Sizes of kidney stones (3-16 mm): what is considered large and what to do?

The process of occurrence and types of stones

The kidneys perform a very important function in the body; they remove all toxins from the blood. Sometimes these harmful substances crystallize and settle in the kidneys, in which case a stone appears.

Kidney stones most often consist of calcium, but sometimes they may contain uric acid or proteins.

With small sizes up to 5-7 mm, the stone can pass out of the kidney along with urine. But if its size reaches 10 mm, then it remains in the kidney and can cause complex renal colic, which causes severe pain. If a stone gets stuck at the exit of the kidney, then complete urinary retention occurs. In this case, immediate surgical intervention is required.

Without proper treatment and prevention, stones tend to grow. Their growth depends on the body’s tendency to form stones, as well as diet and the amount of fluid you drink. Initially, they can be the size of a grain of sand, and over time reach 10 or 15 mm.

Almost all stones up to 5 mm in size can pass out on their own in the urine; about half of kidney stones ranging in size from 5 to 10 mm also pass out without additional intervention from doctors (antispasmodics and diuretics are used).

Once formed, the stone may pass within three weeks or within a month after the first symptoms appear.

But very often, stones in patients with a predisposition to stone formation do not pass away on their own without treatment; their number only increases. If you do not take any preventive and therapeutic measures, you may be left without a kidney.

First steps in treatment

What is recommended to do if kidney stones have already begun to form? They can resolve on their own, but if you neglect your health, this leads to the development of kidney failure.

Types of kidney stones

Symptoms of kidney stones:

cloudy urine color;
blood and sand in the urine;
frequent urination;
cutting pain when urinating;
acute pain in the abdomen and lower back;
increased body temperature;
nausea and vomiting;
frequent changes of feelings: heat and chills.

Prevention

Patients with sand in the kidneys should adhere to the following recommendations:

Drink more than 2 liters of fluid per day. In this case, the kidneys will be well cleaned of sand and all accumulated salts. The urine will become clear and odorless. In summer, when there is intense heat, it is recommended to carry out special procedures to cleanse the kidneys. You need to drink half a liter of water at a time or a liter in 30 minutes.
Cleanse the kidneys. consuming diuretic products. So, watermelon has a diuretic effect.
Take long distance walks every day . It is recommended to walk in the fresh air for at least two hours.
Don't get too cold. In cool weather, the lower back should always be kept warm, because hypothermia can provoke inflammation of the kidneys, and as a result, urolithiasis.
Use protection during sexual intercourse. In order to prevent infection with genitourinary infections, because the infection can spread to the kidneys, if the act was not protected, it is necessary to urinate after it.
Follow a diet. You should not consume chocolate, cocoa, coffee and strong tea in large quantities. It is useful to drink decoctions of diuretic herbs.
It is advisable to drink purified water. From heavy metals and salts (filtered or bottled).

But it is not always possible to prevent the onset of the disease with the help of prophylaxis, especially if the patient already has large stones in the kidneys. What to do, how to treat stones of small, medium and large sizes?

Removing kidney stones using tablets

If a kidney stone is 5 mm, what should I do? Modern treatment methods most often involve non-surgical methods of removing stones, for example, tablets. If kidney stones have formed, treatment with tablets (the doctor will select stone-breaking drugs) is a very effective method of getting rid of them. To dissolve phosphate stones, Madder extract is used, but only in tablets. Their side effect is redness of the urine and you should not be afraid of this.

Antispasmodics such as “No-shpa”, “Baralgin”, “Spazmalgon” and others help remove stones from the kidneys, and quite quickly. For this purpose, herbal medicines and various diuretic preparations are also prescribed, for example, Urolesan and Fitolit.

The tablets Asparkam and Blemaren help fight kidney stones. The latter drug is a white effervescent tablet that helps the urine become alkaline. Another effective means of getting rid of kidney stones is Cyston.

But you should know that if a patient has kidney stones, treatment with tablets (it is not recommended to select stone-breaking medications on your own) should be carried out only after visiting a doctor, who should prescribe them.

Treatment methods

Depending on the size of the stones, as well as the patient’s health condition, the following treatment methods are available:

Herbal medicine . The use of herbal preparations helps not only to get rid of inflammation, but also to dissolve stones up to 5-7 mm in size. They use Canephron, Phytolysin, as well as knotweed and half-fallow herbs.
Destruction and crushing of stones.
Surgical removal.

Let's look at each of these methods in more detail. In what cases does one method or another apply? Treatment involves not only removal, but also restoration of the body, and prevention of the occurrence of stones in the future.

Surgery

Surgical treatment is carried out endoscopically or laparoscopically. The recovery period, as well as possible complications after these types of operations, are minimal. Surgical intervention is performed without incision of the kidney and skin; the instrument is inserted through natural routes: the lumen of the urethra, the bladder cavity, the ureter and the kidney.

Surgery is performed in cases where it is not possible to dissolve or crush the stone or it is large in size.

If the stone grows more than 20 mm, then open surgery is performed. This type of surgery is very traumatic and has many complications. During this type of operation, the kidney is cut and all contents are removed.

