Can Children Get Kidney Stones
Kidney stones are found in children as young as 5 years. In fact, this problem is so common in children that some hospitals conduct ‘stone’ clinics for pediatric patients. The increase in the United States has been attributed to several factors, mostly related to food choices. The two most important reasons are not drinking enough fluids and eating foods that are high in salt. Kids should eat less salty potato chips and French fries. There are other salty foods: sandwich meats, canned soups, packaged meals, and even some sports drinks. Sodas and other sweetened beverages can also increase the risk of stones if they contain high fructose corn syrup.
If you would like more information, please contact us.
COVID-19 patients can become kidney patients.
You can provide lifesaving support today with a special monthly gift.
Is There Any Way To Make Them Pass Faster
The best home remedy to encourage the stone to pass is to drink lots of fluids, especially plain water and citrus juices such as orange or grapefruit. The extra fluid causes you to urinate more, which helps the stone move and keeps it from growing. You should aim for at least 2 to 3 quarts of water per day.
Smaller stones are more likely to pass on their own, so you should take steps to keep the stone from growing. This includes eating a diet thats low in salt, calcium, and protein.
However, you need all of these for your body to function properly, so talk with your doctor about an appropriate diet to help you pass the stone.
Passing a kidney stone can be very painful. Taking pain medication such as ibuprofen wont speed up the process, but it can make you a lot more comfortable while passing the stone. A heating pad can also help.
If you have a fever, significant nausea, or are unable to keep down liquids without vomiting, you should seek medical care.
Likewise, if you have only one kidney or known kidney problems or damage, see a doctor immediately.
An infected kidney stone is a surgical emergency. If you notice any signs of infection, go to the hospital.
Stones Are Crystal Artefacts
In human urine, calcium frequently crystallizes with oxalate and phosphate to produce the common calcium oxalate or calcium phosphate stones.
Other less common crystals form their own stones: Uric acid, a byproduct of nucleic acid metabolism cystine, an amino acid that the genetic kidney tubule disease called cystinuria may liberate into urine in great excess struvite, a crystal created by bacteria breakdown of urea, a normal urine constituent. Many drugs form crystals.
Because crystals can form independent of one another, many stones contain mixtures of them.
Like volcanic lava, an insect caught in amber, or the vague fossil tracings of some long lost species traced out in an otherwise indifferent rock, the crystals of a stone tell about a particular person with shocking precision and undeniable truth.
To find calcium oxalate crystals means such crystals were indeed once formed by that patient, and the same for all other crystals. Each crystal is a proof of past formation.
But unlike artefacts of a vanished age the proof in stones matters immediately, for in the person who made the stone those very same causes that once made its crystals may well yet operate and pose risk for more.
You might think such artefacts would attract the most intense interest and study. But no stones are often discarded.
Recommended Reading: Is Grape Juice Good For Kidney Stones
You May Like: Is Honey Good For Kidney Health
Dont Let This Condition Catch You Off
Category:Live Healthy
You think you’re living a healthy lifestyle by exercising, eating lots of whole foods and keeping stress at bay until one day owee! You pass a kidney stone.
Kidney stones are hard, crystal-like deposits that form inside the kidneys. They can occur when the urine contains high amounts of salts and minerals such as calcium, oxalate and uric acid that become concentrated in the funneling portion of the kidney.
If this sediment isnt washed out of the body with the urine, stones can continue to grow in size and fall out of the kidneys.
When this happens, the tube between the kidneys and the bladder, called the ureter, can become obstructed, which is when the real problems begin.
If a kidney stone falls out of the kidney and tries to migrate down into the bladder through the ureter, it can obstruct the flow of urine. If urine cannot flow effectively down to the bladder, it begins to back up in the kidney and can become infected or contaminated, which can cause an extreme amount of pain, explains Dr. Carrie Fitzgerald, a urologist at Kauai Medical Clinic.
Kidney stones are a common problem with a high rate of recurrence we see a lot of kidney stones in Hawaii, and we treat a lot of kidney stones here on Kauai, Fitzgerald says. Kidney stones can be quite painful, but the stones usually cause no permanent damage if they’re recognized in a timely fashion.
If left untreated, kidney stones can cause blood in the urine and recurrent infections.
Signs Of An Emergency
According to the Mayo Clinic, back pain can occasionally indicate a serious medical condition. See a doctor if your back pain is present even at rest, is accompanied by bowel or bladder issues or occurred immediately after trauma such as a fall.
Seek immediate medical attention if you feel numbness or weakness in one or both legs or experience pain moving down one leg below the knee. Also, seek care if you experience back pain together with flu-like symptoms.
Don’t Miss: Is Cranberry Juice Good For Your Liver
Why You Get Stones
Part of preventing stones is finding out why you get them. Your health care provider will perform tests to find out what is causing this. After finding out why you get stones, your health care provider will give you tips to help stop them from coming back.
Some of the tests he or she may do are listed below.
