Understanding What Causes Kidney Stones
To understand what causes kidney stones, let us see how they are formed in the first place.
How do kidney stones form?
Your kidneys are part of the urinary tract or system which acts to flush out the waste products of your body in the form of urine.
Kidneys remove extra water and wastes from your blood.
The extra water and wastes become urine which passes through tubes called ureters to the bladder.
The bladder stores the urine until you go to the bathroom. When kidneys separate the waste products from your body, these wastes are usually dissolved by the urine fluid.
But sometimes they form crystals which remain in the inside of kidney. Over time these crystals may gather to become a hard stone-like lump. This hardening is what causes the kidney stones.
Most of the time these crystal-like kidney stones will flow out with the urine without you being aware of them. But sometimes these crystals accumulate to become a large stone which could block part of the urinary system such as ureter or the urethra.
When this happens you experience severe pain in your abdomen or groin. It is at this point of time when most people usually become aware that they have a kidney stone problem. In fact pain is one of the kidney stone symptoms. Kidney stones are a fairly common condition, it is also a fact that not everybody gets them. In other words what causes kidney stones in some may not do the same in others.
So why is it that some people suffer from them while many other don’t?
Doctors may not always have the answer to this question. While it is thought that certain foods could promote the stone build up in your kidney, only those people who are susceptible to kidney stones could possibly be affected by them.
For example, it is believed that a person with a family history of kidney stones is more likely develop them than those whose family members were free of this condition. Certain hereditary diseases like renal tubular acidosis could be what causes of kidney stones formation. So it could be said that heredity could perhaps be one of the factors of what causes kidney stones.
In addition, urinary tract infections, kidney disorders like cystic kidney diseases and metabolic disorders such as hyperparathyroidism could play a role in building up of kidney stones in your body. Moreover, if you once had kidney stones and got them removed by treatment, it is likely that you could develop them again.
Types of Kidney Stones And Their Causes:
There are four main types of kidney stones known to medical science.
Calcium oxalate (Calcium kidney stone): This is the most common type of kidney stone. It contains calcium which is a normal of part of our diet. Calcium which is not used by the body to build up bones and muscles goes to the kidney for disposal. Normally the kidneys flush this un-used calcium with urine. But when this doesn’t happen with some people, calcium joins with other waste products to form this type of kidney stone.
Struvite stone:
An infection in the urinary system could cause this type of kidney stone. A struvite stone have mineral magnesium and the ammonia waste product.
Uric acid stone: When your urine has too much acid, you are likely to have this type of kidney stone. A cut back in the meat you eat is usually advised in this condition.
Cystine stone:
This one is rare. Cystine helps in building up muscles, nerves, and other parts of the body. But cystine also could help form a kidney stone in your urinary system. The disorder that causes cystine stones runs in families. In other words this is a hereditary disease.
As all these kidney stone type are formed by different substances, they require different types of medications and dietary control. This is the reason why doctors need to find out what type of kidney stone you have before prescribing a course of action.
So What Causes Kidney Stones?
As seen above, there are various types of kidney stones with different causes. So it is for a doctor to find out what causes kidney stones in a particular person and prescribe appropriate course of treatment. This means that if you have symptoms of kidney stones for instance sudden pain in abdomen or sides or pain in passing urine it is advisable to seek the advice of your physician without delay.
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