Crushing stones

The destruction of stones can be done by contact or through a puncture.

When destroyed surgically, the stones are removed using a special metal tube - a nephroscope. It is inserted through a puncture in the lumbar region. Various crushing and removal instruments can be inserted through the nephroscope. Most often, this method is used if the patient has only one large stone that cannot be dissolved with medications.

During contact destruction and removal, the instrument is inserted through the urethra. Having reached the stone, crushing occurs with its help. Crushing is performed only for small stones, since a large fragment can close the lumen of the kidney.

Shock wave lithotripsy is considered an effective crushing method. It is carried out for stone sizes from 5 mm to 25 mm. This is the most gentle method, because there is no need to make punctures. Destruction occurs under the influence of radio waves.

In addition, there are laser, ultrasound, electrohydraulic and pneumatic lithotripsy.

Drug treatment

If the stone is up to 5-7 mm in size, then it is amenable to a non-operative treatment method, namely medicinal dissolution. This method is the safest and most gentle. If everything is done correctly, the stone will come out on its own.

For medical dissolution the following drugs are used:

Canephron. It has anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, diuretic and antispasmodic effects. Promotes the removal of stone fragments.
Asparkam. Promotes the dissolution of salt, uric acid, calcium or phosphate stones.
Madder extract . Used to dissolve phosphate stones. It cannot be used simultaneously with Cyston.
Urolesan. Dissolves urinary stones and relieves spasms.
Xydiphone. Used to dissolve phosphate and oxalate stones.
Blemaren. A very effective drug for getting rid of mixed type stones.
Allopurinol. Helps reduce the concentration of uric acid in urine.
Cyston or Prolit. Suitable for dissolving oxalate stones.

It is worth remembering that all medications should be used only as prescribed by a doctor, because self-medication can lead to a deterioration in health and ending up on the surgical table. The urologist will help determine the type of deposits and select the appropriate drug.

When dissolving (removing) stones larger than 5-7 mm with the help of medications, it may become stuck in the ureter, which will provoke an attack of renal colic (you need to be prepared for this and know what needs to be done if an attack occurs).

boleznipochek.ru

Unplugged

23-03-2009 12:13

It turned out like this for me...

In 2003, a couple of brown stones with embedded sharp grains of sand came out in the urine. It didn't turn out to be completely painful, and I scored. They didn't bother me anymore.

In June 2007, my friends and I went hiking and I caught a cold - 2 sleepless nights before the hike, stress. then a drinking session in nature, a cold night in a tent. While we were driving there, I drank 8 cans of Adrenaline Rush and Red Bull. I had a wild cough for 2 weeks and took cold medicine. nothing helped, and I began coughing up blood. At that time, my wife was 6 months pregnant, and I was very scared that I had contracted tuberculosis and could infect my girls with it (I have a daughter). I went to the hospital where I had tests and received prescriptions for treatment. One fine night I woke up because my kidneys were failing. I went and woke up my wife and said that it was not very easy for me to live at this moment. By the speed of my answer in the form of “Yes”, to her question: “Can we call an ambulance?” she determined that I was “fucked up” because...

For me, calling a doctor was the worst option. The doctor arrived, gave me injections of papazole, noshpa, baralgin and other goodies, the colic went away, and in the morning a large stone of about 5 mm popped out. On the trail. That day I went to the urologist, who sent me for an ultrasound, which revealed 7 stones in both kidneys, the left one had a stone exactly 10 mm. I was sent to crush it. They gave me an injection in my ass (well, it’s just a kick-ass), put it under the machine, poured water into a silicone basin under me and began to pound it. Stsuki, only later did I find out that I was supposed to be given a dose of promedol. In short, the Concrement was somehow torn apart into several parts and they promised that everything would be out in a week. A week later, a piece measuring 6 mm in size was stuck in the left lower third of my ureter, stuck so that it was indistinguishable from (geez, I forgot what these things are called), in short, it was disguised as natural environmental conditions (follicles or something?). They sent me for intravenous urography, they did it and began to prescribe me everything they could, cystone, canephron, no-shpu, lespenefril, blemaren, dalfaz retard, three other different things at one and a half to two pieces per pack. Nothing helped. Neither oats, nor diarrhea... After a week or two I could not step on my feet, it turned out that I had begun to develop intense deposition of uric acid salts - gouty arthritis. Then it started - psoriasis and something else... in short, it was a total mess, the stones never came out. Over the course of a year, I visited about 25-30 different clinics and urologists. I was hospitalized twice, and my veins were plugged like a real drug addict from the movie “Requiem for a Dream.” I lost about 15 kg. I'm probably glowing from the numerous exposures. They crushed it two more times, this time in the ureter, in another clinic, under general anesthesia (it’s okay, now I know why junkies’ heads recline when they loosen the tourniquets) In short, this “grain” came out only a year later, in one of the St. Petersburg clinics, and even then, on the day when I was already discharged from the fact that nothing had helped in 3 weeks of my hospitalization. I realized that not a single urologist can help properly - neither through an acquaintance, nor for money, nor just like that. Moreover, EVERYONE demands or indirectly hints at a reward. What's the result? As a result, I still have gout (in waves) and now it spreads to the spine and arms, I still have psoriasis - I also went to the doctor, they first prescribed Lokoid, then Elokom - they no longer help. The calyx in which the calculus was crushed does not grow together and does not shrink; periodically pain occurs in this kidney. I continue to take Canephron, Cyston and Allopurinol almost constantly. During the entire period of treatment, I went through who knows how many preventive procedures and courses - everything just got worse and worse. Now all my sports injuries and injuries from my turbulent youth are making themselves felt. Previously, it was impossible to break on the asphalt and health was like that of a bull, many were envious of their endurance. There were also a bunch of all sorts of health troubles that I wouldn’t like to talk about...

