KIDNEY STONE

 Kidney Stone also referred as Renal Calculi is named as Nephrolithiasis or Urolithiasis as per the medical terminology.

Urination helps to remove the toxins along with the liquid waste from the body. During this process, there are chances of formation of solid mass which happens due to the clumping of tiny crystals. These tiny crystals can be referred as Renal Calculus. It may be variable in size and shape. Many factors contribute to the formation of urinary stones. The chemical composition of kidney stone vary from individual to individual depending upon the abnormality. Depending upon the variations in their compositions they are mainly categorized into –

• Calcium stones – Calcium oxalate or Calcium phosphate
• Magnesium Ammonium phosphate stones
• Uric Acid stones
• Cystine stones
• Drug Induced stones.

Person suffering with kidney stone experience with excruciating pain which is beyond explanation. Apart from pain, people also experience frequent urge to micturate, hematuria (blood in urine), nausea and vomiting. Most of the calculi, flushes out along with the urine but if they don’t life becomes miserable.

Causes of Kidney Stones

Formation of kidney stones is a complex and multifactorial process. These may include several inherent factors like age, sex, heredity, and external factors such as geography, climate, dietary, mineral composition, and water intake.

• Lifestyle habits and dietary changes such as – excessive intake of animal proteins and salt and diet deficient in citrate, fiber contents.
• Low urine output – inadequate water intake which leads to dehydration and super saturation of the urine.
• Due to recurrent urinary tract infections.
• Genetic predisposition – family history of urinary calculi.
• Anatomical abnormalities –factors such as defects in medullary sponge kidney, pyeloureteral duplication, polycystic renal disease, and horse shoe kidney
• Inflammatory bowel disease and other intestinal malabsorption can also be a triggering factor to kidney stones.
• Due to long term use of Lithogenic drugs: sulfonamides (sulfadiazine), uricosuric agents, which have low solubility and promotes the formation of calculi, and ceftriaxone (high dose on long terms)
• Climate change – Due to the geographic conditions like global warming and seasonal variations can also be a contributing factor to calculi.

Symptoms of Kidney Stones

• Sudden onset of excruciating, cramping pain in the low back or side, groin and abdomen. Changes in body position do not relieve this pain.
• Nausea and vomiting are the common symptoms often accompanied with pain.
• May or May not cause bloody urine.
• If associated with Urinary tract infections, then fever and chills also occur.
• Sometimes symptoms such as frequent urination, urinary urgency or incomplete urination can also happen.

Home remedies for Kidney Stones

• Drink plenty of warm water.
• Consume fruits and vegetables rich in fibrous content. Some foods like lemon, orange, avocados, bananas, green leafy vegetables and pumpkin skins are very beneficial.
• Tender Coconut water -Drinking a lot of coconut water will help to increase the body’s urine output. Apart from this, the amount of potassium present in coconut water helps to alkalinize the acidic urine and also dissolve the kidney stones.
• Pomegranate juice - Pomegranate juice contains elements that lower the acidity of urine, making it harder for stones to form.
• Sugar cane juice – Intake of sugar cane juice promotes frequent urination, which helps the small sized stones to pass through the urine.
• Celery juice or seeds – Including celery seeds to the daily diet reduces the risk of urine formation.
• Horse gram soup is said to be very effective in treating kidney stones.­­