Amanda Hollingsworth - Kidney Stones: Kidney Stones Guide To Treatment Of Kidney Stones And Cure Of Kidney Stones With Diet Strategies For Prevention Of Kidney Stones Including ... (Gastrointestinal Health And Kidney

Kidney Stones

Kidney Stones Guide To Treating Kidney Stones And Curing Kidney Stones With Strategies For Preventing Kidney Stones Including Advice On Post Kidney Stone Health

Table Of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1 - What are Kidney Stones?

Chapter 2 - Diagnosis and Treatment of Kidney Stones

Chapter 3 - Post-Surgery Care

Chapter 4 - Practical Home Remedies

Chapter 5 - How to Prevent Kidney Stones

Chapter 6 - Diet and Kidney Stones

Chapter 7 - Kidney Stone-Friendly Meals

Conclusion

Introduction

Thank you for downloading mybook , Kidney Stones: Kidney Stones Guide To Treating Kidney Stones And Curing Kidney Stones With Strategies For Preventing Kidney Stones Including Advice on Post Kidney Stone Health .

This book contains proven steps and strategies on how to heal kidney stones and prevent them from recurring.

Kidney stones are a common affliction among adults. They can be asymptomatic to some and stay unnoticed. To others, they can present several symptoms and cause pain. Aside from being common, kidney stones have a high rate of recurrence.

Within this book you will discover how kidney stones are formed, what actions need to be taken to eliminate them and how to prevent future kidney stones from developing.

Thanks again for downloading my book, I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 1

What Are Kidney Stones?

Renal lithiasis or nephrolithiasis, also known as kidney stones, are hard, crystalline mineral deposits that form inside the kidney or urinary tract. They are made of mineral and acid salts. There are many reasons why kidney stones develop. The most often cause is when the urine becomes concentrated thereby allowing the minerals to crystallize and stick together. Kidney stones can affect any part of the urinary tract, from the kidneys up to the bladder. Passing them can be painful but the stones usually cause no permanent damage. There are cases when kidney stones can be resolved by just taking pain medication and drinking lots of water to help them pass. In some cases though, surgery may be needed especially if the stones become lodged in the urinary tract or cause complications.

The condition of having kidney stones is called nephrolithiasis. Having stones at any location in the urinary tract is referred to as urolithiasis and having stones in the ureter is ureterolithiasis.

How Do They Form?

The kidneys main function is to filter the blood and take away excess water and waste chemicals in order to produce urine. Urine then travels from each kidney, down the ureter, into the bladder. Then, it goes out of the body via the urethra whenever the bladder is full. Waste chemicals are dissolved in the urine. Sometimes though, these chemicals form tiny crystals which clump together to form stones.

Symptoms

Stones that stay in the kidney often do not cause any symptoms. They can even go undiagnosed. Once a kidney stone starts moving around within the kidney or passes into the ureter, it can get lodged there. When that happens, the stone will block the flow of urine and cause the kidney to swell. This can cause a lot of pain.

The common symptoms of kidney stones are:

• Sharp, cramping pain in the back and side. The pain often moves to the lower abdomen or groin. Some say the pain is worse than childbirth labor pains.
• The pain starts suddenly and comes in waves. It comes and goes as the body tries to get rid of the stone.
• Intense need to urinate.
• Frequent urination and a burning sensation while urinating.
• Dark or red urine due to blood. Sometimes the blood in the urine is in small amounts that cant be seen with the naked eye.
• Nausea and vomiting.
• Pain at the tip of the penis.
• Foul-smelling urine.
• Fever and chills if there is an infection.

The pain may change as the stone moves through the urinary tract. It may shift to different locations or increase in intensity.

When to See a Doctor

If some of the symptoms youre experiencing give you anxiety, you may consider going to a doctor. On the other hand, if you experience any of the following, you must seek immediate medical attention:

• Severe pain that disallows you from sitting still. The pain may be felt on your side, abdomen, groin and genitals
• Pain accompanied by nausea and vomiting
• Fever and chills while in pain
• Bloody urine
• Pain and burning when urinating

To prepare for your appointment, you may do the following preparation:

• Jot down your symptoms including those that seems to be unrelated to kidney stones.
• Note how much you drink and urinate during a 24-hour period.
• Jot down all the medications you take, including vitamins and supplements.
• Bring a companion with you so someone else can help you remember your discussion with the doctor.
• Jot down the question you may want to ask the doctor, such as:
• • Do I have a kidney stone?
  • What is the size and where is it located?
  • What type of kidney stone do I have?
  • Can medication treat my condition?
  • Will I need surgery?
  • Whats the chance it will recur?
  • How can I prevent kidney stones in the future?
  • Do I need to follow any restrictions?
  • How will it affect my other medical conditions, if any?
• The doctor will also be asking you questions. Some of them are:
• • When did you start noticing symptoms?
  • Are your symptoms continuous or occasional?
  • How bad are your symptoms? What improves/worsens them?
  • Is there anybody in your family who had/has kidney stones?

Causes of Kidney Stone

There is no single cause for kidney stones but there are several factors that put one at risk for developing them. These are:

• Low urine volume Constant low urine volume is a major risk factor for developing kidney stones. Urine volume may be low due to dehydration. Dehydration happens when water loss in perspiration does not get replenished enough to produce urine. You will know that you have low urine volume when your urine is concentrated and dark in color. Concentrated urine means the fluid is not enough to keep salts dissolved. Increase fluid intake to dilute the salts in the urine. Doing this will bring down the risk of developing stones. Adults should produce at least 2.5 liters of urine per day. On the average, this will require about 3 liters of fluid per day.
• Diet Diet can affect the chance of developing kidney stones. The common cause of calcium stones is the high levels of calcium in the urine. How much calcium you eat does not affect the calcium levels; it is how your body handles the calcium that does it. Therefore, restricting calcium consumption will not stop stones from forming. What you should do is to reduce your sodium (salt) intake. Too much salt in the diet is a risk factor in developing calcium stones. Salt passes into the urine. When it is excessive, it keeps calcium from being reabsorbed from the urine into the blood. By reducing salt in the diet, calcium level in the urine goes down making it less likely to form calcium stones.

A diet that is high in animal protein raises the acid levels in the body and urine. High acid level is conducive to the formation of calcium oxalate and uric acid stones. When meat breaks down into uric acid, the chances that both calcium and uric acid stones will form goes up.

• Bowel conditions Chronic diarrhea and surgeries like gastric bypass surgery can raise the risk of developing calcium oxalate kidney stones. Diarrhea results to loss of large amounts of fluid thus lowering urine volume. The body will also absorb excess oxalate from the intestine. The oxalate in the urine will then go up. Together, low urine volume and high urine oxalate in the urine can be conducive to the formation of calcium oxalate stones.