Kidney Stones Research Paper

Kidney stones are solid lumps of crystals that are separate from urine, and they build up on the inner surfaces of the kidneys. Kidneys are the bean shaped organs, in the middle part of the back. Each kidney is located in either side of the spine, just below the rib cage. Kidney stones can sometimes be undetected. You might not even know you have them, until it tries to come out of the urinary tract. Kidney stones have many symptoms. Some of which are: horrible lower back pain, pain in the rib area, or abdominal region, extending into the groin area, nausea, vomiting, fever, chills, hematuria. The pain from kidney stones is said to be more painful than gun shots, surgery, broken bones, or burns. It is possible, for kidney stones to go years before you notice them. The stones can be smooth, lumpy, or jagged. They range in size from a small grain of rice, to the size of a pearl or a golf ball. A kidney stone that is about ¼ of an inch will most likely pass without needing surgery. If it gets bigger than that,
you may need what is called a lithotripsy. That is a surgery where they go in and physically break up the stone with shockwaves. This will cause the stone to become small enough to be passed through the urinary system. Sometimes a large enough stone will stay in the kidney without any symptoms, but it could damage it. The pain that you experience is due to the stretching and dilation of the urinary tract being blocked by a stone that gets stuck in the ureter.

There are several different types of kidney stones: calcium stones, uric acid stones, struvite stones, and cysteine stones.
The medication that your doctor would prescribe to you if you had kidney stones depends on the type. For a calcium stone, you would take thiazide diuretic. Uric acid stones would be something like allopurinol which would be to reduce the level of uric acid in the body. Struvite stones would be small doses of long term antibiotics. A cysteine stone you would be most likely told to just increase your fluid intake. According to The kidney stone website, more than one million people in the United States are hospitalized each year because of kidney stone attacks. If you are suffering from one, you should immediately go to the hospital, or contact your doctor. Diagnosis of a kidney stone can be done by blood screens, 24 hour urine samples, provocative calcium loading tests, and a stone analysis (which is used to determine the type of
stone). There are many things that can cause kidney stones. Some of which are can be from family genetics. Other things include: having excess calcium, or minerals in your diet, high intakes of uric acid, certain medications, too much vitamin C or D, a high diet of fruits and vegetables which contain oxalate, inadequate intake of fluids, urinary infections, living in areas with high temperatures (which can cause sweating and loss of fluids), or even just living a low physical activity lifestyle. The Mayo Clinic suggests many ways to prevent the formation of kidney stones. Make sure you drink lots of water throughout the day, it’s important to keep your body hydrated. Eat fewer oxalate rich foods (which include: rhubarb, beets, spinach, sweet potatoes, nuts, and chocolate). Have a diet that is low sodium and animal protein. Eat calcium rich foods, but limit your use of calcium supplements.