What are Kidney Stones?

Kidney stones are stones that build up and put a block in the kidney. Most of the time you will find that the stones are made up of uric acid and they will need to be broken up if they cannot be passed.

Kidney stones are men. Men most commonly experience their first episode between 20-30 years of age, while for women the age at first presentation is somewhat later.

The Rolling Stones aren't the only stones that can change your life. Another type will make you keel over like a rugby player who's been kneed in the groin. Kidney stones form when urine becomes concentrated, forming small crystals and then stones.

They create intense pain in your lower back and side and when you urinate. The main cause of kidney stones is dehydration, so it's essential to keep your body hydrated with 64 ounces (eight 8-ounce glasses) of water a day. The main method of prevention is to treat your body like an empty swimming pool, and flood it with water to wash it out and prevent crystal formation.

Now, when I say water, I mean water-not any ol' liquid. The empty calories and self-destructive ingredients found in soft drinks will leave you bloated, hungry, and fat (okay, so if you like diet sodas, at least you won't consume the empty calories, but I mean water here).

There are different types of kidney stones depending on their composition. Some kidney stones are formed of calcium oxalate, some consist of uric acid, other are comprisied of citrate etc.

Another type of stone, uric acid stones, are a bit less common, and cystine stones are rare. Kidney stones in the kidney, ureter, and bladder. Urolithiasis is the medical term used to describe stones occurring in the urinary tract.

Other frequently used terms are urinary tract stone disease and nephrolithiasis. Doctors also use terms that describe the location of the stone in the urinary tract. For example, a ureteral stone-or ureterolithiasis-is a kidney stone found in the ureter.

To keep things simple, the general term kidney stones is used throughout this fact sheet. Gallstones and kidney stones are not related. They form in different areas of the body.

Someone with a gallstone is not necessarily more likely to develop kidney stones. Who gets kidney stones? For unknown reasons, the number of people in the United States with kidney stones has been increasing over the past 30 years.

In the late 1970s, less than 4 percent of the population had stone-forming disease. By the early 1990s, the portion of the population with the disease had increased to more than 5 percent. Caucasians are more prone to develop kidney stones than African Americans.

Stones occur more frequently in men. The prevalence of kidney stones rises dramatically as men enter their 40s and continues to rise into their 70s. For women, the prevalence of kidney stones peaks in their 50s.

Once a person gets more than one stone, other stones are likely to develop. What causes kidney stones? Doctors do not always know what causes a stone to form.

While certain foods may promote stone formation in people who are susceptible, scientists do not believe that eating any specific food causes stones to form in people who are not susceptible. A person with a family history of kidney stones may be more likely to develop stones. Urinary tract infections, kidney disorders such as cystic kidney diseases, and certain metabolic disorders such as hyperparathyroidism are also linked to stone formation.

In addition, more than 70 percent of people with a rare hereditary disease called renal tubular acidosis develop kidney stones. Shapes of various stones. Sizes are usually smaller than shown here.

Cystinuria and hyperoxaluria are two other rare, inherited metabolic disorders that often cause kidney stones. In cystinuria, too much of the amino acid cystine, which does not dissolve in urine, is voided, leading to the formation of stones made of cystine. In patients with hyperoxaluria, the body produces too much oxalate, a salt.

When the urine contains more oxalate than can be dissolved, the crystals settle out and form stones. Hypercalciuria is inherited, and it may be the cause of stones in more than half of patients. Calcium is absorbed from food in excess and is lost into the urine.

This high level of calcium in the urine causes crystals of calcium oxalate or calcium phosphate to form in the kidneys or elsewhere in the urinary tract. Other causes of kidney stones are hyperuricosuria, which is a disorder of uric acid metabolism; gout; excess intake of vitamin D; urinary tract infections; and blockage of the urinary tract. Certain diuretics, commonly called water pills, and calcium-based antacids may increase the risk of forming kidney stones by increasing the amount of calcium in the urine.

Calcium oxalate stones may also form in people who have chronic inflammation of the bowel or who have had an intestinal bypass operation, or ostomy surgery. As mentioned earlier, struvite stones can form in people who have had a urinary tract infection. People who take the protease inhibitor indinavir, a medicine used to treat HIV infection, may also be at increased risk of developing kidney stones.

What are the symptoms of kidney stones? Kidney stones often do not cause any symptoms. Usually, the first symptom of a kidney stone is extreme pain, which begins suddenly when a stone moves in the urinary tract and blocks the flow of urine.

Typically, a person feels a sharp, cramping pain in the back and side in the area of the kidney or in the lower abdomen. Sometimes nausea and vomiting occur. Later, pain may spread to the groin.

A kidney stone is a hard mass developed from crystals that separate from the urine within the urinary tract.

They are are small, hard deposits of salts on your kidneys. The pain they cause typically starts in your side or back.

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