When there is too much waste and too little liquid in urine, a kidney stone can form. Kidney stones are irregularly shaped and can be as small as a grain of sand or as large as a golf ball.
Sometimes a stone will travel down a ureter (the tubes that connect the kidneys to the bladder) and become stuck there, blocking the flow of urine to the bladder and causing extreme pain. Sometimes a stone will travel to the bladder and be passed in the urine. Even small stones can cause excruciating pain as they are passed through the urinary system.
White men between the ages of 30 and 50 are most likely to get kidney stones, but anyone can develop them. Risk factors include family history, blockage in the urinary tract, not drinking enough liquids, eating a diet that includes the substances that form stones (such as high phosphate, high protein, high salt and/or high sugar), diabetes, obesity, gout, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, parathyroid disease, and certain surgical procedures and medications.
There are four distinct types of kidney stones which are caused by either diet, family history or infection. Symptoms of having a kidney stone include severe pain on one side of the lower back, hematuria (blood in the urine), nausea, vomiting, fever, chills, foul smelling and/or cloudy urine, and/or vague pain in the back or stomach that will not go away. Kidney stones are diagnosed using urine tests, blood tests, and/or imaging tests like CT, X-ray, or ultrasound.
Treatment varies depending on the size and severity of the stones. Sometimes nothing is done other than waiting to see if the stone will pass. Small stones can stay in the kidney for years without causing any symptoms or blockages.
For symptomatic stones medications may be prescribed to manage nausea and vomiting, decrease pain, and relax the ureter to allow the stones to pass. Minimally invasive surgical procedures such as shock-wave lithotripsy (using high-energy sound waves to break stones into smaller fragments) and ureteroscopy (inserting a scope into the ureter to retrieve or destroy the stone) may be used for larger stones.
Bio-Touch has been shown to help reduce pain and can be used alongside any other treatments to help ease the symptoms of kidney stones.
The information presented here is for educational purposes only. Medical advice is neither offered nor implied. Please consult a healthcare professional for medical advice.
