With increased globalization and extremely brilliant technologies world is moving very fast towards a new scientific era. Every day thousands and thousands of new technologies, new treatments for diseases are being found. There were times when world dreaded of diseases like Hepatitis, Malaria , Typhoid which have become an easily curable diseases today, provided they are brought into notice of doctors within the very critical limits. Nevertheless the number of new diseases affecting people is also on an increase. There can never be a single simple reason for all these. Much of the health problems today arise because of pollution, mal nutritious food , adulterated food, sedentary lifestyle, junk foods, unclean habits and the list goes on. One such problem very common among people around the world is Kidney Stone.
What’s a Kidney Stone
Kidney stones are solid, stone-like lumps that are formed form within the kidneys. They can be as small as a grain of sand or as large as the size of a golf ball and sometimes even larger than that. Most stones are less than a third of an inch in diameter. The stones are actually accumulations of mineral salts and other substances.
How are Kidney Stones Formed
Normally Human Urine contains a lot of waste minerals which has to be passed out. Sometimes a hard mass is developed from the mineralsalt crystals which isolate and this becomes the Kidney stone. Kidney stones may contain various combinations of chemicals or minerals. The most common type of stone contains calcium in combination with either oxalate or phosphate. These chemicals are part of a person’s normal diet and make up important parts of the body, such as bones and muscles. So as such we can’t think of avoiding these either. Stones are formed when there is an imbalance of acid in the urine.
Human body naturally has the mechanisms to defend any abnormal changes occurring inside it. The Urine actually contains inhibitors which prevents these mineral crystal isolation to form a stone. But when these inhibitors fail to work, it leads to formation of stone. As said earlier the stones can be of varying sizes. If the crystals which formed the stone are really tiny, then can travel through the urinary tract and can be passed out of the body via Urine unnoticed.
About 10 percent of people experience a kidney stone during their life time. Kidney stones are a common cause of blockage of the urinary tract in adults, accounting for 1 of every 1,000 hospitalizations.
Different types of Kideney Stones
The major type of stones are those which contain a combination of calcium with oxalate or phosphate. An another , less common type of stone is caused by infection in the urinary tract. This type of stone is called a struvite or infection stone. Another type of stone, uric acid stones, are a bit less common, and cystine stones are rare.
Calcium stones
These are the most common types of stone. Their formation is due to high levels of urinary calcium, or a combination of calcium and uric acid, in the urine. The first picture above is a calcium stone.
Uric Acid Stones
A quite rare kind of stone. They form when a person's urine becomes concentrated with certain dissolved substances that may make it more acidic.The second picture above is a Uricacid stone
Cystine Stones
A very rare kind of stone which accounts to less than 1% of all the stones. These stones result from an inherited condition that causes an increase in the amount of cystine (an amino acid) in the urine.The third picture above is a Cystine stone
Struvite Stones
Struvite stones make up 10 to 15 percent of all kidney stones. These stones can be quite large in size and because of this the symptoms can be severe too. Struvite stones are formed because of infection by specific bacteria. This bacteria throws off the balance of acid in the urine. These stones are mainly composed of ammonium and magnesium phosphate and resemble hard crystals.The last picture is a Struvite stone.
So what are the symptoms of kiney stones , what are the treatments available for Kidney stones , what are the precautions to avoid kidney stone ?
If you want to know answers to all these questions check out Kidney stone symptoms, treatment and precautions .