Kidney stones?

Ouuuucheee!

Yes, it’s painful, and If you ever had one, you know how this guy feels.

Some people say that kidney stones are the most painful condition of all. Anyone can get one at any age. There are several types of kidney stones, and their occurrence can differ with age and sex.

Anyone can get a kidney stone:

Nobody’s immune.

The picture above is of a man in pain with a microscopic view of a kidney stone’s surface in the background. It’s pretty easy to see why these things cause pain and bleeding on their way out of the kidneys and eventually out of the body.

They can cause a lot of pain and do a lot of damage before they’re gone. Fortunately, kidney stones are usually small enough to pass on their own without medical intervention.

Not always, though, and there are techniques for removing them. Sometimes, surgery is needed.

When to seek medical assistance for kidney stones:

Here are the warning signs and symptoms:

  • Severe pain that makes finding a comfortable position difficult
  • Nausea and vomiting, along with severe pain
  • Fever, chills, and intense pain
  • Blood in your urine

These symptoms might not always be a result of kidney stones, but they are definite signals to seek medical help. If you can’t find a doctor, go to the nearest emergency treatment center.

Female/Male Urinary System Differences:

From the kidneys down to the bladder, there isn’t much difference in how kidney stones affect the sexes. Stones usually get lodged in the Ureters first, where they can cause extreme pain in the lower back and possibly cause damage and bleeding damage.

Sometimes urine can pass by the stones, but they can also cause urine to back up into the kidney. This is an additional problem and can do permanent damage to the kidney.

Once past the ureter, the next step is the bladder, where there is a lot of room, and stones might accumulate in the bladder’s base, sloshing around in urine. There are no symptoms at this point, but there’s one more step.

Last step — the Urethras:

When a stone exits the bladder, it goes into the urethra. Women don’t usually have a problem at this point because the urethras of women are relatively short.

The urethras of men, however, are several times longer than those of women (see the above illustration), so the likelihood of stone elimination problems at this point is much greater for men.

Also, for men, the stones must pass through the prostate gland (if they still have one), and a swollen prostate gland can cause a lot of problems with stones.

BPH (Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia) is common in older men, and it has the effect of swelling and squeezing the urethra shut. This is why older men have trouble urinating. This is also a place where a kidney stone can lodge and cause a backup of urine into the bladder with accompanying pain.

There are lots of issues with kidney stones and BPH.

BPH itself can cause urine to pool in the bladder and create bladder stones. This is an additional complication that can lead to several problems.

Of course, this is an issue separate from kidney stones. BPH causes lots of problems elsewhere for men, and sometimes, these are not only annoying, but they can be serious and quite painful.

BPH is common and rates an article of its own, so let’s get back to kidney stones.

So, where do kidney stones come from?

Kidney stones are formed by the crystallization of solubilized components in urine, usually by calcium and oxalates (from food), forming a calcium oxalate stone, which is the most common stone.

Yes, there are other types of stones, but they all have the same effects. So, let’s stick to calcium oxalate stones for our example.

The more concentrated your urine and the more oxalates you consume, the more likely you are to develop stones. This is pretty simple, really. Urine contains a lot of solids. Pee in a glass and let it sit for a few days. After the urine evaporates, you will see that there are many solids left in the glass.

So, urine is loaded with dissolved solids, and kidney stones are just the product of solids joining together (reconnecting) and precipitating out of the fluid.

So finally, how do you prevent stones in the first place?

Well, this is a great question, and it might not be possible to eliminate stones altogether, but you can minimize their possibility by doing a few things:

Now, I’m going to tell you what I do to prevent kidney stones. You can mull it over, do some research on your own, and decide what’s best for you.

Here’s what I do:

  1. Drink loads of water. Just diluting your urine alone discourages the formation of crystals. Your body excretes water in many ways, so instead of focusing on how much water you drink, track how many times you urinate (a much better way to monitor dehydration). Shoot for at least six times a day. If you don’t make it, drink more water.
  2. What you eat is critical as well, especially if you’re prone to developing kidney stones. Here’s a great article about diet and stone prevention.
  3. 200 milligrams of calcium citrate first thing in the morning.
  4. 200 milligrams of magnesium citrate with evening meal.

Now, because I’m a male who still has his prostate, I use a special prostate supplement that I get here. This is a specially designed cream that I have used for years to relieve BPH, and I’ve found it to be the most effective product of its type.

Nothing I do or use requires a prescription. If you feel the need, however, discuss this with your physician.

Some People…

Suffer repeatedly from kidney stones. This is a condition that requires the help of a qualified professional. The information I have given you is intended to help you understand what kidney stones are, why they occur, and give you some “first-line of defense” actions to prevent or lessen their development.

Thanks for reading, and visit my Master Toolbox to get more health information.

OMY1

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