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Kidney Stone Treatments

June 20th, 2008    Subscribe To Our Feed

If you are looking for treatments for your kidney stones then it is necessary to know that severity of your condition will depend on the type and size of a kidney stone. Most of the kidney stones are treated without surgery sometimes drinking lots of water a day, living physically active and using other home remedies are good enough to remove stones from your body.

Sometimes paracetamol or over-the-counter analgesics can keep pain under control. Often doctors may ask you to pass your urine through a filter paper or a tea strainer this will help to find out the size of your kidney stones. This step is necessary to guide your treatment. Studies have revealed that these stones may be smaller than five millimeters.

A severe problem may cause an infection, a blockage or risk kidney damage that will require treatment to remove your stone. Stone removal and infection avoidance is the most important factor of this treatment, this can be done using several medicines for instance such as antibodies, antibiotics etc, However, if stones are stuck then they can be removed using several treatments such as extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy, ureteroscopic stone removal, percutaneous nephrolithotomy, etc.

Doctors could start kidney stone treatment by asking you some questions which may be related to stone symptoms and body pain. This is necessary to confirm the diagnosis and to determine the size, location and the type of stone.  Kidney stone treatment can include several tests such as blood test, urine analysis, and taking X ray image, an intravenous urogram, ultra sound scan, non contrast helical computerized tomography etc.

Some kidney stone treatments will include a blood test to identify excess amounts of certain chemicals related to the formation of stone. Kidney stone treatments may also include urine analysis which is necessary to identify infection. Taking X-ray image is another tool to identify stones because calcium usually shows up white on X- ray images.  Ultra sound scan is used for high frequency sound waves to produce an image of internal organs. An intravenous urogram is used to reveal internal structure of complete urinary system, which cannot be seen using other techniques. 

So as you can see, kidney stone treatments can only be determined by first using a series of tests to confirm the diagnosis. 
To avoid such types of kidney stones, you should drink lots of fluid in a day this will make your urine clear. You should avoid excess calcium in your diet, which would lower the risk of developing calcium stones. However, it has been found from the study that taking normal calcium may be more helpful in reducing calcium stones.

If you have calcium oxalate stones in your kidney, then you need to cut down food that have high level of oxalate such as chocolate, tea, rhubarb, cooked spinach and asparagus etc.
If you are suffering from acid stones then you should eat less meat, fish, and poultry foods. Medicines will help you to reduce the level of acid from your urine.

The kidney stone treatment will depends on type and severity of disease such as stone type, stone size and location of stone in the body.  

Can Vitamin C Dissolve your Kidney Stones?

June 11th, 2008    Subscribe To Our Feed

Vitamin C plays an important role for preventing and dissolving kidney stones into urine. Therefore, if you are suffering from kidney stone, your diet should definitely contains food with vitamin C.

The calcium phosphate stone which is commonly find in a urinary region is not acidic in nature. The Ascorbic acid which is a common form of vitamin C is used to acidify the urine and  it assists in dissolving phosphate.

Consequently, Vitamin C prevents the formation of stones in the urinary system. Also that ascorbic acid which is present in the urine is also used to dissolve stones which is made up of magnesium ammonium phosphate in the urine.

There are different kinds of kidney stones: struvite stones which causes infection to the urinary region is one and can be dissolved by taking vitamin C. In the case ofr calcium oxalate stones, the recommended treatment is to take a sufficient quantity of B-complex vitamins and magnesium.

The most common occurence of calcium oxalate stone is found in acidic urine regardless of whether a person regularly consumes vitamin C or not.

Nearly 400 milligrams of magnesium along with regular B-complex supplements will be enough to check kidney stone formation in a normal human being. The active ion in vitamin C is ascorbate, which regulates the productivity of oxalate in a human body. One thing to note however is that vitamin C won’t increase the oxalate stone formation. In fact, there is a reduction of both calcium and oxalate in acidic urine.

In addition, vitamin C not only helps to dissolve kidney stones, but also prevent their formation. Another important thing is that calcium has a very less chance of separating out as calcium oxalate stones because of the diuretic effect of vitamin C which reduces the static condition, which is necessary for the formation of kidney stones.

We can prevent the formation of oxalates by not eating rhubarb, spinach, or chocolate. If a person is prone to forming oxalate stones, then there is no doubt that vitamin C will bring his share of benefits.

Various types of fruit and vegetable juices have high content of citrates, which slow down the growth of uric acid and prevent the formation of calcium salts.

Most kidney stones are a mixture of calcium. So, instead of lowering your intake of calcium, you should consider reducing the excess of dietary phosphorous by avoiding carbonated soft drinks, especially colas.

Ironically, some kidney stones can even be caused by calcium deficiency.

