Whos Most Likely To Get Kidney Stones What Are The Risk Factors
White men in their 30s and 40s are most likely to get kidney stones. However, anyone can develop kidney stones.
There are several risk factors for developing kidney stones. These include:
- Not drinking enough liquids.
- Having a diet that includes the substances that form the stones .
- Having a family history of kidney stones.
- Having a blockage in your urinary tract.
Certain medical conditions can also increase your risk of developing stones. This is because they may increase or decrease levels of the substances that make up a kidney stone. These conditions can include:
- Hypercalciuria .
Certain foods can also place you at risk of a kidney stone. These foods include:
- Meats and poultry .
- Sodium .
- Sugars .
Risk Factors You Can Control
Things you can control include:
- How much fluid you drink. The most common cause of kidney stones is not drinking enough water. Try to drink enough water to keep your urine light yellow or clear like water .
- Your diet. Diets high in protein, sodium, and oxalate-rich foods, such as dark green vegetables, increase your risk for kidney stones. If you think that your diet may be a problem, schedule an appointment with a dietitian and review your food choices.
Who Gets Kidney Stones What Are The Risk Factors
Kidney stones are common. According to the most recent data from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, about 11 percent of men and 6 percent of women in the United States have kidney stones at least once during their lifetime. Men are affected more often than women, and overweight and obese people are more likely to get a kidney stone than people of normal weight.
Risk factors include:
- Gender men are more likely than women to develop a kidney stone
- Age older people are more affected
- Race Caucasians are at higher risk
- Family History
- Certain medications including, indinavir , acyclovir , diuretics , sulfadiazine
- Associated conditions including, obesity, inflammatory bowel disease, gout, hyperparathyroidism
- Anatomic conditions urinary obstruction, UPJ obstruction, urinary stasis
Once you have a kidney stone, you are also more likely to develop a future kidney stones.
The UCLA study Prevalence of kidney stones in the United States published in European Urology reported on the risk factors that make a person especially likely to develop a kidney stone.
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Pain In Your Back Belly Or Side
This kidney stone symptom happens because your ureter, the small tube that passes urine from your kidney to your bladder, is blocked with stonesand it doesnt feel good, Clayman says. This can cause severe pain around your kidneys , but that pain can radiate to your lower abdomen or thighs. If the pain becomes so intense that you can’t sit still or find a comfortable position, have someone take you to the doc.
Signs And Symptoms Of Kidney Stones You Need To Know
If youve heard one thing about kidney stone symptoms, its probably the excruciating pain part. The rumors are, unfortunately, true: Of all the signs of kidney stones, the particular kind of agony they can cause is typically the clearest one. So its a good idea to familiarize yourself with how exactly that exquisite pain presents, as well as the handful of other kidney stone symptoms you can experience. Heres hoping you find the following information about signs of kidney stones interesting but that it never personally comes in handy for you.
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Reducing Kidney Stone Risk
Drinking enough fluid will help keep your urine less concentrated with waste products. Darker urine is more concentrated, so your urine should appear very light yellow to clear if you are well hydrated. Most of the fluid you drink should be water. Most people should drink more than 12 glasses of water a day. Speak with a healthcare professional about the right amount of water that’s best for you. Water is better than soda, sports drinks or coffee/tea. lf you exercise or if it is hot outside, you should drink more. Sugar and high-fructose corn syrup should be limited to small quantities.
Eat more fruits and vegetables, which make the urine less acid. When the urine is less acid, then stones may be less able to form. Animal protein produces urine that has more acid, which can then increase your risk for kidney stones.
You can reduce excess salt in your diet. What foods are high in salt? Everyone thinks of salty potato chips and French fries. Those should be rarely eaten. There are other products that are salty: sandwich meats, canned soups, packaged meals, and even sports drinks.
Some herbal substances are promoted as helping prevent stones. You should know that there is insufficient published medical evidence to support the use of any herb or supplement in preventing stones.
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How Are Kidney Stones Diagnosed
Your healthcare provider will discuss your medical history and possibly order some tests. These tests include:
- Imaging tests: An X-ray, CT scan and ultrasound will help your healthcare provider see the size, shape, location and number of your kidney stones. These tests help your provider decide what treatment you need.
- Blood test: A blood test will reveal how well your kidneys are functioning, check for infection and look for biochemical problems that may lead to kidney stones.