Medical and Dietary History
Your health care provider will ask questions about your personal and family medical history. He or she may ask if:
- Have you had more than one stone before?
- Has anyone in your family had stones?
- Do you have a medical condition that may increase your chance of having stones, like frequent diarrhea, gout or diabetes?
Knowing your eating habits is also helpful. You may be eating foods that are known to raise the risk of stones. You may also be eating too few foods that protect against stones or not drinking enough fluids.
Understanding your medical, family and dietary history helps your health care provider find out how likely you are to form more stones.
Blood and Urine Tests
Imaging Tests
When a health care provider sees you for the first time and you have had stones before, he or she may want to see recent X-rays or order a new X-ray. They will do this to see if there are any stones in your urinary tract. Imaging tests may be repeated over time to check for stone growth. You may also need this test if you are having pain, hematuria or recurrent infections.
Stone Analysis
Should You Worry About Kidney Stones In The Summer
In my line of work, summertime has an unfortunate characteristic: We see a lot more patients troubled by kidney stones.
A short primer on their cause: The kidneys are responsible for filtering body waste from the blood, and they turn waste into urine. Urine may look clear, but it actually contains small particles that can clump together, forming stones. If you have a little blood in your urine or a mild ache in your back below your ribs that comes and goes, it could be a kidney stone.
Dehydration is the primary culprit, which is why we see an uptick of kidney stones in the summer. So the first line of defense is drinking water throughout the daya half-gallon, plus more if youre exercising, especially in the heat. Your urine should be almost clear, with just a touch of yellow. If it looks like a sports drink , thats a problem. And remember that caffeine, soda, and alcohol can ultimately make you dehydrated, so take that into account.
Kidney stones strike men more often in middle age, not because our kidneys slow down but because we pay less attention to what were drinking. If you have coffee in the morning, a diet soda at lunch, and wine with dinner, youre setting yourself up for problems.
The secondary cause is diet. High protein intake, such as red meat, can increase the risk of kidney stones. So can excessive consumption of oxalatean acid found in plants and fruits like spinach, blueberries, strawberries, kale, almonds, and black tea.
Read Also: Is Grape Juice Good For Kidney Stones
Why Do I Get Kidney Stones
Kidneys are essential organs that filter out the waste traveling around the body in your bloodstream. The kidneys create urine to transport the filtered chemicals out of the body. Stones develop from buildup of mineral deposits in our urine that stick together in the kidneys. Typically, these stones develop because of a lack of water to dilute the accumulation of these minerals on the lining of our kidneys. Certain medications, medical disorders , and a family history of kidney stones can also increase your chances of suffering from them.
Because they are known to cause a great deal of pain, it is no surprise that those who suffer from kidney stones are willing to try just about anything to treat them and to prevent them from happening again. Known medicinal treatments include the use of alpha-blockers such as Flomax that relax the lining of the ureter to help stones pass more easily, and medications that treat the associated pain. Additionally, surgical procedures or other non-invasive means of surgical treatment may be prescribed to break up both calcium oxalate and uric acid kidney stones. These treatments include ureteroscopy and extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy .
Preventative measures used to halt the formation of kidney stones include dietary and behavioral changes. These involve decreasing sodium intake, increasing water intake to stay properly hydrated, stopping excessive exercise, stopping sauna usage , and eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables.
Ultramarathons And Kidney Failure
The niche world of ultramarathons, in which competitors cover distances up to and even in excess of 100 miles, is fraught with a range of physiologic hazards that rarely if ever appear in races lasting less than a few hours. Kidney failure is a well-documented consequence of rhabdomyolysis, a widespread breakdown of skeletal muscle. Because of the extremely high demands of running very long distances, rhabdomyolysis is common in ultramarathon runners. If you have been running for many hours, are experiencing flank pain, and are passing sparse reddish-brown or otherwise dark urine despite remaining well hydrated, stop and seek medical help 1. Hot weather and the use of anti-inflammatories increase your chances of harming your kidneys under these conditions.
- The niche world of ultramarathons, in which competitors cover distances up to and even in excess of 100 miles, is fraught with a range of physiologic hazards that rarely if ever appear in races lasting less than a few hours.
You May Like: Is Mulberry Good For Kidneys
Seeking Medical Help For Kidney Stones Is Strictly Recommended
If your kidney stone is small to medium-sized, your doctor may prescribe some medications for kidney stones that will help in the passing of the stone. In the case of large stones or multiple stones, your doctor may suggest surgical treatment.
Fret not, as the advanced procedure of shock wave lithotripsy is now available for the treatment of kidney stones. The procedure is not much invasive, and it does not inflict any pain. It is a modern procedure and has a high success rate.
Shock Wave Lithotripsy is available at Pristyn Care. If you have any questions about the procedure, you can contact us and we will resolve them for you.