How to Dissolve Kidney Stones Naturally

June 6th, 2008    Subscribe To Our Feed

Is your doctor suggesting you a kidney stone surgery? If yes then think once again. The doctor may misguide you in order to achieve personal benefit out of surgery. Do you know that you can dissolve kidney stones up to 90 % in most of the cases through home remedy? Yes, it is true.

Save thousands of dollars and dissolve kidney stones with natural home remedies. The person experiencing kidney stone pain can get rid of by doing some simple things. In fact, you can actually dissolve kidney stones naturally with the help of two simple household ingredients. 

You should try first these remedies, it will fetch out of problem. Otherwise you can go for surgery. However, kidney stone can be dissolved and passed naturally with no surgery.

Why do we rely on doctors and medicines to take of our health? Taking care of your health is whole and sole of your responsibility. So first step is to start taking care of your health. In addition good news is that kidney stones are a natural symptom of dehydration and god has created our bodies with capability to dissolve kidney stones and pass them with the right means.

The easiest thing you can do is drink enough water; it can solve your half of the problems. Lack or fewer water supplies to the body may lead to forming kidney stone. The body will not be able to flush itself of toxins and impurities.  This results in calcium deposition that forms in to stones in the kidney. Reduce your pain by just drinking lot of water.

Start from your kitchen, it has a lot to help you out. Ingredients such as phosphoric acid are found in popular soft drinks. These acids will act as a eroding agent that will help in dissolving the stone.  This acidic drink is an effective dissolvent that can efficiently in erode the layers of kidney stones. The intake of almost two liters of such drink will actually dissolve the stone. It will take just two first hours of treatment. After this provide your body a simple body flush with a water-soluble vegetable. This flush will take care of the small stone and they will pass significantly with no pain in less than 24 hours.

Various fruits contain the phosphoric acid as it is a natural acid. It is also used in soft drinks to maintain the tangy flavor. Kidney stone don’t stand against phosphoric acid have the capacity to erode the paint right of a car and enamel of a tooth. And they dissolve kidney stone too.

Do you know that eight out of ten people can naturally dissolve their kidney stones without taking help of the doctor? The remaining two out of ten needs surgery to get rid of kidney stone. This is only because of the kidney stone composition and the stone size.

Intake of vitamin C can reduce the size of the stone. There are many ways to dissolve kidney stones. Throw the idea of surgery and dissolve the kidney stone naturally.

Home Remedies for Kidney Stones

June 2nd, 2008    Subscribe To Our Feed

You probably know that prevention is the first step to avoid a disease. kidney stones are no different. If you think that you have kidney stones, it essential that you consult your family physician or a specialist.

However, if you simply want to prevent them, taking precautionary measures like home remedies for kidney stones, may help you to never experience the symptoms of that disease. For every disease, there are home remedies available. The following listed precautionary measures are considered good home remedies for kidney stones.

If you don’t want to have kidney stones, then always drink plenty of water. You probably heard many experts tell you to drink six to eight ounce glasses of water every day and to try to avoid too much decaffeinated tea and coffee, alcoholic beverages and cold drinks in large scale.  

If water can be considered one of the home remedies for kidney stones easily available, it is also a good thing to regularly check your fluid intake to give you an idea of the the level of water in our body. How? By measuring your urine output because it offers a better suggestion of your fluid intake capacity. You can buy a measuring device at most pharmaceutical stores. The device will fit in your toilet bowl. Medically, every day your body should exert 40 to 45 ounces of urine.

The next precautionary measure you can take, which is considered another one of the home remedies for kidney stones, is taking the habit of eating lots of nutritious food like fruits and vegetables. Therefore, if you make a habit of eating fresh and clean fruits and greenish vegetables, it provides many vitamins, mineral and carbohydrates to your body. If you are sure that you are suffering from kidney stone, then in that case these fruits and vegetables provide oxalates to your body and oxalates are one of the home remedies for kidney stones.

Eating fruits and vegetables will provide your body with vitamin C. This vitamin is one that can help you get rid of your kidney stones and has the extra benefit of being safe since your body will excrete what it doesn’t need. The suggested dietetic allowance of vitamin C for men is 90mg and for women it should be 75 mg per day. So taking vitamin C is another precautionary measure that can be considered one of many home remedies for kidney stones.

If you decide to eat less meat, you should really consider eating fish since it will really prevent you from having kidney stones. This is probably one of the best home remedies for kidney stones.  The proteins that we get from animal meal accelerate the formation of uric acid and calcium in the urine.  This in turn causes the formation of kidney stones. Uric acid takes shape when purines in protein foods are broken down. Therefore, if you have uric-acid stones, it is highly recommended for you to cut back on proteins.

As you might suspect, regular exercise is one of the important home remedies for kidney stones. Exercising makes the passage of calcium out of the bloodstream and into the bones much easier. One of the benefits stronger bones and, consequently, less risk of the stone formation.