guns.allzip.org

Surgery

Surgical intervention is carried out in different ways, which depend on the size of the inclusions. The operation is performed when conservative therapy does not bring the expected results or the kidney stone is 7 mm or larger. The choice of surgical methods for removing the stone remains with the surgeon:

When the stone size exceeds 20 mm, open intervention is indicated. This method is one of the most traumatic methods, as it can lead to various complications. During the operation, the kidney is cut, from where the inclusions are removed.
Laparoscopic intervention is a minimally invasive method for removing inclusions. During the procedure, several large incisions are made through which a camera is inserted that displays an image on a screen, as well as medical instruments.
Endoscopy is the least traumatic method of surgical intervention that does not require incisions. Manipulations are carried out using instruments inserted through natural openings. Typically, the endoscope is inserted through the urinary canal and bladder. The stone is then captured in a loop and removed from the body. A large stone first needs to be crushed.

The procedure for crushing stones is shown for medium-sized inclusions. This method is carried out by puncture or contact method. If destruction is carried out surgically, then the inclusions are removed using a nephroscope - a small metal tube that is inserted by puncturing the lumbar region. This tube also allows you to insert the necessary medical instruments to help crush and remove stones. This method is most effective for single, large stones.

Contact destruction is carried out using an instrument inserted into the urethra. As soon as the medical instrument has reached the inclusion, a crushing procedure occurs, which is performed with medium or small inclusions.

Important! When the stones are large, this procedure cannot be performed, as it can contribute to the blocking of the kidney lumen by fragments.

The procedure carried out through wave shocks is also effective. It is performed when the kidney stone is from 5 mm to 20 mm. This method is considered the most gentle, since it does not require punctures, which eliminates the possibility of a secondary infection. In this case, the inclusions are destroyed under the influence of radio waves.

If stones of 8 mm are found in the kidney, crushing is carried out using ultrasound. Its essence lies in installing an ultrasonic sensor after the examination. Then, using high-intensity rays, a crushing procedure occurs. After which, fragments of stones are removed using a nephroscope. This procedure is carried out in a hospital setting, after which after 2-3 days an X-ray examination with a contrast agent should be done to determine the presence of stones.

Laser crushing is carried out for stones with a size of 8 mm, but not more than 1 cm in diameter, since the laser does not penetrate deeper than 0.5 mm. The inclusions are exposed to a beam, which leads to the evaporation of the calculus without damaging neighboring tissues.

It is worth remembering that, regardless of the size of the stone, urolithiasis should be treated exclusively under the supervision of a specialist who will select the safest and most effective method based on the patient’s condition.

vsepropechen.ru

The process of occurrence and types of stones

In fact, the kidney is an internal organ that plays an incredibly important role in the human body. It is the kidneys that remove harmful substances and toxins from the blood. When there is an excess of substances, they take the form of crystals and settle in the renal pelvis. This is how a calculus is formed.

Often, kidney stones are medium in size and consist of calcium salts. But there are also those that are based on excess protein and uric acid.

The following fact should be noted: those stones whose volume does not exceed 5 mm are freely excreted in the urine or using a special physical solution. If the stone reaches a size of more than 10 mm, it begins to cause severe pain and even leads to severe renal colic.

If the crystal gets stuck in the ureter, it leads to blockage of the channels and complete retention of urine in the body. This option involves immediate surgery.

If you ignore salt deposits in the kidneys for a long period of time and do not carry out therapeutic measures, you may encounter serious complications and an increase in the number of stones. The increase in the number of stones directly depends on what foods the patient eats and how much purified liquid he takes per day.

The passage of a fully formed stone can occur after three weeks or within one month from the moment the initial symptoms appear. But stones are often removed from the body artificially. If you do not treat this pathology or refuse preventive measures, you may be left without a kidney altogether.

Consistency and sizes

When the physicochemical composition of the blood in the kidneys is disturbed, amorphous salts and crystals precipitate. They are joined by organic matter in the form of blood clots, bacterial flora, fibrin, cellular detritus, etc. As a result, stones are formed.

Mostly oxalate stones appear in the kidneys, which contain oxalate and calcium salts; quite often the formation of phosphate and urate stones occurs, less often cystine stones.

