Kidney Stones
The formation
of
stones in the kidneys or urinary tract is a fairly
common disorder. The
stones are formed from the chemicals usually found in
the urine such as
uric acid, phosphorous, calcium and oxalic acid. They
may vary in
consistency from grit, sand and gravel-like
obstructions to the size of
the birds eggs.
Stones may
form
and grow because the concentration of a particular
substance in urine
exceeds its solubility. This disorder occurs more
frequently in middle
age, with men being afflicted more often than women.
The
kidneys are
two bean-shaped organs, lying below the waist on
either side of the
spinal column on the back wall of the abdomen. They
are soft, reddish
brown in color and measure about 10 cm. in length, 6
cm. in width and
are 2.5 cm. thick at its center. They are filtering
plants for
purifying the blood, removing water and salts from
it which are passed
into the bladder as urine.
Symptoms
Kidney
stones
usually cause severe pain in their attempt to pass
down the urethra on
their way to the bladder. The pain is first felt in
the side and
thereafter in the groin and thighs. Other symptoms
of kidney stones are
a desire to urinate frequently, painful urination,
scanty urination,
nausea, vomiting, sweating, chills and shocks. The
patient may also
pass blood with the urine. Sometimes, large stones
may remain in the
kidneys without causing any trouble and these are
known as silent
stones.
Causes
The
formation of
stones in the kidneys is the result of defects in
the general
metabolism. They usually occur when the urine
becomes highly
concentrated due to heavy perspiration or
insufficient intake of
fluids. They are aggravated by a sedentary
lifestyle. The other causes
are wrong diet, excess intake of acid forming foods,
white flour, and
sugar products, meat, tea, coffee, condiments and
spices, rich foods
and overeating. Lack of vitamin A and an excessive
intake of vitamin B
may also lead to the formation of stones.
Types
of
Stones
Chemically,
urinary
stones are of two categories primary stones and
secondary stones.
Primary stones are ordinarily not due to infection
and are formed in
acidic urine. They usually result from alcoholism,
sedentary life,
constipation and excessive intake of nitrogenous or
purine-rich foods.
Secondary stones are due to local infection and are
formed in alkaline
urine.
Most
kidney
stones are composed either of calcium oxalate or
phosphate, the latter
being most common in the presence of infection.
About 90% off all stones
contain calcium as the chief constituent. More than
half of these are
mixtures of calcium, ammonia, and magnesium,
phosphates and carbonates
while the remainder contains oxalate. Uric acid and
cystine stones
represent about four percent and one percent
respectively of the total
incidence of stones.
Treatment
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