Some people claim that kidney stones are more painful than giving birth, but a lot of people still try to ignore it until it's too late. It's almost understandable, because going to the hospital is never fun, but there are some cases when it's unavoidable and kidney stones are one of them.
"Kidney stones are small, hard deposits of mineral and acid salts that form on the inner surface of the kidneys," director of the Comprehensive Kidney Stone Center at UC San Diego Health, Roger Sur, M.D., told Self. These minerals accumulate when your urine becomes too concentrated.
There are four types of stones: Calcium, uric acid, struvite, and cystine, but all of them can be incredibly painful as they head through your urinary tract. There are a few ways to predict when it's coming so you can get treatment fast. These are the symptoms you should keep an eye out for.
Back pain
We all know that the kidneys are located toward your back, so if you start to notice localized pain spreading across your lower back, it may be because there are kidney stones starting to form.
Blood in your urine
Any changes in your urine should be enough to warn you of what's to come, but if blood starts to appear that likely means that the stones have started to scrape the walls in your urinary tract.
Nausea or vomiting
Because the kidneys are there to cleanse your body of toxins, having anything blocking their path can create issues. If your kidneys can't filter out the toxins then they remain in your body and will make you sick.
But there are some other symptoms that can help you predict a kidney stone...
Fever or chills
Sometimes a kidney stone can cause a fever to spike once the kidney becomes infected. If they remain in your urinary tract for a long time then the infection can spread, so make sure you go see a doctor quickly.
Frequent urination
This is probably the most obvious sign of a problem that you will experience. Suddenly needing to urinate a lot more often than you usually do will often indicate a problem, especially if it is accompanied by pain.
Cloudy, pungent-smelling urine
If your urine starts to look cloudy and suddenly develops a sharp odor then there may be something wrong with how your body is removing the toxins in your body. The stones are essentially blocking the filtration system of your body, so any of the toxins inside your body will be stuck there.
If you start to notice these symptoms, you should absolutely head to the doctors to get it checked out before the pain gets too bad.
Source: ActiveBeat / Self