Even though small kidney stones can cause too much pain in the lower abdomen, groin area, back, and sides, they are not a dangerous condition and treatment of kidney stones usually involves only drinking a number of glasses of water and pain medications. Kidney stones, medically referred to as renal lithiasis or nephrolithiasis, are solid crystals built up of acid salts or minerals and are formed inside the kidney. If the patient has any infection concomitant with kidney stones, then he or she may also have certain other symptoms, such as pain during voiding, nausea and vomiting, persistent tendency to urinate, and fever and chills. The color of urine may be pinkish, reddish, or dark in color.
Treatment of Kidney Stones
The right treatment for kidney stones mostly depends upon the size and severity of the kidney stones. Small kidney stones can be passed out by drinking large amounts of water. The process of passing the stones causes little pain to the patient, which can be easily reduced by taking pain medications, such as Motrin, Advil, ibuprofen, naproxen, or acetaminophen. Diet modifications may also help to reduce stones in the kidney.
Causes of kidney stones
The treatment of kidney stones also includes determining the cause of the kidney stones. Typically, the doctor may order a blood test to determine whether there is an increased level of calcium or uric acid in the blood. A 24-hour urine test will be helpful to find out the underlying causes of kidney stone. In some cases, imaging tests, such as computerized tomography or CT and X-ray may be required to see whether there are kidney stones in the urinary tract. The patients with small kidney stones may be asked to urinate through a sieve in order to gather the stones and send them for laboratory tests.
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Sometimes, kidney stones can lead to many complications, such as damage to kidney, urinary tract infections and bleeding. In these situations, the stones cannot be removed naturally and the treatment of kidney stones may require advanced procedures. The extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy is now widely employed for the treatment of kidney stones. In this procedure, the sound waves are used to create vibrations in the form of shock waves to rupture the stone into small pieces. This procedure has to be done under anesthesia and may cause side effects, such as bleeding around the kidney, discomfort and blood in the urine.
Large kidney stones
The large kidney stones may need to be removed by a surgical procedure known as percutaneous nephrolithotomy. Some kidney stones can be removed using ureteroscope with a camera. Sometimes, calcium kidney stones can be caused due to development of parathyroid benign tumor and the subsequent excess level of calcium in the body. In this case, the treatment of kidney stones may involve removal of the parathyroid benign tumor.
