Contents
Symptoms of urolithiasis
At the first stage of the disease, a person, as a rule, does not experience any discomfort, discomfort during urination, and does not even realize that something extra has appeared in his urinary tract.
There may be no symptoms or they can be easily confused with the manifestation of some other diseases. For example, sometimes in patients with nephrolithiasis, the lower back aches, it can feel nausea, sometimes the temperature rises slightly. There are also more specific symptoms, such as frequent urination, discoloration of urine, and pain when urinating.
Nephrologist Natalia Zakuraeva advises to see a doctor to rule out urolithiasis, even if nothing bothers you, in the following cases: if urolithiasis has a “family” history and if a person has hyperparathyroidism, an endocrine disease in which the parathyroid glands excessively produce parathyroid hormone.
Treatment of urolithiasis
Basically, three methods are used to treat nephrolithiasis:
- medicinal (including, together with the intake of herbs in the form of infusions or tablets);
- shock wave lithotripsy – the destruction of the stone by a shock wave;
- ureterolithotripsy – crushing with a thin instrument inserted into the ureter.
Diagnosis of urolithiasis
The main way to detect kidney stones is by ultrasound. As a rule, ultrasound machines “see” stones well, while this study is absolutely painless and has no contraindications. Sometimes a patient may be advised to do a computed tomography (CT) scan. In addition, the nephrologist will definitely prescribe blood and urine tests to find out the expected composition of the stones and exclude the presence of an acute inflammatory process.
Modern methods of treatment of urolithiasis
There are two newer methods of getting rid of stones. The first one is robot-assisted pyelolithotomy – removal of kidney stones with the help of a medical robot.
“The doctor works with the “arm” of the robot using miniature instruments controlled by a mini-video camera, which reduces the risk of complications and speeds up healing,” she said. Natalia Zakuraeva. The second is the use of α1-adrenergic blockers. These drugs are used in the treatment of prostatic hyperplasia, but they may be useful for ureteral stones. By relaxing the muscles, the medicine creates the conditions for the stone to pass without surgery. Calcium channel blockers have a similar effect.
Prevention of urolithiasis
It is believed that nephrolithiasis is more predisposed to people who do not comply with the drinking regimen, that is, they drink little liquid or prefer sugary and caffeinated drinks. Therefore, the best prevention is a balanced diet, sufficient water intake and taking care of your health in general.
If urolithiasis has already been identified, then the probability of recurrence reaches 50%. The doctor can suggest, depending on the specific case, how best to adjust your lifestyle in order to reduce the risks.