Concretions are formed both single and multiple. In some patients, the kidney stone does not grow or move for a long time, in others the crystal becomes half a centimeter in size within six months and is excreted in the urine, in others the stones quickly enlarge and lose the ability to pass without surgery, and in others, relapses constantly occur after removal of the stones.

Therapy

After a qualified doctor diagnoses a patient with kidney pathology, the question arises: how to cope with the disease?

Experts say that the methods of therapy and direct techniques will depend on the psychological and physical state of the person, on the nature of the stone and its size. And it is the size of kidney stones that plays a decisive role in choosing a therapeutic course.

If we talk about general therapy, then all measures prescribed by the attending physician are aimed directly at solving problems such as treating infections, eliminating the primary symptoms of the disease, removing or removing stones, as well as preventing relapse.

As for removing stones from the renal pelvis, this can be done in various ways. Initially, a medical specialist will determine the location, chemical composition and size of the stone. Then he will offer the patient one of the treatment options:

crushing remotely;
the use of medications to remove and dissolve the crystal;
puncture and instrumental removal of the formation;
endoscopic or laparoscopic surgery;
open abdominal surgery;
contact crushing through the urinary tract.

Since the 90s of the last century, the conservative method has been very popular among patients with this type of renal pathology. But it can only be used when the stone size is about 4 mm. If the neoplasm has a smooth surface, then a larger crystal can be removed from the body.

It is not recommended to take only medications for the conservative method of treating kidney stones. Treatment must be comprehensive. The patient is recommended to take special herbal infusions with a diuretic effect, undergo ultrasound procedures and pay special attention to what he eats daily.

Moreover, all medications that are used during the period of direct treatment are divided into two large groups: the first are used to combat stones of a special type, while the second are universal.

If kidney stones are accompanied by an inflammatory reaction and infections, the doctor may prescribe strong antibiotics. The patient is recommended to maintain an active lifestyle and drink plenty of fluids.

Drug treatment is recommended by highly qualified doctors when diagnosing urate group stones in a patient.

In this case, the doctor’s task is to achieve a decrease in the concentration of salts in urine.

But stones with a coral structure do not respond to such treatment. Here it is customary to resort to crushing stones using a directed ultrasonic wave with a high energy potential or to surgical intervention.

Therapy for small stones

Drug therapy allows you to remove small stones. It is more gentle for the patient. Most often, doctors prescribe:

Canephron, which has an anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic effect. When taken regularly, it improves the passage of stones;
Urolesan, which helps dissolve urinary stones, relieves spasms;
Asparkam - helps to dissolve stones that have a calcium, phosphate, uric acid composition;
Xidifon - helps dissolve small oxalate and phosphate inclusions;
Madder extract helps dissolve phosphate stones. This extract is not recommended for use while taking Cystone;
Cyston – promotes the dissolution of oxalates;
Allopurinol reduces the concentration of uric acid in urine;
Blemaren gets rid of stones that have a mixed chemical composition.

Important! Medicines are prescribed only by the attending physician, based on the patient’s condition. Self-administration may cause stones to become lodged in the ureter, and kidney disease may be fatal.

If a patient is diagnosed with small stones, less than five millimeters, then traditional medicine methods are often prescribed with medications that help remove them. However, it must be remembered that any traditional methods can be used only after consulting a specialist and only in combination with the main therapy. The most effective folk methods that help get rid of a kidney stone up to 4 mm include the following:

Take 200 g of honey, ½ liter of vodka, a little lemon juice, olive oil. Then you should mix everything and leave for 10 days. Drink 1 tbsp. l. three times a day for 2 weeks. This is followed by a 7-day break.
Pass 10 lemons through a meat grinder, put in a jar, pour in 2 liters of warm water, which must first be boiled. Then add 2 tbsp. l. medical glycerin. Leave for 30 minutes, drink the resulting mixture for 2 hours. After 10 minutes you need to drink 1 tbsp. solution. Then it is recommended to apply a warm heating pad to the diseased organ. The pain syndrome may increase as sand and small fragments begin to come out.
1 tbsp. Dried pears should be poured with ½ liter of boiling water, simmered over low heat for 15 minutes, then left for at least 2 hours. Drink ½ tbsp. Four times a day.

ethnoscience

Urolithiasis can be cured not only with the help of modern medications or operations.

You can do this by relying on “grandmother’s recipes”:

Recipe No. 1. Take 1⁄2 liter of vodka, 200 g of bee honey, olive oil and lemon juice. Everything is thoroughly mixed. Infuse the product for 10 days. The drug must be taken orally, 1 tablespoon for 2 weeks, 3 times a day. A repeat course begins after 7 days.

Recipe No. 2. 10 whole lemon fruits are passed through a meat grinder. Then transfer the mass into a three-liter jar and fill it with 2 liters of boiling water. Add 2 tablespoons of glycerin to the solution. After this, the solution should be left for 30 minutes. You need to drink the product within 2 hours with a dosage interval of 10 minutes. Dosage – 1 glass. The next step is to apply a warm heating pad to your lower back. You should be aware that after a certain period of time the pain will increase. This indicates that sand is starting to come out of the kidneys.

