate and most calcium phosphate stones, struvite stones can rapidly grow so large as to fill the entire interior of the kidney drainage system. There are two types of struvite stone-forming patients and they require completely different treatments. |
| Cystine Stones |
| This uncommon stone is made of the amino acid cystine and occurs only in patients who have an inherited disease called cystinuria. Urine can dissolve no more than 300mg of cystine in a liter, and normal people lose less than 100mg daily in their urine. Cystine is present in blood and filtered from blood by the kidney in very large amounts. People with cystinuria lack the renal mechanisms to reclaim filtered cystine back into the blood. This valuable nutrient is lost in the urine, and makes large and potentially dangerous stones, often beginning in infancy or childhood. The Litholink panel of tests screens all patients for cystinuria. Those who have it require very specialized testing and treatment. See our Cystine section for more information. |
| Unusual Stones |
| Certain anti-viral drugs as well as triampterine (a diuretic) are well known to cause kidney stone formation. 2-8-hydroxyadenine stones form in people who have a very rare inherited enzyme deficiency that causes over production of the material. |
