Urolithiasis: causes, symptoms, treatment

Urolithiasis most commonly affects people between the ages of 30 and 50 and usually causes a lot of suffering. Fortunately, stones can be removed and the risk of new ones forming is reduced. The onset of urolithiasis is not accompanied by any symptoms. It is only when sand has accumulated in the kidneys or urinary tract that pain occurs when urinating.

Urolithiasisis a painful condition. Whenkidney stonebegins to move from the kidney into the ureter, the pain is excruciating, it radiates down the abdomen and perineum. It's an attack of renal colic. If a stone gets stuck in the ureter and blocks it, the kidney becomes stagnant in urine - an infection and high fever develop. In such a situation, quick medical intervention is needed.

Urolithiasis: causes of its formation

Among the causes of sand and stone formation, doctors mention the supersaturation of urine with substances and chemical compounds. However, the root cause is a diet high in animal protein and drinking too little fluid. The risk of developing the disease increases when the urinary tract has obstacles (congenital or acquired), such as adhesions, that make it difficult to drain urine. Urolithiasis is favored by frequent urinary tract infections (but also vice versa - urolithiasis provokes inflammation), as well as magnesium deficiency in the blood.
However, the type of deposits is influenced by e.g. urine pH. If it is consistently low, gout and cystine deposits are formed, and if it is consistently high, phosphate and oxalate are formed.

Urolithiasis: treatment

Nephrolithiasis can be treated pharmacologically in 70 percent. cases. Operations are rarely used, only when the stones are large. Doctors are increasingly choosing non-invasive techniques.

• The percutaneous procedure, or PCNL , is used when a stone has lodged in the lower calyx of the kidney and there is no way for it to escape through the urinary tract. It is performed in a hospital under anesthesia. The doctor, under ultrasound control, inserts a special long needle into the kidney. When it touches the stone, it puts another needle on it, a bit thicker and even thicker on it, etc. The latter has the diameter of the index finger. Through this needle, the doctor can pull a small stone out of the kidney. If it is larger - it must first be crushed with a wavesound and then drain it. To prevent the crumbs from falling into the ureter, it is secured with a special balloon (stopper). After the procedure, you need to stay in the hospital for 3-5 days. Usually one treatment is enough to get rid of stones. In some cases, not the kidney is punctured, but the bladder, and small stones or fragments of a large broken stone are removed from it.

Worth knowing

How is a kidney stone formed?

By filtering the blood, the kidneys separate harmful substances from the blood and remove them from the body. Sometimes, however, some sediments remain at the bottom of the lower calyx of the kidneys. This creates a sludge plate that can crumble. If it breaks into tiny pieces, it will be removed in a natural way. If it does not, the crumb will remain in the kidney and will be called. a core around which a scale will form, gradually overgrowing with layers of sediment.

Ureterorenoscopy, or URSL- this method removes small stones (or previously crushed fragments) from the ureter or bladder. URSL is performed under local anesthesia. The doctor introduces micro-tools through the urethra into the bladder or ureter, which allow them to grasp the stone and pull it out. If the stone clogged in the ureter cannot be pulled out, sometimes your doctor will push it back into the kidney and remove it after it has crushed it, or by percutaneous surgery. You need to stay in the hospital for 2-3 days.

Lithotripsy, or ESWL- the procedure is performed on an outpatient basis, under local anesthesia. It consists in breaking stones with a sound wave. This method is intended mainly for the removal of stones located in the upper calyx of the kidney. Before the procedure, ultrasound, urography, general urine tests and culture should be performed, and coagulation factors should be determined. Contraindication to lithotripsy is, inter alia, narrowing of the urethra in men due to prostate enlargement, blood clotting disorders, as well as significant obesity. The patient is lying on a special table, and the doctor maneuvers his body in such a way that the sound wave coming from the head of the apparatus is precisely directed at the stone. The procedure takes about 40-50 minutes. One is not always enough to break a larger stone, but it can be repeated after a few weeks. Before that, however (after 7-10 days), a control photo of the abdominal cavity is taken to check if the stone has crumbled.

Spring treatments in the treatment of urolithiasis

There is no shortage of healing waters in Poland that help remove kidney stones or significantly reduce their size. Such properties have, among others waters: "Józef" from Krynica and Wysowa, "Marysieńka" from Cieplice and, to a lesser extent, "Anna" from Żegiestów and"Kinga" from Krościenko. These waters are low or medium mineralized, they increase the contractility and peristalsis of the smooth muscles of the urinary tract, which facilitates the removal of stones to the outside. Minerals concentrated in healing waters stimulate enzymes that regulate the body's water balance. This removes uric acid, oxalic acid and phosphoric acid deposits in the urine, which are the seeds for the formation of kidney stones. The waters "Jan" and "Józef" increase the excretion of urinary stones four times.
Diuretic water treatment is recommended by urologists after stone removal. It is best to start it not earlier than 6 weeks after the procedure. The water will flush out small deposits, prevent urinary tract infection and the recurrence of urolithiasis. You should drink at least 1.5 liters a day, for example water "Jan", for at least 2 weeks and before meals - up to 0.5 liters at a time.

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