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What it is?
Popularly known as a stone in the urinary tract, the urinary stone affects mainly adults aged 30 to 40 years.
About 12% of the population will receive this diagnosis, with a higher incidence in males, with 2 men for each affected woman.
The stones are formed by crystals – minerals and solidified acid salts – that come together and form the stones. Almost 80% of these pieces contain calcium, but there are also those composed of uric acid, says the best urologist in Noida.
Diagnosis
The confirmation of the disease is made through the evaluation of clinical history and imaging exams that detect the presence of stones in the urinary tract. Among these exams, the most suggested is the computed tomography of the abdomen, which is able to find most stones in this region, says the urologist in Noida.
Other procedures that are also effective are ultrasound and X-ray.
Risk factors
The formation of stones can be related to:
Genetic predisposition
Environmental factors, such as the hot climate that causes greater dehydration
Obesity
Protein-rich diet, including red meat, fish, egg, milk and dairy products
Diet rich in sodium. The indication of salt consumption is 1 teaspoon per day
Low fluid intake
Diseases such as Hyperparathyroidism, responsible for regulating calcium metabolism, and inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn’s disease, which affects the lining of the digestive tract.
Symptoms
The most common sign of urinary stones is severe pain on one side of the lower back. Similar to colic, the pain usually starts suddenly and spreads to the anterior abdomen.
Excessive pain causes great discomfort, nausea and vomiting. If they are still in the kidneys, that is, they did not descend into the bladder, the pain is less, but requires treatment.
Other symptoms such as a full bladder and bleeding in the urine may be related to this diagnosis, explains the urologist in Greater Noida.
Initially, pain control is performed, since many patients receive the diagnosis after presenting symptoms of severe pain in the lower back.
Managements that encourage spontaneous elimination of calculus are also adopted. In some cases, it may be necessary to perform a surgical procedure, chosen according to the position and size of the stone to be removed. Among them are:
Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy, considered a non-invasive method. The patient receives shock waves under the skin that dissolve the stones and facilitate the expulsion of the crystals.
Percutaneous surgery, with small perforations in the lumbar region that break and remove the fragments.
Endoscopic ureterolithotripsy, without surgical intervention, this procedure is done through the urine channel with the insertion of an endoscopic device that internally visualizes the location of the stones and performs the removal.
Conventional surgery, with the removal of the stones through an incision in the abdominal wall, states the urologist in Greater Noida.
Prevention
The first step is the inclusion of healthy habits with control of food and exercise. Decrease the intake of salt and foods rich in animal protein, such as red meat, increase and maintain the frequency of physical activities and, especially, the intake of water and natural juices, more specifically citrus fruits.
Some patients cannot control just by changing their lifestyle and need medication to change the composition of their urine, says the urologist in Ghaziabad.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Does drinking more water decrease the formation of stones?
Yes. Adequate water intake can reduce stone production by up to 60%.
What is the ideal amount of water per day?
The recommendation for patients suffering from kidney or urinary tract stones is to consume 2 to 3 liters of water per day.
Is there any relationship between kidney stones and the prostate?
One of the reasons associated with the appearance of these stones is the enlarged prostate. Its growth can partially obstruct the outflow of urine, which leads to an accumulation of crystals and residues, promoting the formation of stones, says the urologist in Vaishali.
If someone in my family has kidney stones, will I have them too?
Several factors contribute to the appearance of urinary stones, but the genetic predisposition can facilitate the formation of crystals and the appearance of stones.
Is there a difference between kidney stones and urinary stones?
No. The formation of stones occurs in the urinary tract that involves the kidneys, ureter – the channel that takes urine from the kidneys to the bladder – and bladder. The stone is when this formation still occurs in the kidneys, with less severe pain and need for treatment. When “walking” through the urinary tract, these stones can obstruct the ureter, causing severe pain, or go to the bladder, making it difficult to exit and even causing a small bleeding in the urine, explains the urologist in Delhi.
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