The kidneys in the human body eliminate fluid and waste from the blood. Instead, it gets converted into urine. When you have too much waste in the body and insufficient fluid in the blood, this waste matter builds up, and they tend to stick together in the kidneys. This clump of waste is known as kidney stones.
Dr.Cletus Georges completed his graduation from the Andrews University in Zoology with Biomedical in 1997. Subsequently, he attended the Cornell University Medical College and later completed his residency in Urology at the Northwestern University McGaw Medical Center. He began his practice in Sebring, FL, in 1997.
Cletus Georges MD later relocated to Orlando in Florida and worked with Mid Florida Urological Associates till 2014. His practice was subsequently by the Florida Hospital Group, where he worked until June 2017. He has been doing temp work more recently at the Dorn VA Medical Centre in Columbia, SC.
He says that anyone can acquire kidney stones; however, some are more likely than others to get them. Kidney stones occur in men than women. They can occur if-
- You had them before
- You are not drinking sufficient water
- Someone in the family has them
- You are on a diet high in sugar, protein, or sodium
- You are obese or overweight
- You have polycystic kidney disease or any other cystic kidney diseases
- You have a specific condition that causes the urine in your body to have high concentrations of uric acid, cystine, oxalate, or calcium
- You suffer from a condition that results in bowel irritation or swelling in your joints or bowels
- You are on certain medicines like antacids that are calcium-based or diuretics, often known as water pills.
What are the key symptoms of kidney stones?
If the kidney stones are very small, they can easily move through the urinary tract, so you may not have any symptoms. You might not even know that you have a kidney stone.
In case you have larger kidney stones, you might suffer from any of the symptoms listed below-
- Pain while urinating
- Presence of blood in the urine
- Sharp pain in the lower abdomen or back
- Vomiting and nausea
If you have any of the above symptoms, you should contact your primary healthcare doctor immediately, who later will refer you to an experienced urologist for treatment.
According to Cletus Georges MD doctors will treat the kidney stone as per its size. They will recommend certain tests to determine what the kidney stone is made up of and figure out the correct treatment. You will be advised to take a urine test, X-ray, blood test, or CT scan. However, sometimes a CT scan uses a contrast dye, so tell your doctor if you have problems with it. If the results of these tests show the stones are very small, your doctor will advise you to drink lots of water and take pain medicine for pushing the stone out through the urinary tract.