KIDNEY STONES
In the developed world, kidney stones and other
urological problems can also cause kidney failure.
However, in developing countries, where urological
treatment for stone episodes is often poor or
unavailable, stone disease is a more prevalent cause
of kidney failure, being responsible for up to 10%
of patients with kidney failure.
What Are Kidney Stones ?
Kidney stones
are small, solid masses that form when salts or
minerals normally found in urine become solid
crystals (crystallise) inside the kidney. Kidney
stones vary in size depending on the amount of
chemical compounds deposited. Size of a kidney stone
can range anywhere from less than a millimeter to
about an inch or more.
In most cases, the crystals
are too tiny to be noticed, and pass harmlessly out
of human body (kidney stones about the size of 4-5
millimeter can pass through urine spontaneously).
But, they can build up inside the kidney and form
much larger stones. If stones become large enough,
it may begin to move out of human kidney and
progress through the ureters ( the tubes that carry
urine from the kidney to your bladder ( an
expandable, muscular sac where urine accumulates).
Small stones
can be passed easily by drinking lots of water and
by making a few changes in your diet. Some large
stones can be broken into smaller pieces by non
surgical methods and then passed through urine. But
if it gets stuck in ureter, stones the size of 6 mm
and more cause severe pain and cannot pass through
urine this can cause an infection which can lead to
permanent kidney damage. Kidney stones disease is
one of the most painful disease ever exist once the
stones obstruct the ureter. People who ever had a
kidney stones will never forget how it felt.
Kidney stones
are usually discovered after undergoing X-rays and
other laboratory examinations for seemingly
unrelated conditions. Stones may form when urine
becomes too saturated with salt or when urine lacks
the normal inhibitors of stone formation.
Stone in the Kidney
Doctors usually diagnose
kidney stones by asking about your symptoms and
examining you. Further tests that needed to confirm
the diagnosis and to reveal size, location and type
of stones. The test include:
-
Blood tests > to identify excess amounts of
certain chemicals related to the formation of
stones
-
Urine analysis > to look for signs of infection
and analysing the crystal type that come out with
the urine.
-
X-ray image > stones that contain calcium usually
show up white on X-ray images.
-
An
intravenous urogram (IVU) > aninjection of a
special dye that shows up the whole urinary system
on X-ray images,revealing stones that can’t
usually be seen.
-
Ultrasound scan > this uses high frequency sound
waves to produce an image of the internal organs.
-
Non-contrast helical computerised tomography >
this produces pictures from series of X-rayimages
taken at different angles, it is used to diagnose
kidney stones, and is thought to be the most
accurate diagnostic test.
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