Homeopathic Treatment of Kidney stone

Treatment of Kidney stone

Homeopathic Treatment of Kidney Stone

 

A kidney stone, also known as a renal calculus is a hard, crystalline mineral material formed within the kidney or urinary tract. Kidney stones are a common cause of blood in the urine (hematuria) and often severe pain in the abdomen, flank (the area between the ribs and hip), or groin.

Kidney stones are a significant source of morbidity. 80% of those with kidney stones are men. Men most commonly experience their first episode between ages 30–40 years, while for women the age at first presentation is somewhat later.

Causes of Kidney Stone:

Kidney stones often have no definite, single cause, although several factors may increase your risk.

Kidney stones form when your urine contains more crystal-forming substances — such as calcium, oxalate and uric acid — than the fluid in your urine can dilute. At the same time, your urine may lack substances that keep crystals from sticking together, creating an ideal environment for kidney stones to form.

A number of different medical conditions can lead to an increased risk for developing kidney stones:

• Family or personal history: If someone in your family has kidney stones, you're more likely to develop stones, too. And if you've already had one or more kidney stones, you're at increased risk of developing another.
• Being an adult: Kidney stones are most common in adults age 40 and older, though kidney stones may occur at any age.
• Being a man: Men are more likely to develop kidney stones, although an increasing number of women are developing kidney stones.
• Dehydration: Not drinking enough water each day can increase your risk of kidney stones. People who live in warm climates and those who sweat a lot may be at higher risk than others.
• Gout results in chronically increased amount of uric acid in the blood and urine and can lead to the formation of uric acid stones.
• Hypercalciuria (high calcium in the urine), another inherited condition, causes stones in more than half of cases. In this condition, too much calcium is absorbed from food and excreted into the urine, where it may form calcium phosphate or calcium oxalate stones.
• Other conditions associated with an increased risk of kidney stones include hyperparathyroidism, kidney diseases such as renal tubular acidosis, and other inherited metabolic conditions, including cystinuria and hyperoxaluria.
• Chronic diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure (hypertension) are also associated with an increased risk of developing kidney stones.
• People with inflammatory bowel disease are also more likely to develop kidney stones.
• Those who have undergone intestinal bypass or ostomy surgery are also at increased risk for kidney stones.
• Some medications also raise the risk of kidney stones. These medications include some diuretics, calcium-containing antacids, and the protease inhibitor indinavir (Crixivan), a drug used to treat HIV infection.
• Dietary factors and practices may increase the risk of stone formation in susceptible individuals. In particular, inadequate fluid intake predisposes to dehydration, which is a major risk factor for stone formation. Other dietary practices that may increase an individual's risk of forming kidney stones include a high intake of animal protein, a high-salt diet, excessive sugar consumption, excessive vitamin D supplementation, and possible excessive intake of oxalate-containing foods such as spinach. Interestingly, low levels of dietary calcium intake may alter the calcium-oxalate balance and result in the increased excretion of oxalate and a propensity to form oxalate stones.

Types of kidney stones:

Knowing the type of kidney stone helps determine the cause and may give clues on how to reduce your risk of getting more kidney stones. Types of kidney stones include:

• Calcium stones: Most kidney stones are calcium stones, usually in the form of calcium oxalate. Oxalate is a naturally occurring substance found in food. Some fruits and vegetables, as well as nuts and chocolate, have high oxalate levels. Your liver also produces oxalate. Dietary factors, high doses of vitamin D, intestinal bypass surgery and several metabolic disorders can increase the concentration of calcium or oxalate in urine. Calcium stones may also occur in the form of calcium phosphate.
• Struvite stones: Struvite stones form in response to an infection, such as a urinary tract infection. These stones can grow quickly and become quite large, sometimes with few symptoms or little warning.
• Uric acid stones: Uric acid stones can form in people who don't drink enough fluids or who lose too much fluid, those who eat a high-protein diet, and those who have gout. Certain genetic factors also may increase your risk of uric acid stones.
• Cystine stones: These stones form in people with a hereditary disorder that causes the kidneys to excrete too much of certain amino acids (cystinuria).

Symptoms of Kidney Stones:

A kidney stone may not cause symptoms until it moves around within your kidney or passes into your ureter — the tube connecting the kidney and bladder. At that point, these signs and symptoms may occur:

• Severe pain in the side and back, below the ribs
• Pain that spreads to the lower abdomen and groin
• Pain that comes in waves and fluctuates in intensity
• Pain on urination
• Pink, red or brown urine
• Cloudy or foul-smelling urine
• Nausea and vomiting
• Persistent urge to urinate
• Urinating more often than usual
• Fever and chills if an infection is present
• Pain caused by a kidney stone may change — for instance, shifting to a different location or increasing in intensity — as the stone moves through your urinary tract.