- Urine test: This test also looks for signs of infection and examines the levels of the substances that form kidney stones.
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Factors That Increase Your Risk Of Kidney Stones
Kidney stones often have no single cause, and several factors may increase your risk for getting them. Some of these factors are listed below. They include:
Lack of water
You need to make enough pee to dilute the things that can turn into stones. If you donât drink enough or sweat too much, your pee may look dark. It should be pale yellow or clear.
If youâve had a stone before, you should make about 8 cups of urine a day. So aim to down about 10 cups of water daily, since you lose some fluids through sweat and breathing. Swap a glass of water for a citrus drink. The citrate in lemonade or orange juice can block stones from forming.
Treatment And Medication Options For Kidney Stones
You may not always need treatment for a kidney stone. A small stone can pass through the urinary tract without intervention. But larger stones can block the ureter and cause pain and other symptoms.
Kidney stone pain can be severe at first and may require carefully administered narcotics for relief, says Ralph V. Clayman, MD, a professor in the department of urology at the University of California in Irvine. Subsequent pain can often be managed using nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medication, he says.
Drinking a lot of water can help to pass the stone. In addition, doctors may prescribe tamsulosin, which is a medication that relaxes the muscles of the ureter, helping the stone pass, says Dr. Lesser.
If a stone is too big to pass or a patient has an intolerable amount of pain, doctors may intervene with procedures that either break up or remove the stones, says Lesser.
These procedures include:
Kidney stones call for conventional medical care, so dont try to treat kidney stones with alternative therapies.
Antibiotics continue to be the number one go-to treatment for urinary tract infections.
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All About Kidney Stones
Its the kidneys job to filter blood and remove extra waste and water, which gets passed as urine. Urine contains many waste chemicals, which can sometimes form crystals that clump together and these clumps are kidney stones. The stones are hard, rock-like crystals of varying sizes and shapes anywhere from as small as a grain of sand to a golf ball.
There are four main types of kidney stones:
Dehydration is a common cause of kidney stones. Drinking inadequate amounts of water for prolonged periods of time greatly increases your risk. If you live in hot and dry climates, or sweat a lot, you are also at increased risk.
Another common cause of kidney stones is an imbalance of substances in your urine, i.e. high levels of calcium, oxalate, cystine acid or uric acid. This can happen if you:
- have an underlying medical condition
- use certain medications to treat conditions such as kidney disease, cancer or HIV
- eat foods high in salt .
While its not common, kidney stones can potentially lead to acute kidney injury or chronic kidney disease. This can happen two ways:
Some other symptoms of kidney stones include:
- blood in your urine
- nausea and vomiting
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.
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Treatment For Kidney Stones
Most kidney stones can be treated without surgery. Ninety per cent of stones pass by themselves within three to six weeks. In this situation, the only treatment required is pain relief. However, pain can be so severe that hospital admission and very strong pain-relieving medication may be needed. Always seek immediate medical attention if you are suffering strong pain.
Small stones in the kidney do not usually cause problems, so there is often no need to remove them. A doctor specialising in the treatment of kidney stones is the best person to advise you on treatment.
If a stone doesnt pass and blocks urine flow or causes bleeding or an infection, then it may need to be removed. New surgical techniques have reduced hospital stay time to as little as 48 hours. Treatments include:
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- fever and chills
- urine that smells bad or looks cloudy
The kidney stone starts to hurt when it causes irritation or blockage. This builds rapidly to extreme pain. In most cases, kidney stones pass without causing damage-but usually not without causing a lot of pain. Pain relievers may be the only treatment needed for small stones. Other treatment may be needed, especially for those stones that cause lasting symptoms or other complications. In severe cases, however, surgery may be required.
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Kidney Stone Undescended No Symptoms
A kidney stone starts as tiny crystals that form inside the kidney where urine is made. Most kidney stones enlarge to about 1/8 to 1/4 inch in size before leaving the kidney and moving toward the bladder. There are 4 types of kidney stones. Eighty percent are calcium stonesmostly calcium oxalate but also some with calcium phosphate. The other 3 types include uric acid stones, struvite stones , and rarely, cystine stones.