Recipe No. 3. If the pathology is accompanied by frequent swelling, you need to take pear fruits (dried) - 1 cup. Place them in a small saucepan and pour half a liter of boiling water over everything. Boil everything over low heat for 15 minutes. Then leave the pear infusion for 2 hours. Take the product 4 times a day, 1⁄2 cups before meals.

Recipe No. 4. Take rosehip root and chop it. You should get 2 tablespoons. Pour the mixture with 1 cup of boiling water and simmer over low heat (10 minutes). Carefully wrap the container with a terry towel and leave. The course of treatment is two weeks. The drug is drunk 1⁄2 cup 4 times a day.

Recipe No. 5. Chop 2 medium celery and 1 kg of fresh parsley (including root). Add 1 liter of water and 1 kg of bee honey to the mixture. Place on medium heat and boil. Refrigerate the mixture for 3 days. After this, add 1 liter of water to the syrup and boil everything again. You need to take the product 3 times a day, 3 tablespoons on an empty stomach. The course of treatment is 12 days.

Using “grandmother’s recipes” in the treatment of kidney stones can be very effective, but before starting, you should consult with a nephrologist and urologist. After all, this method is not suitable for all types and sizes of stones; there are contraindications.

Folk remedies

Treatment with folk remedies. Such remedies will be effective if kidney stones do not exceed 6 mm:

1Infusion of geranium. Dried and crushed leaves and flowers of geranium should be infused for 9-10 hours in 2 glasses of boiled and cooled water. Then the finished infusion should be strained and drunk in small sips throughout the day. This remedy can not only dissolve kidney stones - it is also very effective for other kidney diseases, diarrhea, gout and rheumatism. 2 Treatment with syrup from rowan juice. To prepare this juice, you need to take one kilogram of fresh rowan, rinse and dry it thoroughly and squeeze out the juice. Then you need to cook all the resulting juice with 500 grams of sugar until it is completely dissolved. 3 Herbal infusion. Take dill, burdock and blueberry leaves, chicory herb in equal quantities, dry, chop and mix well. Take 1.5-2 tablespoons of the resulting mixture and pour 0.5 liters of boiling water. Infuse for 8-9 hours and drink one quarter glass several times a day. The course of treatment with this infusion is at least 2-3 months. 4 Herbal infusion. Take the same amount of lingonberry leaves, St. John's wort, sweet clover, motherwort and madder root - wash it all, dry it, chop it and mix it. Place two tablespoons of the mixture in half a liter of boiling water and leave overnight, wrapping it in something warm. Take 0.5 cups 2-3 times a day. 5 Collection of herbs. Take equal parts of meadowsweet, knotweed, immortelle leaves and bearberry. Dry all this, chop finely and mix. Then put 3-4 teaspoons of the prepared collection in half a liter of boiling water and leave for 8-10 hours. Drink half a glass several times a day. 6Treatment with a decoction of medicinal herbs and wine. Grate 150 grams of horseradish root, add 3 tablespoons of dried and finely chopped knotweed, add 6-7 tablespoons of honey, pour red wine over the resulting mixture and leave in a cool, dark place for 3-4 days. After this, cook over low heat until it boils, cool, strain and consume 50-100 ml. before eating.

Diet

If kidney stones are diagnosed, it is necessary to focus on the composition and quality of the food consumed. And if kidney stones form more than once, you will need to completely change your lifestyle.

The diet for urolithiasis must take into account the type and chemical composition of the stone. It should be compiled only after a comprehensive survey has been carried out.

For example, if oxalates are found in the body, you should avoid chocolate, spinach and salad. It is also necessary to limit the intake of foods high in vitamin C.

In addition, a patient with oxalate group formations needs to include prunes, buckwheat, black bread, oatmeal and cauliflower in the daily diet.

If phosphate group stones are diagnosed, you should avoid dairy products and chicken eggs as much as possible. As for preferences, they should be given to fish, cereals and meat dishes. Natural juices, cranberries, onions, lingonberries and carrots will have a beneficial effect on the body.

If the doctor detects urates, sorrel, smoked meats, chocolate, canned food and coffee are removed from the daily diet. They begin to eat walnuts, various cereals, butter and cheeses.

Regardless of the type of stones, it is necessary to greatly limit the intake of table salt (maximum 10 g per day). It is also necessary to increase the volume of clean water to 2.5 liters per day.

Urolithiasis is a very common disease. But in order not to suffer from severe nagging pain and serious complications, preventive measures should be taken.

Special diet

If a patient has calcium and phosphorus stones in his kidneys, he should take at least 2.5-3 liters of fluid per day. At the same time, do not forget that you should not consume milk, dairy products and fish dishes. In the case of oxalates, the amount of fluid you drink should be two or three liters per day. The following products should be excluded from the diet: dairy products, chocolate, berries, strong tea.

With urate stones, the amount of fluid consumed per day is 2-3 liters per day. As for food, you should not consume all types of fried and smoked meat, fatty meat broths, seafood, seasonings and any alcoholic products.

It is not necessary to drink only mineral or filtered water - it can be replaced with cranberry or lingonberry fruit drinks.

