We were at a wedding when my husband’s friend collapsed with severe pain in his belly. It was 2015 and at 11pm in the night, when the recent spurt of rental cabs had not taken place, we had to literally struggle through various hurdles to take him to the doctor where the medicos had to literally struggle hard through a six-hour surgery to save his life. Why? Because he had ignored the signs and symptoms of kidney stones!
Kidney stones are nothing but a solid collection of either calcium or uric acid. It happens when the urine is unable to throw the accumulation of these extra salts in the blood, and these accumulate in the kidney.
While in 65% cases the stones are small enough to pass through the urine, in other cases they don’t flush off without treatment/surgery. And this stage is very painful if you keep ignoring the sings of kidney stones, for considering it a mere belly pain.
So, let’s discuss the symptoms of kidney stone, which when erupt, you must rush to the doctor.
Symptoms of kidney stone
Let’s start with one of the main symptoms….
1. Acute Stomach-ache or back-ache slipping to sides
This type of pain is called RENAL COLIC and it erupts in waves. And this can worsen as ureters contract to flush out the stone. Each wave may last for a few minutes, but these few minutes can be the most terrible ones.
This is the first and most significant sign and symptoms of kidney stone.
2. Vomiting & Nauseating feeling through the day
This situation is a very common sign of kidney stones since it happens due to shared nerve connections between the GI tract and the kidneys. This connection when feels the pressure of the kidney stone, upsets the stomach to throw-up its content.
And it can even happen along-with or due to the RENAL COLIC. if ignored, it leads into a medical emergency as in the case of my husband’s friend.
3. Fever with Chills
Fever and chills are signs of any kind of infection in the body. Thus, people tend to ignore it by popping a Paracetamol pill. This can be a serious complication due to a kidney stone and if fever keeps coming back within a week, you must rush to the doctor.
Remember, any kind of fever requires immediate medical attention and not immediate popping of pills/self-medication.
4. Painful Urination
This sign of kidney stone is called DYSURIA when the stone reaches the junction between the ureter and the urinary bladder, Due to its push by the urine it will either cause pain or a burning sensation. You might mistake this for a Urinary Tract Infection.
Yes, sometime UTI comes along a kidney stone, so do not ignore this sign of kidney stone,
5. Urge to Urinate Frequently
Frequent as well as strong, uncontrollable urge to pass urine is another sign and symptom of kidney stone. This happens when the stone has moved from kidney to another part of the urinary tract.
Again, do not mistaken it for a urinary tract infection if it has occurred more than twice in a week. Go see the doctor.
6. Obstructed Urination
When a large kidney stone is lodged in your urinary tract, the blockage will stop the flow of Urine and you will urinate only a bit every time you get an urge. And soon the urination my stop, which be termed a medical emergency since the urine will start causing poisoning in the body. So, hear the call of this symptom of kidney stone and rush to the doctor.
7. HEMATURIA
This is common when the stone is lodged in the urinary tract and it hurts it so much that blood comes while urinating. Women might mistake this sign of kidney stone for an early onset or less discharge during menstruation.
8. PYURIA
A healthy kidney will pass clear, smell-free Urine. An unhealthy one will pass a cloudy or foul-smelling urine. And this could be a sign and symptom of kidney stone or some other infection in the kidney.
A study done in the US states that only 8% of these cases have UTI, rest others were either kidney stone or a major kidney infection. So, do not ignore!
CONCLUSION:
Kidney stones are common these days since in our hectic life-styles we fail to keep ourselves hydrated. And eat a lot of unhealthy food.
So, avoiding these two factors will cut your risk to kidney stones. But still if you find above signs and symptoms of kidney stones in your body, please immediately see the doctor. Do not forget to share this article to save a life.
And do leave a feedback in the comments column so that if you have a query, we can have our experts answer it.
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