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Renal stones or kidney stones are small, solid crystals that form in your kidney. If you have ever had a renal stone, you are always going to remember it. The pain due to renal stones is unbearable and keeps coming in waves. This pain persists till the stone passes through your urinary tract.
Symptoms of Renal Stones
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Pain in your lower back or the sides of your body. The pain starts as a dull ache but can become severe suddenly. The severity can make you end up in an emergency room.
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Nausea
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Vomiting
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Blood in the urine
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Pain while passing urine
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Inability to urinate
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Frequent urge to urinate again and again
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Fever with shivering
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Urine that smells bad
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Cloudy urine
You can receive Renal Stone Treatment in Salem at Manipal Hospital equipped with top-class technologies and equipment and have one of the best nephrologists in Salem who has extensive experience in diagnosing & treating kidney stones.
Risk Factors of Renal Stones
You are most likely to get renal stones due to the following risk factors:
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Not drinking enough water or liquids
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Eating a diet that includes stone-forming substances like phosphate, and calcium.
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Family history of renal stones
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A blockage in your urinary tract
Other medical conditions that increase your risk of developing renal stones are:
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High calcium levels in your urine
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High blood pressure
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Obesity
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Gout
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Osteoporosis
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Cystic fibrosis
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Kidney cysts
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Inflammatory bowel disease
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Chronic diarrhoea
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Parathyroid disorders
You may also get renal stones if you are on the following medicines:
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Diuretics
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Calcium-based antacids
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Antibiotics like ciprofloxacin, ceftriaxone
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Medicines used to treat HIV infections
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Medicines used to treat seizures
Diagnosis of Renal Stones
Your doctor will take your medical history and ask you about all your symptoms. You may need some more tests to confirm the diagnosis of renal stones. These include:
1. Imaging studies
An X-ray, a CT scan, and ultrasonography will enable your doctor to identify the stone and detect its size, shape, location, and number. Based on these details, your doctor will decide the treatment that you need.
2. Blood tests
You may need certain blood tests to check the functioning of your kidneys. These blood tests will also help check for infections and other biochemical issues that cause the formation of renal stones.
3. Urine tests
Urine tests help diagnose the signs of infection and check for the levels of the substances that cause renal stone formation.
Here are 5 Ways to Prevent Renal Stones.
1. Hydrate
Drink plenty of water to dilute your urine. A lot of extra water helps dilute the substances in your urine and avoid the formation of stones. Drink a minimum of 2 litres of water daily to flush your urine. You could also drink citrus drinks like lemonade and orange juice. The citrate content of these drinks helps reduce the stone formation in your kidneys.
2. Sodium
A high-sodium diet can cause kidney stones to form because of the increased amount of calcium in your urine. A low-sodium diet helps reduce the proneness of stone formation.
3. Calcium
Calcium in your diet binds to the oxalate in your intestines. This decreases the amount of oxalate that is being absorbed into your bloodstream and that is to be excreted by the kidney. This causes a decrease in the concentration of oxalate in your urine. This means the chances of the oxalate crystals binding to urinary calcium is less. Hence, eating calcium-rich foods helps decrease the risk of renal stones.
4. Animal protein
Eating animal proteins like red meat, eggs, poultry, and seafood, boosts the level of uric acid in your body. This can lead to the formation of renal stones. The high-protein diet also decreases the levels of urinary citrate in your urine. This chemical is required to prevent the formation of renal stones. If you are prone to stone formation, reduce your intake of animal proteins.
5. Stone-forming foods
There are foods that increase your chances of formation of renal stones. Foods like beets, chocolate, tea, spinach, rhubarb, and most nuts are rich in their oxalate content. This contributes to the formation of kidney stones. To prevent the formation of renal stones, try reducing these foods in your diet.
The formation of renal stones can be triggered by different foods for different people. Find your trigger and try to avoid it to prevent renal stones from forming.
Don’t delay, visit the kidney specialist hospital in Salem and get treatment for kidney stones as soon as possible.
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