Renal Stones

Renal Stones – General Information

Renal Stones, a disease which is also known as renal lithiasis, develops when on the interior part of the kidneys appear small but hard deposits of acid salts and minerals. In a normal process these substances which lead to the appearance of the kidney stones are diluted in the urine. However, when the concentration of the urine is quite high these substances may crystallize, but they bond and solidify. This is how the kidney stones appear. In most of the cases, these deposits also contain calcium.

The signs which differentiate this kidney disease from others is the excruciating pain, which usually starts in the patient’s back or side and they reach the groin and the lower abdomen. However, there is a good part about Renal Stones which should be known by all the sufferers: these deposits do not cause severe or permanent damage to the kidneys and, in most of the cases, this disease can be treated with just medication and the sufferer does not need to go through a medical intervention. Even so, before starting the treatment, the doctor has to find out which the cause of the disease was and what type of kidneys stones the patient presents. In addition, treating the underlying causes of the disease can significantly reduce the possibility of the appearance of new stones. In some cases, if Renal Stones is diagnosed in an early stage, the doctor can even renounce at the medicines and just recommend the patient to change his daily diet and to drink more water in order to eliminate the stones.

Renal Stones – Symptoms

The bad part about Renal Stones is the fact that it is quite difficult to diagnose as it does not present major signs and symptoms until the stones reach the ureter, the tube which connects the bladder and the kidney. At this stage, the sufferer experience severe pain and complications, such as: pain in the back and side, fluctuations of pain, which may last between 25 and 55 minutes, foul-smelling urine, bloody urine, cloudy urine, pain in the groin and the lower abdomen, vomiting, nausea, pain on urination, chills, fever and a persistent need to urinate. However, in some rare cases, the sufferers do not experience any of these symptoms; in such conditions, the disease can be identified when the sufferers are consulted for other problems, such as recurrent infections of the urinary tract or the presence of blood in the urine.

There are certain factors which increase the possibility of suffering from Renal Stones. The most common one is the fact that the patient does not drink enough fluids; this leads to a higher concentration of those substances which form the stones. A family history or a personal history of this disease can also increase the possibility of developing stones. The frequency rate for this disease is higher in the case of men, but in what concerns the age, there is no certain category which is at higher risk of suffering from this disease. The diet can also influence the appearance of this disease, especially if you consume products with a high concentration of calcium, sodium or proteins.

Renal Stones – Treatment

If you notice the appearance of one or more of the signs and symptoms presented above or you present a recurrent infection of the urinary tract, you should consult a doctor in order to obtain a sure diagnosis and to benefit from the best way of treatment. In order to obtain an exact diagnosis, the doctor can choose one or more of these tests: a computerized tomography which offers information about a possible presence of stones in the patient’s kidneys, an ultrasound test which provides clear images of the internal organs but it can, however, miss the small stones which are located in the bladder and the ureter, an excretory urogram which is taken in order to determine the exact location, the dimensions of the stones and the blockage which they cause or an abdominal x-ray which is the most common and useful procedure as it offers the possibility to observe the changes of the stones in time.

If the Renal Stones is diagnosed in an advance stage and the patients starts to pass the stones, the doctor can take one of these in order to examine it in the laboratory. In some cases, a stone can remain inside the kidney but this leads to no major problems, unless the stone grows so big that it blocks the normal flow of urine. In such circumstances, the patient may experience severe damage of the kidney, an infection or excessive bleeding. There are multiple choices for treating Renal Stones; the doctor has to choose the best way of treatment considering the patient’s condition, the type of stones which appear and the cause which lead to the appearance of the disease. If the disease is diagnosed in an early stage, the patient will be recommended to drink a high quantity of water and to exercise a lot; these measures are enough in order to help him eliminate the stones naturally.

In what concerns those patients who suffer from Renal Stones for a longer period of time, which means that they present bigger stones which can not be eliminated naturally as they can cause severe damage, they have to follow a professional treatment. The most common procedure to treat Renal Stones is the wave lithrotripsy, which uses shock waves in order to divide the stones into smaller pieces which can be then passed through the urine. However, this is quite a painful intervention so the doctor has to perform at least a local anesthesia; in what concerns the complications which can appear, the most common ones include bleeding, pain in the abdomen and the back and a general feeling of discomfort. If this procedure is not effective, the doctor can choose a percutaneous nephrolithotomy in order to treat Renal Stones. This consists in a small incision in the patient’s back so that the doctor can remove the stones. If the stones are located in the ureter, the doctor has to perform an uterescopic removal, which consists in the removal of the stones through the bladder and the ureter using a small instrument, which is called uteroscope.