Kidney stones symptoms

If you have ever worked in an office, chances are you have heard someone’s horror stories about their kidney stones. The story of pain, medication and sometimes even surgery is something some people love to tell—even though going through it could have been one of the worst pains they ever felt.

Kidney stones are small, crystals that can form in the urinary tract. Most people’s urine has certain chemicals that prevent these stones from being formed—but unfortunately, others aren’t so lucky. For many people, the crystals are very small and can pass through the urethra without even being noticed. Of course, it can’t be that easy for everyone, so some people have extreme pain and have to have surgery or medication to treat them.

If you are wondering whether or not you have kidney stones, here is a list of kidney stones symptoms for you to review:

Symptom free: Some kidney stones, as we mentioned above, form and pass with absolutely no symptoms because they are small enough to pass along your urethra without you having even the smallest sensation. If you have no pain, blood or vomiting, there should not be a problem with just allowing the stones to pass without treatment. Of course, you should still consult a physician.

Nausea: The pain of kidney stones can cause you to feel nauseous. You may not actually vomit, but you could feel as though you will. Some anti-nausea medication can help you feel better, but if the pain is intense it may not alleviate it completely.

Vomiting: At times the nausea will result in vomiting. Again, the pain of the stones can cause this. If you find yourself vomiting frequently, be sure to drink extra fluids so that you do not get dehydrated.

Pain: The worst symptom of kidney stones, by far, is pain. The stabbing pain from having a sharp, crystal object moving through your bladder and soft urethra can be devastating. Passing the stone can be just as painful, if not more. The pain you feel from kidney stones is not just felt in the urinary tract, but also in the back, abdomen, groin, side, and the actual genitals.

Blood in urine: You may have some blood in your urine as a result of kidney stones. This could be from small internal tears caused by the sharp edges of the crystallized stone. There probably won’t be a large amount of blood, but some drops.

Painful urination: As the stone passes through the urinary tract, each time you urinate you could end up feeling more pain because your flow of urine is pushing the stone through the urinary tract.

Not all kidney stones pass through your urinary tract. You may have some of the above kidney stones symptoms even if your kidney stones stay in the kidney instead of passing through your body. No matter where in your system your kidney stones are your physician will be able to locate them with special tests and ultrasounds.

If you think you may have kidney stones make an appointment with your primary care physician so he or she can do an x-ray or an ultrasound to find out whether or not you actually do have kidney stones. From there, you can work with your physician to decide the best manner of treatment for your condition.

If you want to avoid kidney stones, work with your primary care physician to determine the cause of them. Every person’s body is different, so your chemical make up that is responsible for causing the kidney stones could be different than your family members or friends.

Last updated on Nov 7th, 2009 and filed under Genitourinary Disorders. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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