What Can And Cannot Be Done With Kidney Stones?

2024 Author: Josephine Shorter | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 21:43

What can and cannot be done with kidney stones?

According to medical statistics, in regions endemic for nephrolithiasis, 7 out of 10 people have kidney stones of various sizes. Often this disease is provoked by too hard drinking water, an unbalanced diet. In a small number of people with urolithiasis, stones come out imperceptibly, and the person does not notice it. But not everyone is so lucky - spontaneous removal of stones can provoke severe pain and serious consequences at any time.

Modern methods of diagnosis and treatment of nephrolithiasis are being improved and make it possible to get rid of the disease without complications. Correct tactics of behavior of patients with urolithiasis will accelerate recovery and relieve negative symptoms.

When diagnosing urolithiasis, it is important to get rid of stones in a timely manner, if there are indications for this. There is a high risk of recurrence and complications of nephrolithiasis, some of which significantly impair the quality of human life. To avoid the serious consequences of the disease, you need to know what you can’t do and what you can do with urolithiasis.

Content:

• How to know if there are kidney stones?
• Can kidney stones be cleared?
• Can kidney stones be dissolved?
• Can a kidney stone come out on its own?
• Is it possible and necessary to crush kidney stones?
• Can I drink beer / alcohol for kidney stones?
• Can coffee be used for kidney stones?
• Is it possible to go to the bath with kidney stones?
• Can a kidney stone hurt?
• Can I take a diuretic for kidney stones?
• Are kidney stones visible on ultrasound?
• Do kidney stones grow?
• Is surgery always necessary for kidney stones?
• Can kidney stones increase blood pressure?
• Can you die from kidney stones?

How to know if there are kidney stones?

Determination of kidney stones is carried out by the following methods:

• Plain radiography to determine the number and location of stones;
• Ultrasound of the kidneys and urinary tract;
• Excretory urography to determine the performance of the kidneys;
• Spiral computed tomography;
• General urine analysis to determine the concentration of salts, the presence of erythrocytes and leukocytes.

Before the onset of complications in the form of renal colic or pyelonephritis, the patient may not suspect that he has a kidney stone. In some cases, dull back pain may appear, a change in the type of urine - during urination, it converts from thick to liquid and light. The addition of a reddish or yellowish precipitate is possible.

The symptoms of renal colic are severe pain radiating to the groin and lower abdomen, from which the patient cannot find a place for himself. Loss of consciousness, fever, fever are possible.

Can kidney stones be cleared?

There are 2 groups of treatment methods for urolithiasis: conservative and surgical. This pathology belongs to surgical diseases, therefore, surgical techniques are often used.

Factors affecting the choice of method for removing kidney stones:

• The age and health status of the patient;
• The size and location of the stones;
• Features of the anatomy of the kidney and its functioning;
• The present stage of renal failure.

In the presence of urate stones arising from uric acid salts, it is possible to dissolve them with citrate mixtures.

In all other cases, lithotripsy is indicated:

• Non-contact destruction of stones by an electromagnetic, piezoelectric, electro-hydraulic shock wave - used in the presence of stones up to 2 cm in diameter, it is required to ensure the removal of fragments;
• Percutaneous contact nephrolithotripsy - a kidney puncture is performed using an endoscope and the subsequent removal of the stone;
• Urethrolithotripsy - The endoscope is inserted through the urethra.

In uncomplicated cases, a folk recipe for removing stones from the kidneys with honey water can help. It is made from 2 tsp. honey dissolved in 200 ml of water. The mixture is drunk in the morning on an empty stomach. The course lasts from 1 to 6 months.

Can kidney stones be dissolved?

A sufficient volume of ordinary water consumed by the patient during the day reduces the concentration of salts in the urine and lowers its acidity. This leads to the dissolution of small diameter urate stones. If the stone has a mixed composition, this method may not help get rid of the stones.

To dissolve oxalates and urate stones, alkaline drinks and citrate preparations are used. They are taken additionally not only to dissolve stones, but also to prevent their formation after a stone crushing operation.

Can a kidney stone come out on its own?

In about 13-15% of patients with urolithiasis, stones of small diameter can spontaneously come out. When the transverse size of the ureter is 0.8 cm, it is important that this stone is not more than 1 cm in diameter. Small stones come out imperceptibly, the removal of larger specimens is accompanied by unpleasant symptoms. The release of the stone can be provoked by physical activity, body vibration, the use of diuretic herbs and fees.

Is it possible and necessary to crush kidney stones?

Kidney stones can lead to inflammation (pyelonephritis), kidney failure, and organ loss. In the future, such severe consequences are stopped by kidney transplant operations and hemodialysis (replacement therapy). If the doctor, based on the results of the examination, insists on an operation, his recommendations should be heeded.

