Kidney Stones
Symptoms
Source: NHS
In this topic (10)
Very small kidney stones are unlikely to cause many symptoms. It may even go undetected and pass out painlessly when you urinate.
Symptoms usually occur if the kidney stone:
- gets stuck in your kidney
- starts to travel down the ureter (the tube that attaches each kidney to the bladder) the ureter is narrow and kidney stones cancause pain as they try to pass through
- causes an infection
In these cases, the symptoms of kidney stones can include:
- a persistent ache in the lower back,which is sometimes also felt in the groin men may have pain in theirtesticles and scrotum
- periods of intense pain in the back or side of your abdomen, or occasionally in your groin, whichmay last for minutes or hours
- feeling restless and unable to lie still
- nausea (feeling sick)
- needing to urinate more often than normal
- pain when you urinate (dysuria)
- blood in your urine (haematuria) thismay be caused by the stone scratching the kidney or ureter
Blocked ureter and kidney infection
A kidney stone that blocks the ureter can lead to a kidney infection. This is because waste products are unable to pass the blockage, which may cause a build-up of bacteria.
The symptoms of a kidney infection are similar to symptoms ofkidney stones, but may also include:
- a high temperature (fever) of 38C (100.4F) or over
- chills and shivering
- feeling very weak or tired
- diarrhoea
- cloudy and bad-smelling urine
Articles for Kidney Stones
Causes
Find out what causes kidney stones. They're usually the result of a build-up of a substance such as calcium, ammonia or uric acid in the body.
Diagnosis
Find out how kidney stones are diagnosed. Imaging tests, such as a computerised tomography (CT) scan, can be used to help confirm the diagnosis or locate a kidney stone.
Do herbal teas and green/white teas have an effect on kidney stone formation?
Herbal and green teas generally have lower amounts of oxalate than black tea. High amounts of oxalate can cause kidney stones, and the dietary recommendations for you would depend on the type of kidney stone that you have.
How are kidney stones diagnosed?
Methods to diagnose kidney stones are: abdominal ultra sound, blood tests to check for excess uric acid or calcium, CT-scan or X-ray, pyelography.
How are kidney stones treated?
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are usually used to treat and alleviate the pain, and in cases of severe pain, tramadol may be used. In the case of infection, antibiotics may be used.
Introduction
Kidney stones can develop in one or both kidneys and most often affect people aged 30 to 60. They're quite common, with around three in 20 men and up to two in 20 women developing them at some stage of their lives.
Prevention
The best way of preventing kidney stones is to make sure you drink plenty of water each day to avoid becoming dehydrated.
Symptoms
Read about the symptoms of kidney stones, which usually only occur if a stone gets stuck in your kidney, if it starts to travel down the ureter, or if it causes an infection.
Treatment
Find out how kidney stones are treated. The treatment you'll need will depend on the size and type of kidney stone you have.
What are the symptoms of kidney stones?
Symptoms of kidney stones include localized pain depending on the positioning of the stone, pain during urination, cloudy urine, odd-smelling urine, etc.