Prevention

In most cases, urolithiasis is a chronic disease, which often leads to the re-formation of crystals in the kidneys and bladder.

To avoid relapse, it is recommended to follow the advice of your doctor: take all prescribed medications, drink plenty of purified fluids and follow a diet.

A very good way to prevent kidney stones is to regularly take herbal infusions with a diuretic effect. For example, tea with cranberries and rose hips helps a lot.

In conclusion, it should be noted: to avoid health problems, it is recommended to undergo a comprehensive examination regularly.

mkb03.ru

Preventive actions

It is known that urolithiasis is mainly chronic, and there is a high probability of recurrence of kidney stones. In order to avoid this, you need to follow all the instructions of your doctor: follow a diet, take all prescribed medications on time, observing the exact dosage. In addition, in no case should you forget to drink plenty of fluids - a person should drink at least 17 glasses of water per day. It is important to remember that the water should be either filtered or mineral without gas, since ordinary water can contain a large accumulation of salts and sand: if the water is not purified, all this can settle in the kidneys.

A good preventative measure can be regular intake of decoctions of diuretic herbs: corn silk and St. John's wort. Rose hips have a very good diuretic effect, which should be infused in boiled water for several hours. This infusion can be used instead of tea.

After visiting a urologist, many people have a question: “The doctor discovered a 5 mm stone in the kidney, what should I do?” Currently, urolithiasis is a very common phenomenon and can occur not only in adults, but also in children. Stones are formed due to improper lifestyle, so preventive measures should be taken to prevent this condition.

But what to do if the formation of stones has already occurred? They themselves will not be able to resolve, and an advanced disease can lead to dangerous complications, including kidney failure.

Why do kidney stones form?

The kidneys process fluids and eliminate toxins. Urine formation begins in the renal system. And if the urine is saturated with acids that can precipitate, urate-type stones will form. If the environment is alkaline, phosphate stones and uralites begin to accumulate. The most common stones are oxolate stones.

Why does the composition of urine, its acid-base balance change and the formation of stones begins? Doctors identify several main reasons:

Errors in nutrition . Extremes (complete refusal of meat or consumption of large quantities of baked goods) lead to the fact that the composition of a person’s urine changes significantly, the environment becomes critically acidic or excessively alkaline.
Kidney diseases . Any inflammatory disease provokes increased mucus secretion. Mucus can accumulate and clog the ducts, interfering with the flow of urine. As a result, salts are not excreted, but accumulate in the kidney.
Residual stones in the urinary tract. Dead kidney tissue, protein residues, mucus, alkalis ingested with liquid, and even pieces of cancer cells can lead to the development of urolithiasis.
Urinary retention. It can be involuntary when a person suffers from inflammatory diseases of the urinary tract and voluntary - if you endure it for a long time and do not urinate.

Remember! You can't stand it if you want to go to the toilet. This is dangerous for your health. It’s better to go pee around the corner than to treat kidney disease later.

Genetic predisposition. The accumulation of salts in the urine provokes gout.
Insufficient fluid intake. If a person drinks less than two liters of liquid per day, there is simply not enough water to remove salts.
Taking certain medications.

Another type of stone is coral-shaped. These formations are rare, but it is very difficult to get rid of them, since they contain not only salts, but also other particles - red blood cells, dead kidney tissue, mucus.

What to do if a kidney stone of 4–10 mm is detected? First of all, you need to determine its type and establish what led to the accumulation of salts. By eliminating the cause of the development of pathology, the appearance of new stones can be avoided.

What measures should you take if you are diagnosed with kidney stones during an examination?

The most important thing to do is to calm down. There is no point in panicking in such a situation. Since the presence of stones in your kidneys is a fait accompli, panic, as in any other unpleasant situation, will not bring results.

Next, you need to calmly discuss further measures to treat this disease with a urologist. And it is very important to understand that neither articles in magazines or the Internet, nor folk remedies, nor, especially, the advice of good friends without any medical education will help you. Only competent and qualified assistance from a specialist. In all these sources you can look and read or ask for reviews about doctors and clinics that help treat urolithiasis.

In addition to all of the above, you can help your body by changing your diet, giving up spicy, fatty, and salty foods. By getting rid of bad habits and starting to purify drinking water from calcium salts in order to soften it.

Signs of pathology

Lower back pain - when moving or at rest - may indicate kidney disease. Stones may not be noticed if they do not move and do not provoke inflammatory processes. The movement of stones leads to the fact that a person feels acute pain - renal colic. It radiates to the side, to the lower abdomen, under the shoulder blade, and can even be felt in the heart area.

Patients also complain of aching, cramping, dull pain. They are not as intense as when the stone moves, but they are consistent. Other signs of pathology:

Temperature increase. The longer a person endures pain, the greater the likelihood of developing an inflammatory process.
Chills and a feeling of goosebumps running throughout the body.
Characteristic swelling of the face in the morning, as if the person slept upside down all night.
Monotonous headache, dull, not pronounced localization.
General weakness, lethargy, low concentration.
Nausea, which occurs simultaneously with the appearance and intensification of pain in the side.

