Your kidneys are bean-shaped organs, each about the size of your fist.
They are located near the middle of your back, just below the rib cage.
The kidneys are sophisticated trash collectors.
Every day, your kidneys process about 200 quarts of blood to sift out about 2 quarts of waste products and extra water.
The waste and extra water become urine, which flows to your bladder through tubes called ureters (YOOR-uh-ters).
Your bladder (BLAD-ur) stores urine until you go to the bathroom.
A kidney stone is a solid piece of material that forms in the kidney out of substances in the urine.
A stone may stay in the kidney or break loose and travel down the urinary tract.
A small stone may pass all of the way out of the body without causing too much pain.
A larger stone may get stuck in a ureter, the bladder, or the urethra.
A problem stone can block the flow of urine and cause great pain.
Kidney stones may be as small as a grain of sand or as large as a pearl.
Some stones are even as big as golf balls.
Stones may be smooth or jagged.
They are usually yellow or brown.
If you have a stone that will not pass by itself, your doctor may need to take steps to get rid of it.
Your doctor can use a machine to send shock waves directly to the kidney stone.
The shock waves break a large stone into small stones that will pass through your urinary system with your urine.
The method does not require cutting open the body.
Two types of shock wave machines exist.
With one machine, you sit in a tub of water.
With the other type of machine, you lie on a table.
The full name for this method is extracorporeal (EKS-trah-kor-POR-ee-ul) shock wave lithotripsy (LITH-oh-TRIP-see).
Doctors often call it ESWL for short.
In this method, the doctor makes a small cut into the patient's back and makes a narrow tunnel through the skin to the stone inside the kidney.
With a special instrument that goes through the tunnel, the doctor can find the stone and remove it.
The technical name for this method is percutaneous (PER-kyoo-TAY-nee-us) nephrolithotomy (NEF-row-lith-AH-tuh-mee).
A ureteroscope (yoo-REE-ter-uh-scope) looks like a long wire.
The doctor inserts it into the patient's urethra, passes it up through the bladder, and directs it to the ureter where the stone is located.
The ureteroscope has a camera that allows the doctor to see the stone.
A cage is used to catch the stone and pull it out.
The best way for your doctor to find out what kind of stone you have is to test the stone itself.
If you know that you are passing a stone, try to catch it in a strainer.
Your doctor may ask for a urine sample or take blood to find out what is causing your stones.
You may need to collect your urine for a 24-hour period.
These tests will help your doctor find ways for you to avoid stones in the future.
Herbs for the Urinary Tract : Herbal Relief for Kidney Stones, Bladder Infections and Other Problems of the Urinary Tract
There are four major types of kidney stones.
The most common type of stone contains calcium (KAL-see-um).
Calcium is a normal part of a healthy diet.
Calcium that is not used by the bones and muscles goes to the kidneys.
In most people, the kidneys flush out the extra calcium with the rest of the urine.
People who have calcium stones keep the calcium in their kidneys.
The calcium that stays behind joins with other waste products to form a stone.
A struvite (STROO-vite) stone may form after an infection in the urinary system.
These stones contain the mineral magnesium (mag-NEE-zee-um) and the waste product ammonia (uh-MOH-nyuh).
A uric (YOOR-ik) acid stone may form when there is too much acid in the urine.
If you tend to form uric acid stones, you may need to cut back on the amount of meat you eat.
Cystine (SIS-teen) stones are rare.
Cystine is one of the building blocks that make up muscles, nerves, and other parts of the body.
Cystine can build up in the urine to form a stone.
The disease that causes cystine stones runs in families.
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