Kidney Stones

The kidneys play an important role in eliminating waste products from the body. These waste products normally remain dissolved in the urine as it passes through the kidney drainage system (calyces, renal pelvis and ureter). Kidney stones are crystalline particles that form in the urine, often producing pain when they obstruct urine drainage from a kidney. test

Approximately one in ten Canadians will develop a kidney stone. This problem is more common in men than in women, and, it occurs rarely in children. Kidney stone formation in most adults is not thought to be an inherited condition even if several family members have had stones. Children with kidney stones, however, are more likely to have an inherited risk. Some children have severe forms of stone disease that require thorough investigation and frequent follow-up.

Kidney stones form when the concentration of certain substances in the urine exceeds the amount that can be kept dissolved. This can happen when the urine becomes over-concentrated due to low urine volume or excessive excretion of a substance.

Low urine output may be due to inadequate fluid intake or excessive fluid losses such as with frequent heavy perspiration or chronic diarrhea. Alternatively, the urine may be overloaded with a substance because of excessive dietary intake, excessive production by the body, or, changes in the function of the bowels or kidneys. Kidney stones are rarely a sign of other kidney disease.

Most often kidney stones take many months or years to grow to a size that can produce symptoms, generally, by obstructing urine drainage from a kidney. Occasionally, stones may form more rapidly. Because stones usually do not cause symptoms soon after they are formed, it is impossible to know how rapidly a person’s stone or stones have formed. Approximately 50% of stone formers will develop a second kidney stone within 10 years of their first stone, and 75% within 20 years.

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