Based on the symptoms, the doctor can determine how dangerous kidney stones are for the patient, determine exactly which kidney contains the formation, and whether there is a need for complex surgical treatment.

Causes of pathology

1Lack of water. If you don't drink enough water or other liquids per day, you may become dehydrated, which makes you more likely to develop kidney stones. We should not exclude climatic conditions - in particularly hot countries, the amount of fluid consumed per day should increase. 2Kidney diseases. Often, kidney disease becomes chronic over time. Such diseases may include cystitis and pyelonephritis. Congenital kidney diseases can also play a significant role in the formation of stones. This type of disease includes salts in the kidneys. Over time, salts turn into stones - this mainly concerns urate salts. Too much calcium in the human body can also lead to the formation of kidney stones. Often, a disease such as gout leads to the formation of stones. 3Very often, poor nutrition becomes one of the causes of the formation of kidney stones. Excessive consumption of foods containing calcium can lead to the disease. Fatty foods, large amounts of salt and animal protein can also affect the formation of kidney stones. 4Sedentary work also leads to kidney stones. This is due to the fact that a sedentary lifestyle and a person staying in one position for a long time can lead to congestion in the pelvis, and this, in turn, leads to the formation of urolithiasis. Expert opinion: Today it is one of the most effective remedies in the treatment of kidney diseases. I have been using German drops in my practice for a long time...

An effective way to cleanse your kidneys at home

How to remove stones?

To get rid of the pathology, the patient first needs to undergo an examination to determine what kind of stones are in the kidneys, how many there are, what size they are, and how dangerous the formations are for the renal system. The urologist usually recommends that the patient undergo a comprehensive diagnosis:

Take a urine pH test several times to determine the level of acidity.
Do an ultrasound of the kidneys.
Get an X-ray of the pelvic organs.
Get a computed tomography (CT) scan of your kidneys.

It is with the help of CT that a urologist can accurately make a diagnosis, excluding cystic formations and cancerous tumors. After the patient has been examined, comprehensive treatment is prescribed.

Diet to help dissolve stones

Nutrition is of great importance in treatment. If a patient in whose kidneys urate stones have formed still continues to eat only meat, drug therapy will not produce results.

First of all, the patient is recommended to adjust his diet. Moreover, you cannot go to extremes and completely abandon any product. In order for urine pH to return to normal, the diet must be balanced.

Drug removal of stones

If the movement of stones provokes renal colic, therapy will be aimed at eliminating the pain syndrome. The patient is prescribed:

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs – Diclofenac, Ibufen.
Antispasmodics – Papaverine, Drotaverine.

Stagnation of urine caused by blockage of the ducts with stones can be corrected surgically by inserting a catheter through the ureter or through an incision in the kidney.

If kidney stones have not reached a size of 5 mm, they may not be removed, but only observed by adjusting the patient’s diet. Your doctor may recommend taking special medications to help dissolve the stones. They need to be taken for a long period of time, at least three months, with regular ultrasounds to monitor the condition.

Attention! Once you find out that you have kidney stones, do not try to get rid of them with the help of diuretic herbs! This can cause the stone to move and block the ducts, leading to the development of renal colic and acute urinary retention.

Recommended reading:
Tablets for kidney pain;
List of effective drugs for kidney stones;
How to understand that it is the kidneys that hurt.

Operations to remove stones

If a person is found to have large kidney stones (5 mm or more), potentially dangerous to the body, the patient is offered surgical treatment. There are several types of operations:

Traditional abdominal . An incision is made into the kidney and the stone is removed. The operation is the simplest in terms of execution, but after it it is the most difficult for the patient to recover, in addition, given the possible appearance of recurrent stones, large-scale abdominal operations are not rational. Coral stones are usually removed surgically.
Laparoscopy and endoscopy . Used to remove small stones. Fractions are removed through minimal incisions. The surgeon gains access to the stone through the urethra or after making a puncture in the renal pelvis. This allows you to significantly shorten the recovery period and speed up tissue healing.
Urethroscopy . It occurs when a salt formation leaves the kidney, enters the ureter, and gets stuck in the urethra, interfering with the outflow of urine. Using a urethroscope, the stone is removed. If it is impossible to remove the stone, it is crushed and removed in parts.

After surgery, medication may be required, as well as a salt-free diet to restore normal kidney function.

Article on the topic - how to remove stones from the ureter at home.

How to tell the difference?

When diagnosing, urate stones are clearly visible on ultrasound, but, unlike other types of stones, they are not visible on X-ray, which is due to their low density. You can accurately determine the composition of the stone by examining a stone that has previously passed or was removed during surgery. An analysis that confirms the presence of urate stones is pH testing, in which the acidity of the urine is below normal. Sometimes, to clarify the diagnosis, the patient is prescribed a computed tomogram - with the help of this study, you can find out the exact density of the stone. But this study is not necessary: if there is a stone on an ultrasound, but not on an x-ray, and a shift in urine pH toward acidic is repeatedly detected, then you can try to dissolve it.

