Dealing with Kidney Stones: Causes and Cures

You may have kidney stones if you have intense pain in your back, side, or beneath your ribcage or you are experiencing frequent urination. You might also experience pain or a burning sensation when urinating. These stones are mineral and salt-based hard deposits found in the kidneys. They may cause pain and discomfort as they move through the urinary tract. In addition, blood in the urine or a pink, red, or brown hue in the urine might also occur if you have kidney stones. Moreover, the urine can start to smell bad or become cloudy.

Men are more likely to develop kidney stones than women. You are more prone to get kidney stones if kidney stones run in your family. If you have ever had kidney stones, your chances of getting them again are increased. If you are taking medications such as diuretics, calcium-based antacids, a medicine called indinavir to treat HIV infections, and topiramate (antiseizure medicine), your chances of developing kidney stones gets higher.  Here is detailed information about kidney stones, their types, symptoms, causes, best treatments and homoeopathic medicines.

What Are the Types of Kidney Stones?

Kidney stones are of five different types:

1. Calcium oxalate: It is the most prevalent kind. The consumption of food-based calcium does not raise the risk of developing calcium oxalate stones. Extra calcium that is not needed by your bones, muscles, or kidneys typically ends up in your urine. This extra calcium combines with other waste materials such as oxalate to create calcium oxalate kidney stones.
2. Calcium phosphate: It can occur due to renal tubular acidosis and hyperparathyroidism. 
3. Uric acid stones: If there is too much acid in your urine, uric acid stones may occur. It may occur due to a diet heavy in animal protein.
4. Struvite: It is the less prevalent type and occurs due to infections in the upper urinary system such as UTI. 
5. Cystine: This type of kidney stone appears in those with a family history of cystinuria.

Kidney stones may also be more likely to occur if you don’t consume enough fluids. It can also increase the risk of kidney problems such as hematuria, or blood in the urine. An early diagnosis with CT scans, X-rays, and urine tests can help determine the size and location of kidney stones to prevent complications.

What Are the Symptoms of Kidney Stones?

If the stone is small enough, it may pass through the ureter without causing any problems. If the stone is big, it might remain in the kidney or pass into the ureter from the urinary system. The following symptoms could be caused by these kidney stones:

• Sharp pains in the lower abdomen, side, back, or groyne
• Hematuria, or pink, red, or brown blood in the urine
• A persistent urge to urinate, pain when urinating, 
• inability to urinate, or only being able to urinate little amounts
• Cloudy and bad-scented urine
• Nausea and vomiting
• fever, and chills

If any of these symptoms apply to you, consult a doctor immediately. These signs could indicate a serious illness or a kidney stone.

What Are the Causes of Kidney Stones?

Protein, salt, and sugar-rich diets can raise the concentration of specific compounds in the urine that can crystallise and form stones, which can lead to kidney stones. It can also occur if you have a medical condition or are taking specific medicines. Here are the main causes of kidney stones: 

• History of kidney stones
• Obesity or digestive diseases 
• Repeated or recurrent UTIs or a blockage of the urinary tract
• Dehydration
• Certain medications, such as indinavir, calcium-containing antacids, topiramate and diuretics.
• inflammation of the bowel
• Cystic kidney diseases 
• Cystinuria
• Digestive problems or a history of gastrointestinal tract surgery
• Gout 
• Hypercalciuria (a syndrome that runs in families and involves abnormally high calcium levels in urine)
• Hyperoxaluria (a condition where the amount of oxalate in the urine is abnormally high)
• Hyperparathyroidism (a medical condition where an excess of parathyroid hormone is released by the parathyroid glands, leading to an excess of calcium in the blood)
• Hyperuricosuria (a condition when the urine contains excessive amounts of uric acid)
• Renal tubular acidosis ( a condition in which an individual’s blood remains excessively acidic due to the kidneys’ inability to eliminate acids from the urine)

What Are the Best Medicines for Kidney Stones?

If you have a history of kidney stones, your doctor may suggest taking medicine to avoid getting one again. The duration of medication depends on the type of kidney stone. For example, if you have struvite stones, you might need to take an oral antibiotic for at least one to six weeks. Alternatively, you might be prescribed a potassium citrate tablet one to three times a day if you have a different kind of stone. You may have to take these medications for months, until your doctor concludes you are no longer at risk for kidney stones.

Here are best medicines according to the type of kidney stones:

• Calcium oxalate stones: Thiazide diuretics, potassium citrate, magnesium citrate and citric acid.
• Calcium phosphate stones: Thiazide diuretics and potassium citrate.
• Uric acid stones: Allopurinol and potassium citrate.
• Struvite stones: Antibiotics such as acetohydroxamic acid.
• Homoeopathic medicines: Homoeopathic containing berberis vulgaris, lycopodium, cantharis, sarsaparilla, and calcarea carbonica can also help reduce pain and discomfort due to kidney stones.

Purchase these medications with online healthcare apps. Obtain the best generic medicines that are appropriate for your health. Consult a doctor for advice on food and medicine to help manage kidney stones. Additionally, you can get helpful advice for treating kidney stones by using an online medicine app.

Takeaway

Kidney stones can be hard to manage. However, avoiding certain foods and taking medications on time can help reduce the pain. Besides medications, the ideal strategy to help prevent most kidney stones is to drink adequate liquids throughout the day. Getting adequate water helps flush out minerals that could cause stones and keeps your urine diluted.

If these medicines do not work, surgeries may be needed to break down larger stones or remove them. Shock Wave Lithotripsy, Ureteroscopy and Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy are the three procedures to remove and break the stone.