Can I drink beer / alcohol for kidney stones?

There is a misconception that beer can dissolve kidney stones. This is not true, since most brands of this drink contain a large amount of preservatives and flavor enhancers that negatively affect the functioning of this organ. The increased load on the urinary system leads to dehydration of the body, thickening of urine. Such consequences lead to the growth of existing stones.

Strong alcohol disrupts the functioning of the kidneys, leads to their intoxication, provokes the development of an inflammatory process in the renal pelvis. Against the background of urolithiasis and alcohol abuse, granular degeneration of the organ occurs, leading to kidney necrosis.

Can coffee be used for kidney stones?

No, it is not recommended to drink coffee with urolithiasis. According to research by Canadian nephrologists, caffeine dramatically increases the proportion of calcium in urine. In addition, the urine of coffee drinkers contains an increased amount of citrates, magnesium and other substances that contribute to the formation of stones. Caffeine is a diuretic that thickens the urine and dehydrates the body. The increased concentration of urine accelerates the formation of stones.

Is it possible to go to the bath with kidney stones?

Yes, bath procedures in a bath or in a sauna help to painlessly remove small formations from the kidneys or ureters, and reduce the intensity of pain. Warm humid air helps to relax muscles and blood vessels, dilate ducts. A contraindication to visiting the bathhouse is an attack of renal colic, since during it jumps in blood pressure often occur, and in a steam room this condition is dangerous.

Can a kidney stone hurt?

The stones located in the renal pelvis may not make themselves felt with any unpleasant sensations until they begin to move along the urinary tract. Occasionally, the patient feels a dull, exhausting pain, which intensifies with a change in body position or with physical exertion.

When a stone enters the ureter, a person suffering from urolithiasis feels a change in the nature of the pain. It is caused by renal colic, when the stone is pushed out by the walls of the ureter, and its sharp edges injure the mucous membrane and underlying tissues. Cramping pain is so excruciating that it is almost impossible to eliminate it with conventional antispasmodics and analgesics. Painful sensations move from the lumbar region to the groin, lower abdomen, and give to the genitals. Colic can last intermittently for several days. It is accompanied by painful urination, nausea, bloating, hyperthermia, sweating, blood in the urine. It is possible to get rid of pain with a large stone stuck in the ureter only in a hospital after crushing, after surgery.

Can I take a diuretic for kidney stones?

The use of renal teas with a diuretic effect can provoke the movement of the stone and its exit into the ureter. Possible consequences of such self-medication: renal colic, blockage of the ureter.

Are kidney stones visible on ultrasound?

Ultrasound can detect stones of any composition from 3 mm in diameter. Modern ultrasound diagnostic devices are able to "see" smaller stones.

Do kidney stones grow?

Yes, stones grow in size over time, as the salts in food and water gradually build up on top of each other around the initial nucleus.

Is surgery always necessary for kidney stones?

Open surgery, despite the widespread use of minimally invasive methods for removing stones, is still used to treat urolithiasis.

Indications for open surgery:

• Exacerbations of chronic pyelonephritis;
• Presence of coral stones with a decrease in kidney function by more than half;
• Severe hematuria.

Performing the intervention, the doctor tries to minimize the injury to the kidney parenchyma. If the kidney has lost up to 80% of its functions, nephrectomy (removal of the kidney) is used.

On the subject: Methods of crushing kidney stones

Can kidney stones increase blood pressure?

The stones provoke the appearance of pyelonephritis, inflammation of the kidneys and adrenal glands leads to arterial hypertension. The mechanism of pressure increase is associated with an increase in blood volume in the vessels of the kidneys, a delay in the excretion of fluid from the body.

Can you die from kidney stones?

One cannot die directly from urolithiasis.

But this dangerous disease has serious complications:

• Hydronephrosis;
• Renal failure;
• Acute or chronic pyelonephritis;
• Loss of one or even both kidneys.

The consequences and complications of nephrolithiasis significantly worsen the quality of life. Acute pyelonephritis, which has arisen against the background of urolithiasis, can be fatal. Its symptoms are intoxication from the rapid multiplication of pathogenic bacteria (weakness, severe malaise), a drop in blood pressure due to bacterial shock. It occurs with a rapid course of complications, diagnostic errors, late use of antibiotics.

Author of the article: Lebedev Andrey Sergeevich | Urologist

Education: Diploma in the specialty "Andrology" received after completing residency at the Department of Endoscopic Urology of the Russian Medical Academy of Postgraduate Education in the urological center of the Central Clinical Hospital No. 1 of JSC Russian Railways (2007). Postgraduate studies were completed here by 2010.