KIDNEY STONES- ALL YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT IT

Kidneys are always hard at work, removing the toxic build up from our body. Sadly, at times, due to the food we eat & our body’s predisposition, a hardened mass can form in our kidneys from the crystals naturally present in urine. These pebble like ‘stones’ can hinder kidney functions. They can also travel to the ureter & lodge themselves there. Eliminating this can be excruciatingly painful. Kidney stone formation can happen to anyone & usually 5-10% of the population are affected by this condition. Men are more vulnerable than women. Women are protected by the hormone, oestrogen, which plays a vital role in preventing stone formation. But women are also at risk after menopause & sometimes a family history can make women prone to this condition. Lifestyle factors too are to be blamed. For instance, lack of sufficient fluid intake, obesity, eating deep fried foods, can aggravate stone formation.

Dehydration remains a major cause. Chronic dehydration causes a super-saturated urine utput, which can put you at risk. Everyone should drink at least 8-10 glasses of water & fluids, i.e., 2- 2 ½ litres , a day/ if you’ve suffered from stones before or have a family history, you require a daily fluid intake of 3 litres. Fluids can include buttermilk, fruit juices, tender coconut water also. Most fluid intake should be from water. Remember the less concentrated the urine is, the better.

Myths & misconceptions

Kidneys stones are formed from the deposits of many different kinds of chemicals, but the most common one, making up nearly 80% of all stones if calcium oxalate. For this reason, many people tend to think that cutting down on calcium intake can help prevent the formation of this kind of stone. This is a widespread misconception & is just not true. Cutting back on calcium can actually be harmful because inadequate calcium in your sustem can have the opposite effect & even hasten stone formation. For this reason, be sure to make calcium, from antural sources, an important part of your diet, especially if you’re over 50. Buttermilk with minimum salt is highly recommended. Avoid animal proteins, junk foods, chat items, pickles, processed & packaged foods, deep fried items & salty fare. Vegetables & fresh fruit juices are ideal but there are some restrictions. Avoid chickoo & grapes that have seeds. Home-made fresh foods are best.

Banana stem, vazhathandu, juice is highly recommended. Too much of this juice can actually cause the formation of oxalate. Even the sautéed form of banana stem as vegetable is good, as it has lot of fiber.

Oxalate foods- limiting high oxalate foods may help reduce the risk of forming oxalate stones. Foods that are rich in oxalate are- peanuts, tea, instant coffee ( more than 8 ounces a day), rhubarb, beets, beans, berries(, strawberries, gooseberries), chocolate, Concord grapes, dark leafy vegetables, oranges, tofu, sweet potatoes & draught beer.

Risks from metabolic factors- parathyroid disease changes the way your body metabolises calcium. With such a condition, regardless of your diet or lifestyle, you’ll be at risk of developing calcium oxalate kidney stones. Nearly 15% of kidney stones are the result of uric acid deposits. If you’re affected by gout, you’ld be more prone tp uric acid stones. Obesity & diabetes can leave one vulnerable also. Treating these metabolic conditions & going in for regulat screening for stones by taking an ultrasound of the abdomen & the kidneys every year is important.

Most small stones pass out in urine by themselves, but today there is help at hand for chronic sufferers & invasive treatment is kept at a minimum. The most preferred treatment for stone removal is called extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL). In this technique, small stones, less than 1 cm are broken down into fragments by high energy shock waves from a device outside the body. For larger stones, treatment options include, percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PNL), which involves making a small perforation & inserting a tube to endoscopically disperse the stone, without affecting the kidney tissue. Prevention is still the best option.