Understanding what you can do with a Symptom of Kidney Stones

When you have a symptom of kidney stones, sometimes it will be very obvious to you and other times you will wonder what is going on.  This is because kidney stones tend to be hereditary and they also tend to recur in the same individual.  A person with a parent or sibling with kidney stones or who has had one previously, will almost always recognize this very specific pain. Either way, few people with a symptom of a kidney stone will just stay home and wait it out.  They will almost always go to the emergency room or doctor for some kind of relief.

The hallmark symptom of kidney stones is severe pain.  The pain is almost always localized to one side of the mid back in an area called the flank.  The pain may stay in the flank area or it can radiate (travel) around the back and to the area of the groin.  The pain is likened to the labor pains women experience and the individual often needs some kind of strong painkiller to block the pain.

Another symptom of kidney stones that is a direct cause of the pain is nausea and vomiting.  This is a reaction to severe pain and generally goes away when the pain is lessened.  A few patients will have nausea and vomiting from the painkiller and will need an anti-nausea medication as well. 

In some cases, a symptom of kidney stones is blood in the urine.  This is because the kidney stone is irritating the tissues of the ureter, the tube that goes from the kidney to the bladder.  In fact, the term kidney stone is a bit of a misnomer. While the kidney stone does tend to originate in the kidney, the actual stone is located in the small ureter.  It blocks the flow of urine and causes pressure and pain to build up in the kidneys behind the blockage. 

Another symptom of kidney stones that is rare but still possible is that of having fever and chills.  This occurs because the foreign body (stone) in the ureter can attract infection to the area and it can build up behind the stone.  This leads to a kidney infection that will only get better when the kidney stone passes.

When you have a symptom of kidney stones, you need to find a way to get liquids into you.  If you can drink, you should drink plenty of water.  If you are too nauseated to drink, the doctor may give you an IV in order to push in fluids so the kidney will potentially flush out the kidney stone.  Fluids are also good for infections, in that they dilute out the bacteria in the kidney infection.

If you find relief of your symptom of kidney stones, the next portion is preventing the stones from occurring.  Sometimes it means just keeping your fluid intake up so that stones aren’t able to form.  In other cases, it means taking medications that change the milieu of the urine so stones aren’t likely to form again.