CT Scan for Kidney Stones

May 28th, 2008    Subscribe To Our Feed

 Are you suffering from colicky pain? It is called the worst pain ever felt. You need to get a diagnosis since it may be kidney stones. There are many ways available to diagnose kidney stones such as clinical diagnosis, Imaging, X-ray, IVP and retrograde pyelogram. One of the most popular means is a CT scan for kidney stones.

CAT scan or CT scan for kidney stones stands for Computed Tomography. It is considered as the essential diagnostic test to detect kidney stones. It is a specialized X-Ray test. This technique of diagnosis of kidney stones is now very popular.

CT scan is the combination of X-ray and computer graphics that produces images that have elaborated cross-sectional areas, that define the horizontal and vertical aspects of the body. A CT gives detailed images of different body parts such as muscles, bones, organs and fat formations. Your kidney stone can not hide any more. If you have one, it will get detected. CT scan also minimizes the exposure to radiation. 

People suffering from allergies and kidney damage need not worry about the modern technology called CT scan. Why? Because this setting does not require the use of intravenous contrast, which carries some risk in some people. You don’t have to worry about any damage to any part of your body and you won’t suffer any ill effects. You can say it is a gift of science to man. Your kidney stone diagnosis will be very easier with a CT scan. 

The accuracy and perfection of the detection of kidney stone by CT scan is remarkable. All things are scanned throughout. CT detects almost all types of kidney stones. Exceptions can be found in certain rare stones that are formed due to peculiar chemical residues found in urine. Sometime they are not caught in this procedure.

If you want a very quick diagnosis then you can use the CT-scan that works on the principle of renal-colic-study. Its a standard procedure that is followed in order to immediately diagnose the flank pain that typically occurs due to kidney stones. If the results are positive for stones, then the KUB of the abdominal region has to be done by taking a single standard x-ray.

This additional x-ray provides the physicians with a clearer idea of the exact size and shape of the stone, as well as they can detect its surgical orientation. This way it becomes very simple for you to track the growth of the stone without using costly CT scan, since you just have to regularly undergo a single x-ray procedure in future. One CT scan is enough for the diagnosis.

The risk of CT scan for kidney stones is minimal. The amount of radiation used is very low so the risk of radiation exposure is also not considerable. Pregnant women should consult their physician. CT scan during pregnancy is sometimes not recommended.

If a CT scan for kidney stones may seem somewhat costly, it gives you the benefit of getting the most accurate results. Opting for this technique of diagnosis will probably be a decision you will not regret. 

Causes of Kidney Stones

May 19th, 2008    Subscribe To Our Feed

Do you know that in the United States alone some 300,000 people each year are hospitalized due to kidney stones? This is one of the most painful diseases since the earliest of times. In fact, kidney stones have been found inside ancient Egyptian Mummies. The first step is to learn more about the causes of disease.

If you’d ask the medical community what are the causes of kidney stone, you would probably get no definitive answer.  Disorders of the anatomical, mineral, and endocrinological systems along with metabolic disorders are involved among the causes. These disorders can lead to forming kidney stones.

Some think that kidney stones are inherited. Consequently, if one of your parents has kidney stone, it is quite possible for you to eventually suffer from kidney stones. The chances of getting it to you are very high. kidney stones seem to be passed from generation to generation. So, heredity can be considered one of the causes of kidney stones.

The most part of the kidney stones are made of calcium and hypercalciuria (high levels of calcium in the urine). Again, heredity may predispose you to high level of calcium in the urine. Some people with renal tubular acidosis and with related problems metabolize a variety of chemicals including cystine (an amino acid), oxalate, (a type of salt), and uric acid (as in gout).

Living conditions also matter a lot to encourage the formation of kidney stones. It is more frequent for people living in hot and humid areas to complain more about kidney stones than people living in cooler climates. Therefore, geographical location may be another cause of kidney stones. People from Southern United States have an increased risk of having kidney stones. Why? Because the people in  this area get easily dehydrated , since the cimate is hot. Hence, their urine becomes more concentrated and this condition allows chemicals to come in closer contact which leads to the formation of the nidus of the stone.

What you eat has also a big impact and is one of the causes of kidney stones. The root cause of kidney stones is calcium. Doctors often suggest not eating food containing lots of calcium. Strong build up of calcium in your body will result in kidney stones. So before eating cereals, orange juice and a number of enriched bread. Think once again.

Intake of OTC products can lead to the formation of kidney stones. People taking water pills and those who regularly take antacids that have a high calcium content, endup increasing the amount of calcium in their urine. Patients with HIV who take the medication indinavir (Crixivan) have the possibility of forming indinavir stones.

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Credits: Work From Home | Matteo Turchetto | Andreas Viklund