Antenatal Hydronephrosis In Babies
Antenatal hydronephrosis is increasingly being found in unborn babies during routine ultrasound scans.
It’s estimated to show up on at least 1 in every 100 pregnancies.
As a parent, it can be worrying to learn your baby has a problem with their kidneys. But most cases of hydronephrosis in babies are not serious and should not affect the outcome of your pregnancy. Sometimes, babies born with ANH may need to be treated with antibiotics to prevent kidney infections, but most babies born with ANH will have no lasting problems.
Find out more about diagnosing antenatal hydronephrosis and treating antenatal hydronephrosis.
Kidney Pain Vs Back Pain Difference Between Back Pain And Kidney Pain
Life may hit you with an ailment without any warning and might take you by surprise. You may often misjudge and misinterpret the symptoms you might have and panic over the same. Such situations might make you struggle with everyday activities by giving you unnecessary anxiety. Thus, it is always recommended to carefully assess yourself and arm yourself with the best knowledge about your symptoms to avoid unnecessary stress. Often, people confuse something insignificant with a major life-threatening illness. One such source of dilemma is the confusion between back pain due to muscle spasms and back pain due to kidney stones. To help clarify it, we have listed down the key differences between the two categorically so that you may never confuse them again.
Simple back pain and kidney stones induced pain are easy to confuse, as the kidneys are located in the lower back and thus any problem in them may cause a sharp pain in that area. The key differentiating factors between the two kinds of pain are the type, the location, the way the pain radiates and the severity of the pain. These factors will help you correctly deduce if its just a back spasm or stones or infection in the kidneys.
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When To Contact A Doctor
A person who is experiencing kidney pain should contact a doctor as soon as possible to find out what is causing it.
People must contact a doctor to diagnose and treat kidney pain. Receiving the correct treatment ensures that the kidneys do not become damaged, which can lead to kidney failure.
Doctors may order tests such as:
- urine tests, which can help them identify any infections
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Swelling In Hands Or Feet
Why this happens:
Failing kidneys dont remove extra fluid, which builds up in your body causing swelling in the legs, ankles, feet, and/or hands.
What patients said:
I remember a lot of swelling in my ankles. My ankles were so big I couldnt get my shoes on.
Going to work one morning, my left ankle was swollen, real swollen, and I was very exhausted just walking to the bus stop. And I knew then that I had to see a doctor.
Back Pan Vs Kidney Pain: How To Tell The Difference
Theres usually no easy way to differentiate between back pain and kidney pain, especially for the constant ache of a kidney stone thats not demanding to be passed. Passing a kidney stone is a different story since it hurts so badly, and kidney infections provide clues in the form of other symptoms.
Unsurprisingly, your best bet is to see a doctor for a formal diagnosis. Be prepared for a physical exam, providing your family and medical history and undergoing tests. The tests can include urine analysis or culture as well as a plain abdominal X-ray, CT scan or MRI.
There is no cure or quick fix for getting rid of kidney stone pain, as people who have experienced the excruciating pain know. Dr. Charney said. The only solution is to have a physician prescribe pain medications and sometimes fluids while just giving yourself time to pass the stone. However, there are antibiotics for kidney infections as well as home remedies. The home remedies include using heat to the area where you have discomfort, keeping yourself hydrated and taking over the counter pain meds when needed.
Overall, the best advice to keep kidneys healthy is to exercise, keep hydrated especially in warm weather or when exercising, maintain a healthy weight, and quit smoking. And the best part? That advice works for back pain as well.
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Blockage Of Blood To The Kidney
A blockage of blood to the kidney is called a renal infarction or a renal vein thrombosis. This happens when the blood supply to and from the kidney is suddenly slowed or stopped. There are several causes, including a blood clot.
Blood flow blockages to the kidney typically happens on one side. Symptoms include:
- severe side or flank pain
- lower back pain or ache
- stomach tenderness
- blood in the urine
What Are The Symptoms Of Kidney Stones
A kidney stone is a hard mass thats made up of minerals , certain salts and other byproducts. They can form when these substances accumulate in the area of your kidneys where urine is produced, explains Dr. Kannady.
Kidney stones can be as small as the point of a pen or as large as a ping pong ball.
Typically, a person doesnt start noticing the symptoms of a kidney stone until it moves from the kidney into the ureter, which is the tube that carries urine from your kidney to your bladder, Dr. Kannady adds.
