You could have a kidney stone and not know until you feel that sudden, and horrible pain in the lower back or side area below your ribs. So, the first question you probably ask when feeling this type of pain is ‘How do you know if you have a kidney stone?’ Read the main kidney stone symptoms below, and see if you have any of them.
The stone could be formed in your kidneys but not cause any pain until it starts moving around within your left or right kidney, or pass into the tube that connects your kidney and bladder – ureter.
Kidney Stone Symptoms
Severe pain in the side and back, below the ribs
Pain that radiates from this area down the lower part of your abdomen and groin
Pain that changes in severity and comes in waves
Painful urination
Brown, red, or pink urine
Vomiting and nausea
How does it feel to have a kidney stone? It’s exactly like the above explained kidney stone symptoms. You get sudden, severe pain in the area below your ribs, which comes in waves and radiates down your stomach. The pain can reduce its intensity, but you never know when it will change again.
You feel pain when urinating and the urine is usually colored in pink, red, or brown. Besides pain, it can cause blockage in the urine flow, so despite the constant urge you may urinate in small amounts. Kidney stones can be detected early, with the help of these kidney stone symptoms and signs.
How Do You Get A Kidney Stone?
Now that you know the kidney stone symptoms, you should know what have caused them to form. They occur if the normal balance of the water, minerals, and salts in your urine is somehow changed. This change can be caused by different factors, like the food and drink you consume, some chronic medical conditions, environment, genes, and body weight (obesity).
Can you get a kidney stone from stress? The answer is yes. Stress is one of the biggest activators of many common diseases and conditions, especially nowadays when our busy lifestyle gives us a lot of stress on a daily basis.
Small intake of water is the most common cause for kidney stones, or eating large quantities of foods high in sodium, protein, and oxalate.
Foods That Cause Kidney Stones
As we said, foods high in sodium, protein, and oxalate are considered to increase the risk of kidney stones. Therefore, you should avoid foods like: canned soups and veggies, hot dogs, fast food, processed frozen foods, spinach, nuts, wheat bran, potatoes, cereals, etc.
Others wonder if you can get kidney stones from too much protein, and the answer is yes, but, only from too much animal protein. This includes eggs, meat, and seafood.
However, scientists believe that only people susceptible to kidney stone formation are at risk by these foods. So, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you will prevent them by avoiding these foods, unless you’re prone to them. If you’ve had at least one kidney stone in your lifetime, it means you are susceptible, and in this case avoiding these foods is highly recommended.
Is Drinking Tea Bad For Kidney Stones?
You might have heard that drinking tea is bad for kidney stones. But is it true, and if yes, what’s in there that makes it so bad?
As we have already stated, increased numbers of the substance called oxalate is one of the reasons for their formation. Oxalates in combination with calcium, can lead to creation of calcium oxalate – an insoluble compound that makes up most types of kidney stones.
In 2000, the expert in nutrition Dr. Linda Massey explained that black and green tea contain high amounts of this substance, so you should either reduce their consumption, or combine these teas with sufficient amounts of milk.
Types Of Kidney Stones
1. Calcium stones – stone made from calcium and phosphate, or the most common calcium and oxalate.
2. Infection or struvite stones – caused by a urinary tract infection, consisted of ammonia and magnesium. They can be quite large as they grow quickly, and horn shaped.
3. Uric acid stones – develop in people that have high-protein diet, gout, or those who don’t drink enough water. They tend to be smooth.
4. Cystine Stones – occur in people with the genetic disorder called cystinuria, which causes cysteine, a natural substance, leak into the urine. High amount of this substance in the urine can lead to formation of kidney stones. This disorder can’t be cured, but it can be controlled.
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