Annually, over 500,000 visit ERs due to kidney stones. About 1 in 10 will experience them. In the UAE, kidney stone prevalence rose from 3.8% (late 1970s) to 10% (2013–2014). Risks: 11% men, 9% women. Conditions like hypertension, diabetes, and obesity may heighten risk.
Urine holds dissolved minerals and salts. Elevated levels of these create kidney stones. Initially small, they can enlarge, even filling kidney hollows. Some remain in the kidney without trouble. Others traverse the ureter, the kidney-bladder tube. Stones reaching the bladder exit via urine. If lodged in the ureter, they obstruct urine flow, causing pain.
Kidneys, fist-sized, regulate body fluids and chemicals. Typically, two flank the spine behind liver, stomach, pancreas, and intestines. They cleanse blood waste, excreting it in urine. Sodium, potassium, and calcium levels are balanced.
The kidneys, ureters, and bladder compose the urinary tract. It produces, transports, and stores urine. Kidneys create urine from water and waste. Ureters carry it to the bladder for storage. Urine exits through the urethra.
Kidney stones form within kidneys and may move into the ureter, tubes connecting kidneys to the bladder. A stone lodged in the ureter is called a ureteral stone.
A kidney stone is a solid formed from urine chemicals. Four types exist: calcium oxalate, uric acid, struvite, and cystine stones. Treatments: shockwave lithotripsy, uteroscopy, percutaneous nephrolithotomy, or nephrolithotripsy. Common symptoms involve intense lower back pain, blood in urine, nausea, vomiting, fever, chills, cloudy or foul-smelling urine.
Urine holds dissolved waste, and excess waste with little liquid can lead to crystal formation. Crystals attract elements, creating solids that grow unless passed in urine. Kidneys usually eliminate these via urine, aided by chemicals. Most prevent stones by adequate fluid intake or urine chemicals. Stone-forming chemicals include calcium, oxalate, urate, cystine, xanthine, and phosphate.
Stones can remain in kidneys or travel the urinary tract. Tiny stones often exit painlessly in urine. But immobile stones cause urine backup, leading to pain in kidney, ureter, bladder, or urethra.
Our urine contains certain dissolved minerals and salts. When your urine has high levels of these minerals and salts, you can form stones. Kidney stones can start small but can grow larger in size, even filling the inner hollow structures of the kidney. Some stones stay in the kidney, and do not cause any problems. Sometimes, the kidney stone can travel down the ureter, the tube between the kidney and the bladder. If the stone reaches the bladder, it can be passed out of the body in urine. If the stone becomes lodged in the ureter, it blocks the urine flow from that kidney and causes pain.
Following are the causes of Kidney Stones:
Common symptoms of kidney stones include:
Your treatment depends upon the type of stones that you may have and how long you have had them. However, common treatment criteria for Kidney stones include:
Smaller stones are more likely than larger stones to pass on their own. Waiting up to four to six weeks for the stone to pass is safe as long as the pain is bearable, there are no signs of infection, the kidney is not completely blocked, and the stone is small enough that it is likely to pass. While waiting for the stone to pass, you should drink normal amounts of water. You may need pain medication when there is discomfort.
The most common medication prescribed for this reason is tamsulosin. Tamsulosin (Flomax) relaxes the ureter, making it easier for the stone to pass. You may also need pain and anti-nausea medicine as you wait to pass the stone.
Surgery may be needed to remove a stone from the ureter or kidney if:
At Saudi German Hospital, our clinic of Urology is fully equipped with state-of-the-art technology followed by the latest foreign quality treatment procedures. Our expert and highly qualified team of doctors are an asset for the Saudi German Hospital. They will assist you and help you in every way possible.