Kidney stone symptoms include:
- Feeling queasy or nauseous due to the intensity of the pain
- Signs of infection, including fever, chills and vomiting
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What Is The Best Treatment For Kidney Pain Or Back Pain
When either your kidneys or your back hurt, you could either experience mild discomfort or a crippling pain. Since the actual problem might not be clear yet, consulting with a physician is imperative to determine the cause before they can administer treatment.
Issues with the kidney could either be a minor problem or a big one. If youre battling a kidney infection, your doctor would most likely prescribe antibiotics for you. A tiny kidney stone will require no treatment at all and pass naturally. In some cases, you many need a short hospital visit so they can get the stones out of your system smoothly. Drinking plenty of water can help with this problem. A larger kidney stone, on the other hand, would require surgery.
As for the back, various causes means many different cures are available. For non-serious back problems, you only need some rest, muscle relaxants, and a heating pad to relieve the pain. If the pain lasts for over two weeks, it may indicate a more severe problem that could require intensive care, physical rehabilitation, or minor surgery.
How Can Ureteropelvic Junction Obstruction Be Prevented
Researchers have not found any link between a pregnant person’s diet or nutrition and the formation of UPJ obstruction in a developing fetus There does not appear to be anything one can do to prevent UPJ obstruction when it’s a genetic condition.
In adults not born with UPJ obstruction, reducing the chances for later development would depend on avoiding kidney stones, urinary tract infections or trauma to the kidneys.
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What Is A Kidney Stone
A kidney stone is a hard object that is made from chemicals in the urine. There are four types of kidney stones: calcium oxalate, uric acid, struvite, and cystine. A kidney stone may be treated with shockwave lithotripsy, uteroscopy, percutaneous nephrolithomy or nephrolithotripsy. Common symptoms include severe pain in lower back, blood in your urine, nausea, vomiting, fever and chills, or urine that smells bad or looks cloudy.
Urine has various wastes dissolved in it. When there is too much waste in too little liquid, crystals begin to form. The crystals attract other elements and join together to form a solid that will get larger unless it is passed out of the body with the urine. Usually, these chemicals are eliminated in the urine by the bodys master chemist: the kidney. In most people, having enough liquid washes them out or other chemicals in urine stop a stone from forming. The stone-forming chemicals are calcium, oxalate, urate, cystine, xanthine, and phosphate.
After it is formed, the stone may stay in the kidney or travel down the urinary tract into the ureter. Sometimes, tiny stones move out of the body in the urine without causing too much pain. But stones that dont move may cause a back-up of urine in the kidney, ureter, the bladder, or the urethra. This is what causes the pain.
Types Of Back Pain And Kidney Pain
Back pain is classified into neck pain, upper back pain, lower back pain or tailbone pain anatomically. It can be acute if it lasts for less than 4 weeks, sub acute if lasting for 4 to 12 weeks and chronic if present for more than 12 weeks.
Kidney pain is usually very severe and if caused due to kidney stones are known as colic which indicates its wave like occurrence as opposed to steady pain. Pain due to kidney infection is indicated by pain in flank area. All types of kidney pain are usually accompanied with fever, nausea and vomiting.
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What Causes Back Pain Does Kidney Back Pain Hurt With Movement
Back pain causes are as diverse as they are common. The most common are muscular, skeletal, and disc problems. Despite their seemingly simple nature, these conditions can be very painful. Some of the most common cause of back pain is improper posture. You should always strive to sit with your shoulders over your hips. This helps to keep your spine in the proper alignment. When you deviate from this position, you put extra pressure on your back muscles, which may lead to muscle spasms and even a spinal stenosis.
Some of the most common back pain causes are as described above: a dull ache in the back that can radiate to the buttocks or legs. Although not all cases of back pain are as serious, there are a variety of symptoms that can be caused by back issues. A doctor can determine the exact cause of your back pain by asking about your symptoms and performing a physical exam. Sometimes an x-ray will be taken to check whether your bones are aligned properly and to rule out any broken bones. Unfortunately, x-rays cant detect if your disks and nerves have been damaged.
How Is Kidney Pain Treated
The treatment for kidney pain depends on what is causing it. Be sure to call your doctor if you have any kidney pain. Your doctor may do:
- A urine test to check for signs of infection
- Imaging tests, such as an ultrasound or CT scan, to see if your kidneys are injured
Once you know what is causing your pain, your doctor can work with you to find the right treatment.
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What Can Be Expected After Treatment For Ureteropelvic Junction Obstruction
Open pyeloplasty usually takes a few hours to complete and has about a 95% success rate. The patient may need to stay in the hospital for two or three days following surgery. A drainage tube may be inserted into the kidney or ureter to assist in urine flow while healing takes place.