Also Read:
Kidney Problems And Stones
Pain indicating kidney problems is usually felt in the lower back to the right and left portion of your spine. You may also feel pain above your hips. Many patients describe the pain as severe and occurring in waves. Delayed pain follows exercises such as side bends and front bends. When you feel this kind of pain, you may be suffering from a kidney infection or another kidney-related condition, including kidney stones.
Although kidney stones often pass through the body on their own, large stones can require medical intervention. Other symptoms of kidney stones include nausea and vomiting, difficulty urinating, urine discoloration pink, red or brown and a persistent urge to urinate.
Read more:Kidney Symptoms: Flank and Back Pain
Don’t Miss: Std That Affects Kidneys
Causes Of Kidney Stones
The most common cause of kidney stones isdehydration. Youre not drinking enough water to dilute the concentration of minerals in your urine . Recommended water consumption is about two liters or half a gallon of water a day.
Water is the best fluid to drink in order to prevent kidney stones, Dr. Abromowitz explains. But water from a well is very high in solutes, which increases your chance of kidney stones. So i f youâre drinking well water, you ought to have a purification system on it. Every year I see patients who develop a kidney stone for this reason.
Other kidney stone risk factors include:
- Too little or too much exercise
- Being overweight
- Eating food with excess salt, sugar, and animal protein
- Weight loss surgery
- Kidney infections. Infections increase the risk of kidney stones by slowing urine flow or changing the acid balance of urine.
- Family history of kidney stones
- Some drugs used to treat AIDS, seizures, and migraines can cause kidney stones.
A Thrilling Cure For Kidney Stones
Each year, more than 500,000 people head to emergency rooms due to kidney stones, according to the National Kidney Foundation. But recent research suggests stone sufferers head somewhere else to shake loose their stonesan amusement park.
After hearing from multiple patients who passed small kidney stones after riding Walt Disney Worlds Big Thunder Mountain Railroadroller coaster, researchers out of Michigan State University decided to test it out themselves.
They created an artificial kidney out of silicone and loaded it with actual kidney stones and then rode the coaster 20 times with the kidney in between them, sitting at the height a persons kidneys would typically be during the ride. The results were thrilling.
Sitting in the front of the ride shook out four of 24 stones placed in the kidney. But when riding in the back of the coaster, 23 stones shook loose.
There is a catch: the kidney stones must be smallno larger than 4-5 mm, or they can get stuck on their way out of the body.
If youve undergone extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy, a treatment method that uses shock waves to break a kidney stone into such smaller, passable pieces, a roller coaster ride just may be in order.
Dr. User provides patients with instructions on inversion therapy in hopes of passing these remnant stones. The practice involves laying inverted or upside down to allow gravity to aid in the passing of small stone fragments that may be stuck.
Read Also: Cranberry Juice Good For Liver
Weird Side Effects Of Pre
Pre-workout supplements are used to boost energy levels in the body and muscle endurance during workouts. Are you tempted to raise your energy level but dont know the side effects of pre-workout supplements?
Pre-workout supplements have ingredients like guarana, creatine, and caffeine which improve muscle power during a strenuous exercise.
As much as pre-workout supplements may be beneficial, it is important to know the risks associated with them if not used in the right way.
According to the New York Times,” Michael Lee an Army Private took a pre-workout and ran for 10 minutes. Unfortunately, he got a Cardiac arrest and died later because pre-workouts raised his heart rate.
It is evident that as pre-workouts can increase the heart rate, combining them with strenuous exercise increases the heart rate.
Here are 11 side effects that you might experience when you use pre-workout supplements.
Intensity Of Activity Doesn’t Seem To Matter Study Finds
FRIDAY, Dec. 13, 2013 — Just a little exercise each week — jogging for an hour or walking for about three hours — can reduce the risk of developing kidney stones by up to 31 percent, according to a new study.
Researchers looking at data on more than 84,000 postmenopausal women found that engaging in any type of light physical activity can help prevent the formation of these pebbles in the kidneys. Even light gardening might curb their development, according to the study, which was published recently in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.
“Even small amounts of exercise may decrease the risk of kidney stones,” said study author Dr. Mathew Sorensen, of the University of Washington School of Medicine. “It does not need to be marathons, as the intensity of the exercise does not seem to matter.”
Kidney stones, which have become increasingly common, are more prevalent among women. During the past 15 years, research has shown that kidney stones might actually be a systemic problem, involving more than just the kidneys. Recent research has linked the stones to obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome and heart disease.
In conducting the study, the researchers analyzed information compiled since the 1990s on the women’s eating habits and level of physical activity.
More information
You May Like: Pineapple Kidney Stones
Things That Can Help You Take A Pass On Kidney Stones
- By Matthew Solan, Executive Editor, Harvard Menâs Health Watch
If youve ever passed a kidney stone, you probably would not wish it on your worst enemy, and youll do anything to avoid it again. âKidney stones are more common in men than in women, and in about half of people who have had one, kidney stones strike again within 10 to 15 years without preventive measures,â says Dr. Brian Eisner, co-director of the Kidney Stone Program at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital.