Skip to main content

Kidney Stones

Renal calculi, or kidney stones is the formation of crystals in the kidneys causing excretory issues. These stones mainly form in the renal pelvis or the ureter in the kidney. It is accompanied by symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and a burning sensation when urinating 



Urine consists of salts and various compounds such as Calcium, Potassium, Sodium, Oxalate, Phosphate and Uric acid. Calcium oxalate is the most common stone formed in the kidneys, it accounts for 80% of kidney stones


The crystals can scratch the walls of the urinary tract, sending nerve impulses to the brain causing excruciating abdominal pain. The scratches also cause blood vessels embedded behind the walls to burst, causing blood to enter the urinary system. This causes the patient to urinate blood.


IF the stone is big enough to cause a blockage in the urinary tract, this can create a backflow of urine and infect the kidneys itselves. However, most kidney stones do not grow large enough to cause a blockage. This way, doctors simply ask the patient to drink substantial amounts of water to wash the stones through the urinary tract.


If the stones are slightly larger, medications such as Alpha-blockers are used to relax the muscles in the urinary tract to allow the stone to pass. 





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0GpIMNTPYg

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/kidney-stones/symptoms-causes/syc-20355755#:~:text=Kidney%20stones%20form%20when%20your,for%20kidney%20stones%20to%20form

https://www.webmd.com/kidney-stones/kidney-stone-causes

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/5-steps-for-preventing-kidney-stones-201310046721

.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive nervous system disorder that affects one’s movements. Parkinson’s disease signs and symptoms are different for every individual and may go unnoticed in the early stage. Symptoms typically start on one side of the body and remain worse on that side even after the symptoms begin appearing in both sides of the body.  Generally, the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease include tremors, slowed movement, rigid muscles, impaired posture and balance, loss of automatic movements such as blinking or swinging of arms when walking, and speech and writing changes.  Parkinson’s disease occurs when neurons in an area of the brain that controls movement becomes impaired or dies. These neurons normally produce dopamine. As more neurons become impaired or die, the amount of dopamine produced in the body is reduced significantly, causing the movement problems associated with Parkinson’s disease.  People with Parkinson’s also lose the nerve endings that produc...
Post a Comment
Read more

Horner’s Syndrome

Horner’s syndrome is a condition where the sympathetic nerves on the face are damaged. 3 classic signs of Horner’s syndrome include miosis (constriction of the pupil), ptosis (drooping of the upper eyelid) and anhidrosis (absence of sweating of the face). It is a result of other medical problems such as stroke, tumor or spinal cord injury. Hence, treatment for the underlying issue may restore nerve function. The nerve pathway affected in Horner’s syndrome is divided into three groups of neurons called the first, second and third order neurons. These neurons lead from the hypothalamus of the brain through the spinal cord and finally along the facial skin and muscles of the iris and eyelids  Sources: https://rarediseases.info.nih.gov/diseases/6670/ horners-syndrome
Post a Comment
Read more

Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a bone disease that occurs when there is too little bone or when the body produces too little bone. The word is derived from the terms ‘osteo’ which means ‘bone’ and ‘porosis’ which means porous. Compared to normal bones, the spongy bone has more holes or pores, weakening the structural integrity of the skeleton. Bone cels called Osteoclasts, break down bone tissue and Osteoblasts build bone using minerals such as Calcium and Phosphate. Hormones such as oestrogen and testosterone help to keep the number and activity of Osteoblast high.  There are 2 types of osteoporosis. Primary Osteoporosis is due to old age when Osteoclasts remove more bone than Osteoblast make. This usually happens after the age of 30 when adults reach their ‘peak bone mass’. Secondary Osteoporosis affects both children and adults and mainly stem from cancer, hormonal imbalances or certain use of medications. In severe cases, bones may become too weak to support the rest of the human body and is ...
Post a Comment
Read more