The success rate of minimally invasive techniques is on par with open pyeloplasty, but is more technically demanding of the skills of the surgeon and is dependent on patient age and size.
Conditions That Improve Or Worsen Kidney Pain
Moving around will not affect the pain. It likely wont provide relief, but it will not worsen the symptoms either. In most cases, nothing you do will get rid of the pain until your doctor or specialist properly treats your kidneys.
Kidney pain is also accompanied by several other symptoms, including nausea, feverishness, vomiting, dark urine, frequent need to urinate, or pain while urinating.
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How Do You Know If You Have Kidney Pain
Kidney pain, or renal pain, is usually felt in your back . It can spread to other areas, like the sides, upper abdomen or groin. If you have a kidney stone, you usually feel the pain in your back, side, lower belly or groin.
Back pain due to muscle problems is usually in your lower back. Pain due to kidney problems is usually deeper and higher in your back, under your ribs.
Signs that it is a kidney problem can also include fever, vomiting, pain in your sides or painful urination.
Kidney Pain Definition And Facts
- The function and purpose of the kidneys are to remove excess fluid and waste products from the body.
- The kidneys are organs that are located in the upper abdominal area against the back muscles on both the left and right side of the body.
- Kidney pain and back pain can be difficult to distinguish, but kidney pain is usually deeper and higher in the and back located under the ribs while the muscle pain with common back injury tends to be lower in the back.
- Common causes of kidney pain are mainly urinary tract infections, kidney infections, and kidney stones. However, there are many other causes of kidney pain, including penetrating and blunt trauma that can result in a lacerated kidney.
- If a woman is pregnant and has kidney pain, she should contact her doctor.
- Symptoms of kidney pain may include
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What Are Common Kidney Pain Symptoms
People with kidney pain may experience different symptoms. Some of the most common kidney pain symptoms include:
- A constant, dull ache in your back.
- Pain in your sides, under your rib cage or in your abdomen.
- Severe or sharp pain that comes in waves.
- Pain that spreads to your groin area.
- Kidney pain is often accompanied by nausea or vomiting, especially if the pain is due to kidney stones.
What Is The Outlook For Kidney Infections
With treatment, the outlook for kidney infections is very positive. It is vital that you take all of any prescribed medications for the infection. You may begin feeling better shortly after beginning a treatment, but still need to take the entire prescribed treatment.
Last reviewed by a Cleveland Clinic medical professional on 05/22/2019.
References
- National Kidney Foundation. Urinary Tract Infections Accessed 5/23/19.
- National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases . Pyelonephritis: Kidney Infection Accessed 5/23/19.
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When It Could Be Kidney Pain And What To Do
Kidney pain can be caused by an underlying issue such as a urinary tract infection or UTI. If you feel a sting when urinating, need to urinate more often, have cloudy urine or if you have pain in the groin area, these should be treated promptly. A quick urinalysis can tell us if you have a UTI and it can be treated easily with antibiotics. An untreated UTI can spread to the kidneys and cause more serious complications. You may develop a fever, tiredness and more significant pain which may signal a kidney infection as well.
If you see blood in your urine and there is no reason to suspect this to be normal such as after a prostate procedure you should visit your urologist as soon as possible to learn more about what the potential issue could be. While most cases of urine in the blood are easily treatable, we do have to rule out more nefarious causes. Remember, blood in the urine is not always visible, so be sure to have your annual physical/checkup, which should include a urinalysis.
What Tests Can Help Determine The Cause Of Kidney Pain
In order to pinpoint a cause, a number of tools are available to help your healthcare provider make a diagnosis:
- Urinalysis: This test checks for the presence of blood, white blood cells , proteins and certain molecules that are linked to various kidney disorders.
- Imaging tests:Ultrasound or a CT scan can provide images of the physical structure of the kidneys and urinary tract. It can also tell your healthcare provider if stones are present and determine if urine flow is adequate.
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What Is The Difference Between Back Pain & Kidney Pain
Because your kidneys are located below your ribcage and towards your back, it can be difficult to tell whether the pain youre experiencing is back pain or kidney pain.
Since back pain is so common, its easy for people who are actually experiencing kidney issues to brush the pain off as normal back pain.
This can be dangerous, especially if the underlying cause of kidney pain is a condition that requires immediate medical treatment.
Your symptoms can help you determine whether youre experiencing back or kidney pain.
The type of pain and its severity can also help you understand the source of your pain.
In this guide, Ill break down the causes of back and kidney pain, and provide you with tips for identifying the source of your pain. Ill also tell you when its best to talk to your doctor.