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Multipharmacy.com :: Health Info :: Abdomen Male
Urine is a solution of various waste substances the body doesn’t need. Normally, there is plenty of water to keep these substances dissolved. Sometimes these substances are present in such high concentration that crystallization occurs. This is more likely when the body is short of water (dehydration) and the urine becomes concentrated.
Once a small crystal has formed, it acts as a seed for further crystallization and, in this way, stones (calculi) can grow to a large size, sometimes completely filling the upper part of the urine collecting system of the kidney. Because of the shape of the collecting system, these stones are called ‘staghorn’ calculi.
Kidney stones can move to lower down in the urinary system: to the ureters which carry urine down to the bladder, or in the bladder itself. Small stones (the size of a grain of sand) may be passed out through the tube from the bladder to the exterior (the urethra). Bigger stones may not be passed out, and can get stuck anywhere along the urinary system, depending on their size.
Dehydration, alone, is unlikely to cause stones to form and there is always some other factor such as kidney disease, infection, or some body disturbance which alters the amount or type of substances dissolved in the urine. .
Other possible causes are gout and excessive intake of vitamin D.
Stones may cause no symptoms, but if a stone becomes stuck in a ureter (one of a pair of tubes carrying urine from the kidney to the bladder), the muscle of the ureter wall goes into spasm (ureteric colic). This is reckoned to be one of the worst pains anyone can experience. The pain may spread to the lower abdomen and into the groin (referred pain). Blood in the urine is a common sign of kidney stones.
Very often the description of the pain and possibly the retrieval of stones from the urine gives the diagnosis away. It is confirmed by two types of X-Ray: 80% of kidney stones are easily seen on an ordinary X-ray. If not, a special X-Ray called an IVU (intravenous urogram) can show them up. Here a dye is injected into a vein, which the kidney rapidly filters out of the bloodstream into the urine. The dye can be seen on X-ray, showing a clear outline of the urinary system.
A special operating telescope (Fibre optic endoscope) can be passed through the skin to open the urine collecting system, or into the bladder through the urethra, and retrieve the stones in a loop or basket. An alternative is to break them up by ultrasound energy. This is called extracorporeal lithotripsy. Focused acoustic shock waves are used to break up the stones. The fragments are then passed naturally in the urine.
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Stones can block the urinary tract and this can seriously affect the continuing function of the kidney on that side. Total obstruction can permanently destroy kidney function.
source NHSDirect 151204
Product code:sym-kidneystonesm |
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