When the stone breaks free and starts to move down the ureter it often causes sharp, severe back and side pain, often with nausea and vomiting. When the stone reaches the bladder, the pain stops. Once in your bladder, the kidney stone may pass through the urethra while you are urinating . Or, it may break into such small fragments that you dont notice it passing.
Your kidney stone is still inside the kidney. There is no way to predict how long it will be before it breaks free and causes any symptoms. Most stones will pass on their own within a few hours to a few days . You may notice a red, pink, or brown color to your urine. This is normal while passing a kidney stone. A large stone may not pass on its own and may require special procedures to remove it. These procedures include:
-
Lithotripsy. This uses ultrasound waves to break up the stone.
-
Ureteroscopy. A thin, basket-like instrument is pushed through the urethra and bladder to pull out the stone.
-
Direct surgery through the skin
When Life Hands You Kidney Stones
And as the saying goes, “make lemonade.” It’s important to consider dietary remedies alongside prescription medications.
Next time you drive past a lemonade stand, consider your kidneys. Chronic kidney stones are often treated with an alkali citrate, such as potassium citrate to help prevent certain stones, if urine citrate is low and urine pH levels are too low . Citrus juices do contain citrate , but large amounts might be needed. Also, be careful of sugar. Lemon juice concentrate mixed with water can be considered. Alkali citrate can be prescribed and is available over-the-counter. Alkali citrate can be given with a mineral, such as sodium, potassium or magnesium to help prevent stone formation. The aim is to increase urine citrate and increase urine pH . The goal is to keep pH in balance. Speak with a doctor or other healthcare professional about which treatment options are right for you, including over-the-counter products and home remedies. People with kidney disease may need to watch their intake of sodium, potassium or other minerals, depending on the stage of kidney disease or other factors.
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Things That Can Help You Take A Pass On Kidney Stones
- By Matthew Solan, Executive Editor, Harvard Men’s 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. “Kidney 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,” says Dr. Brian Eisner, co-director of the Kidney Stone Program at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital.
How Should My Kidney Stone Be Treated
Historically, the treatment of kidney stones required major surgery and was associated with long hospitalization and recovery periods. However, in recent years an improved understanding of kidney stone disease, along with advances in surgical technology, has led to the development of minimally invasive and even noninvasive treatments for people with kidney stones.
At Johns Hopkins, we believe that the treatment of a patients stones requires an approach that is unique to that individual. We offer a complete range of state-of-the-art treatment options, including ESWL , ureteroscopy and PERC, and we will discuss with you the advantages and disadvantages of each therapy as they apply to your situation. Our goal is to provide each patient with a clear understanding of the nature of their stone burden as well as the most appropriate course of treatment.
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Signs And Symptoms Of Kidney Stones
Pain is a classic symptom of kidney stones, says Prakash N. Maniam, MD, a urologist at Oviedo Medical Center in Oviedo, Florida. The pain is usually sharp and felt along the sides of the torso. It may radiate around to the abdomen and into the groin area as the stone moves through the urinary tract system, he says.
As the stone moves along the tract, it can block the natural flow of urine, which causes the kidney to swell, Dr. Maniam explains. The swelling activates nerves, which sends signals that are interpreted by the brain as an intense visceral pain, he says.
More than half a million people go to the emergency room because of kidney stones every year.
In addition to pain, blood in the urine and a burning sensation during urination are other common symptoms of kidney stones, says Maalouf. Sometimes with severe pain, patients develop nausea and vomiting, he adds.
If stone pain and fever develop, go directly to the ER, advises Timothy F. Lesser, MD, a urologist at Torrance Memorial Medical Center in Torrance, California. Fever is a sign of infection. Notably, a kidney stone with a urinary tract infection may cause and must be treated immediately.
Other symptoms of a kidney stone can include frequent urination, a strong need to urinate, what looks like gravel in the urine, urine that smells bad, and cloudy urine.
Don’t Underestimate Your Sweat
Saunas, hot yoga and heavy exercise may be good for your health, but they also may lead to kidney stones. Why? Loss of water through sweating – whether due to these activities or just the heat of summerleads to less urine production. The more you sweat, the less you urinate, which allows for stone-causing minerals to settle and bond in the kidneys and urinary tract.
One of the best measures you can take to avoid kidney stones is to drink plenty of water, leading you to urinate a lot. So, be sure to keep well hydrated, especially when engaging in exercise or activities that cause a lot of sweating.
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