| Kidney stones are one of the more painful kidney | | | | childbirth. When someone has such a symptom, it is |
| diseases known. If you've ever had a symptom of | | | | important to consider doing a plain X-Ray of the |
| kidney stones, you'll never forget what it feels like. Both | | | | kidney and ureter area to see if any kind of calcified |
| men and women can get kidney stones but it appears | | | | nodule can be seen. This represents the stone itself |
| there is a slight predominance of men. In fact, the | | | | and it is usually found stuck in the ureter. The other |
| typical individual with a kidney stone is a white male | | | | test that is sometimes done is a dye study using |
| between the ages of twenty to sixty with a positive | | | | X-Rays. This test checks for the presence of a |
| family or personal history of stones before. About | | | | blockage in the ureters or decreased flow past the |
| 60% of all of those with stones that have calcium in | | | | ureters. |
| them will get a second stone within 10 years. | | | | Another symptom of kidney stones can be nausea, |
| Before an individual even develops a symptom of | | | | vomiting and sometimes a fever. If the stone causes |
| kidney stones, the kidneys are busy forming those | | | | an infection in the kidneys, the urinalysis can show |
| stones. The conditions that favor the development of | | | | infection cells in the urine. Even in the absence of |
| kidney stones are low blood volume, low fluid intake | | | | infection, red blood cells will often show up in the urine |
| and an excess of a molecule that precipitates out in | | | | sample. |
| the urine. The substances that make up kidney stones | | | | When someone has a symptom of kidney stones and |
| are primarily calcium oxalate, calcium phosphate or uric | | | | evidence of stones on X-Ray or urinalysis, the |
| acid stones. They pass through the kidney and end up | | | | treatment is generally supportive. The individual is given |
| in the urinary side of the kidney, in an area called the | | | | pain medication, antibiotics and is sometimes told to |
| renal pelvis. It is there that the stones precipitate out | | | | strain their urine for the presence of the stone. The |
| into hard stone-like globules. | | | | person also needs to drink a lot of fluids to help push |
| One doesn't get a symptom of kidney stones very | | | | the stone past the point of the ureters and into the |
| often if the stone is big enough to remain inside the | | | | bladder. |
| renal pelvis. It can get caught on parts of the kidney | | | | In some cases, the symptom of kidney stones is so |
| and can just get bigger. In fact, one of the few | | | | severe that hospitalization is necessary. The person |
| symptoms of kidney stones that remain in the pelvis of | | | | may need to have the stone broken up by means of |
| the kidney is the presence of recurrent kidney or | | | | shock waves used by ultrasonic machines. In rare |
| bladder infections. This is because bacteria are | | | | cases, the individual has a huge kidney stone that can |
| incorporated within the stone and the stone acts as a | | | | only be managed by surgical removal. After treatment, |
| reservoir for bacteria. | | | | the person will need to keep their fluid intake up and |
| The primary symptom of kidney stones is extreme | | | | may need to take medications to reduce the further |
| pain in the side or flank. The pain often radiates to the | | | | incidence of stones. |
| groin area and is so painful, it is likened to the pain of | | | | |