Often, urate stones occur in patients with impaired purine metabolism, for example, with gout, so all patients with suspected urate nephrolithiasis must determine the level of uric acid in the blood.

Crushing stones

To avoid tissue incisions, which in any case are accompanied by a recovery period, the urologist may recommend that the patient undergo stone crushing instead of surgery. This method of treatment is more gentle; there are several types of manipulations:

Shock wave lithotripsy

Using this method, you can remove stones up to 2 cm in size. Usually, urologists prescribe the procedure only if the solid fractions exceed 1.5 cm in size. Ultrasound waves passing through the soft tissues of the pelvic organs do not harm them. But the stones, under the influence of multiple sound shocks, are destroyed to the state of sand and washed away along with urine.

Ultrasound can cause pain in the patient, since there is minimal impact on soft tissue, so the procedure is performed under local anesthesia. There is also a danger that the calculus will break into small sharp pieces, which can cause renal colic. Therefore, ultrasonic crushing is carried out several times (2-3 sessions).

There are contraindications to the procedure:

Poor blood clotting.
Excess weight (more than 100 kg or obesity).
Urolithiasis of the ureter. Solid fractions below the area where the large stone is located.
Infectious disease of the genitourinary system.

The operation is 90% effective.

Laser lithotripsy

It is used if the stone has not reached a size of more than 6 mm and is not amenable to drug dissolution. It is possible to crush a stone from 4 mm in diameter to 2.5 cm. The laser is directed pointwise to the area where the stone is located, the procedure is carried out using an endoscope, which is inserted subcutaneously through an incision. After laser exposure, only dust remains from the stone, which dissolves in the urine and exits the ureter.

Laser crushing is performed under general anesthesia. Moreover, the patient needs to undergo preparation for the procedure and take a course of special antibacterial drugs to avoid inflammation.

Urologists, when offering crushing of kidney stones, often recommend that patients choose a procedure with a laser, since this method allows you to remove any stones in one procedure.

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Why can stones form?

Often this pathology occurs due to lack of water. Not drinking enough fluid can lead to dehydration, which contributes to the formation of kidney stones. You should also focus on the climate, since in hot regions the amount of water you drink per day needs to be increased.

Kidney diseases become chronic after some time. This may be cystitis and pyelonephritis. Also quite often, stones are formed due to congenital kidney pathologies. For example, salts in this organ after some time form into stones, this is especially true for urate salts. In addition, the formation of stones occurs due to too much calcium in the body, as well as gout.

The pathological condition is often caused by poor diet. You should limit the consumption of foods containing calcium, and also remove fatty foods, animal proteins and large amounts of salt from your diet.

Sedentary work leads to the formation of kidney stones. This is explained by the fact that if a person remains in one position for a long time, congestion occurs in the pelvis, provoking the occurrence of urolithiasis.

Proper nutrition

Everyone knows that the growth of kidney stones is caused by poor nutrition, so it is best to adhere to a therapeutic diet that will help reduce high levels of acids in the body, ensure good urodynamics, and restore the acidity of urine to soften the stones.

In addition, you must:

drink 8-10 glasses of water every day;
refuse heavy fatty foods;
limit salt intake;
if you are overweight, bring your weight back to normal through physical activity and proper nutrition;
give up alcohol;
take decoctions of diuretic herbs.

Using Ultrasound

Ultrasonic stone crushing is a modern and very functional method. With its help, the largest and hardest stones are usually crushed. Ultrasonic waves destroy the stone into smaller fragments, so there is a risk that an exacerbation of inflammatory kidney disease will occur due to fragments entering the pelvis, renal calyces, and lower part of the ureter.

Crushing of kidney stones is carried out if they are 1-2 cm in size. This procedure is carried out only in a hospital, because the likelihood of complications is high and, thanks to resuscitation equipment, a person’s life can be saved if bleeding occurs from the urinary tract.

The essence of the procedure is that after establishing the exact location of the stones, an ultrasonic sensor is installed above them. High-intensity rays begin their impact within 10-15 minutes, and a nephroscope inserted into the kidney area removes small stone fragments. A few days after the procedure, it is necessary to conduct an X-ray examination, during which a contrast agent is injected into the radial vein. It begins to fill the renal pelvis system, thanks to which the image clearly shows whether stones remain in the kidneys.

How to remove stones in a conservative way?

If a kidney stone is 5 mm, what should I do? Drinking fluid helps dilute the concentration of urine and reduces the number of crystallization nuclei in urine. To prevent kidney stones from growing, you need to drink at least 1.5 liters of water every day. Due to kidney disease, the amount of toxins in the blood serum begins to increase. When drinking water, toxic substances can dissolve.

To get rid of kidney stones, you need to drink purified water, as well as lingonberry or cranberry drinks. Compotes made from dried fruits and apples also do an excellent job of treating stones, but are still inferior in effectiveness to lingonberry fruit drinks.

Drinking plenty of fluid helps stones pass through the urinary tract on their own, but only if their size is no more than 6 mm. If they are larger than this value, then only surgery will be required to remove them.