You might have heard the oft-cited factoid that kidney stones are as painful as childbirth; however, do you know what kidney stones are composed of and how to prevent them?
If you’ve been lucky enough never to develop a kidney stone, understanding its signs and symptoms can help prevent pain, discomfort, and long-term damage to the kidney. Make sure you consult with the best doctor in Kidney Stone Specialist Hospital if you’ve developed kidney stones.
Here are some strange, surprising, and even “shocking” truths about Kidney stones.
They come in different sizes and shapes, varying from a grain of sand to a golf ball.
They are tiny, hard crystals or deposits that develop inside your kidneys when salts and other minerals in your urine bond together. Stones often vary in shape and size.
There are about four basic types of kidney stones.
Uric acid stones, struvite stones, calcium stones, and cystine stones. Calcium stones are the most prevalent and often caused by low urine citrate, high urine oxalate, excessive salt intake, and other metabolic abnormalities.
Uric acid stones might be created by eating excessive animal protein. As per the Kidney Stone Doctor in Ahmedabad, they are more common in people with gout and inflammatory bowel disease conditions. Struvite stones are linked to repetitive urinary tract infections and are formed by bacteria. At last, a rare genetic kidney disease called cystinuria generally causes cystine stones.
Small kidney stones may or may not cause symptoms, and small-sized stones can cause minor pain.
Medium or large kidney stones can lead to severe pain that may land you in the emergency room at Kidney Stone Specialist Hospital.
People with a medium or large stone will encounter severe pain, typically in the side or back, that may reach to the abdomen and down to the groin area. You may even experience a frequent urge to urinate, painful urination, blood in the urine, nausea, and sometimes fever.
They don’t form overnight.
Kidney stones don’t just come out of nowhere. In fact, they can start forming in your kidneys for months – even years before you ever doubt anything or experience symptoms.
Water can stave off stones.
Salt may lead to kidney stones; however good old H2O can prevent them. Water intake is one of the most important dietary risk factors for kidney stone formation. Not drinking enough water is assumed to play a role in 50% of kidney stones.
At Asian Hospital – The best Kidney Stone Hospital Ahmedabad, we highly recommend patients drink enough water to make 2.5 liters of urine per day or attempt to keep their urine clear to very pale yellow.
Kidney stones are linked to other conditions.
The cases of kidney stones may be increasing because one of the risk factors, obesity, is also increasing. Apart from obesity, “diabetes, metabolic disturbances, recurrent urinary tract infections, and parathyroid disease are associated with kidney stone formation.
Prevention is key.
To prevent a kidney stone from developing, stay well hydrated, decrease your salt intake, moderate your calcium intake and limit your consumption of animal protein.
It would be best to avoid a heavy intake of oxalate-rich foods, including greens like spinach, kale, mustard, collard greens, strawberries, rhubarb, chocolate, tea, and nuts. Increase your intake of potassium-rich citrus foods such as lemons, oranges, and grapefruits, both as the whole fruit and as juice. Make sure you go for a regular check-up with the Kidney Stone Specialist in Ahmedabad.
More than 1 in 10 people will have a kidney stone at some point in their lives.
Unfortunately, kidney stones are common. It’s projected that 12% of Americans will develop a kidney stone in their lifetime — and the number is growing. Kidney stones in men are extremely popular.
Do you think you are experiencing a kidney stone? Asian Hospital – The best Kidney Stone Specialist Hospital has expert urologists that can help. Book your appointment or call directly to meet our Kidney Specialist in Ahmedabad.