Tests and Diagnosis of Kidney Stones:

• Blood tests: Blood tests may reveal too much calcium or uric acid in your blood. Blood test results help monitor the health of your kidneys and may lead doctor to check for other medical conditions.
• Urine tests: Tests of your urine, such as the 24-hour urine collection, may show that you're excreting too many stone-forming minerals or too few stone-preventing substances.
• Imaging tests: Imaging tests may show kidney stones in your urinary tract. Options range from simple abdominal X-rays, which can miss small kidney stones, to high-speed computerized tomography (CT) that may reveal even tiny stones. Other imaging options include an ultrasound, a noninvasive test, and intravenous pyelography, which involves injecting dye into your arm vein and taking X-rays as the dye travels through your kidneys and bladder.

 

 

 

Treatment of Kidney Stones:

Treatment for kidney stones varies, depending on the type of stone and the cause.

Small stones with minimal symptoms:

Most kidney stones won't require invasive treatment. You may be able to pass a small stone by:

• Drinking water: Drinking as much as 2 to 3 quarts (1.9 to 2.8 liters) a day may help flush out your urinary system. Unless your doctor tells you otherwise, drink enough fluid — mostly water — to produce clear or nearly clear urine.
• Pain relievers:Passing a small stone can cause some discomfort. To relieve mild pain, your doctor may recommend pain relievers such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, others), acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) or naproxen sodium (Aleve).
• Medical therapy: doctor may give you a medication to help pass your kidney stone. This type of medication, known as an alpha blocker, relaxes the muscles in your ureter, helping you pass the kidney stone more quickly and with less pain.

Large stones and those that cause symptoms:

Kidney stones that can't be treated with conservative measures — either because they're too large to pass on their own or because they cause bleeding, kidney damage or ongoing urinary tract infections — may require more invasive treatment. Procedures may include:

• Using sound waves to break up stones (extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy ): For certain kidney stones , extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (SWL)uses sound waves to create strong vibrations (shock waves) that break the stones into tiny pieces that can be passed in your urine. The procedure lasts about 45 to 60 minutes and can cause moderate pain, so you may be under sedation or light anesthesia to make you comfortable..
• Percutaneous nephrolithotomy (Surgery to remove very large stones in the kidney). This procedure involves surgically removing of kidney stone  byusing small telescopes and instruments inserted through a small incision in your back. You'll receive general anesthesia during the surgery and be in the hospital for one to two days while you recover.
• Using a scope to remove stones: To remove a smaller stone in your ureter or kidney, your doctor may pass a thin lighted tube (ureteroscope) equipped with a camera through your urethra and bladder to your ureter. Once the stone is located, special tools can snare the stone or break it into pieces that will pass in your urine. Your doctor may then place a small tube (stent) in the ureter to relieve swelling and promote healing. You may need general or local anesthesia during this procedure.
• Parathyroid gland surgery. Some calcium stones are caused by overactive parathyroid glands, which are located on the four corners of your thyroid gland, just below your Adam's apple. When these glands produce too much parathyroid hormone (hyperparathyroidism), your calcium levels can become too high and kidney stones may form as a result. Hyperparathyroidism sometimes occurs when a small, benign tumor forms in one of your parathyroid glands or you develop another condition that leads these glands to produce more parathyroid hormone. Removing the growth from the gland stops the formation of kidney stones.

 

 

Homeopathic Treatment of Kidney stone:

Kidney Stones, acute as well as chronic, can be effectively treated with Homeopathic Medicines. Homeopathic treatment can avoid surgery in many cases. It is highly recommended in cases where tendency of having recurrent stones is there. Patient’s case history is studied in detail and a well selected homeopathic medicine is given which removes this tendency from patient’s body so that he does not have any more stones again. It has especially proved very helpful in cases of stones where surgery or other procedure is not advisable due to various reasons. All homeopathic medicines are safe, natural, easy to administer and without any adverse effects.

The aim of homeopathy is not only to treat kidney stone but to address its underlying cause and individual susceptibility. As far as therapeutic medication is concerned, several well-proved medicines are available for kidney stone treatment that can be selected on the basis of cause, sensation and modalities of the complaints.