More and more people suffer from kidney stones. The are never harmless and can even be life-threatening. What therapies can help, what evidence do you have to go to the doctor and how you with two simple measures to prevent re-stones.

Who had a colic due to kidney stones, is convinced that The pain is extreme. Women who have already been born once, describe it as worse than labor pains. Doctors even speak of a “destruction of pain.”

And in comparison with the last 20 years, kidney stones occur more and more frequently. “It was at that time still, around three percent, we are today at least five percent,” says Oliver rich, chief physician of the clinic for urology and surgery, Munich hospital Harlaching.

Why stones kidney a disease have become

The increase is – as in the case of Diabetes and other diseases of civilization – our way of Life explain: lack of exercise, irregular, unbalanced, and meat-heavy diet, added to this is “too little to drink, because the Affected parties have, during the work don’t have the time,” says Oliver rich from the practice.

Because kidney stones are formed when some substances from the food, especially oxalic acid and calcium, but also uric acid and other in the urine to be strongly fortified. Then, crystals are formed, further deposited, it forms a stone. The vast majority of kidney stones consist of calcium oxalate, the Rest is mainly uric acid stones. They are in connection with gout.

The size of kidney stones can vary, and tiny small up to proportions ranging, lining the entire renal pelvis, eight times four times five centimeters (renal pelvis sink-stone). Such copies can be thanks to a good medical care with us, however, rather the exception, says the Professor.

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Symptoms of kidney stones – from mute to colic

Because in most cases, the stones in the form of clear symptoms, only some people, you can be a life-long “silent”, i.e., asymptomatic. Then you are usually in a niche of the Nierenkelchs and not move away from there. Problematic kidney stones, especially if they are set in motion, the kidneys output, plug in the ureter to fall, or the entry into the bladder plug.

Depending on where the stone is, it can lead to colic and severe pain, the destruction of pain, but also to intermediate forms, and radiating pain, from the light Pull, the get appearance (wave), abdominal complaints, and men can also be testicular pain and back pain.

“According to the is sometimes confused, such as with intervertebral disc problems or appendicitis,” warns Oliver rich. In any case, the slight pain should be performed by a physician are clarified. Contact the house doctor, who then pays to the urologist, or orthopedist is because often the back pain is actually tension or the intervertebral discs.

Emergency kidney stone – therefore, it can be life-threatening

In the case of renal colic, and extreme pain caused by the stone, the patients are delivered by ambulance to the hospital. In the worst but rare case, sealing the stone, the ureter completely. The kidney, however, is still urine, waste materials from the blood to accumulate and can damage the kidney to change. There is the risk that it breaks, and the urine inside the body flows, there is even. “This is an absolute emergency,” warns Oliver rich.

But, above all, the risk that, in the pent-up urine bacteria multiply rapidly is. Then an infection and fever can occur – a life-threatening Urosepsis. “The exchange between the blood and the urine in the kidney is extremely strong and therefore, the bacteria move rapidly into the blood,” explains the expert the particular risk of this Form of blood poisoning.

Rapid medical diagnosis and treatment in renal colic and other severe pain can be life-therefore important. Getty Images/iStockphoto

Treatment – pain is the first step

“The most important thing is to relieve the pain, which can only be managed with strong medication, such as opiates, and about the vein,” says the Professor. Then is examined by ultrasound and, if necessary, by using the CTs. “We often see the jammed, so advanced kidney, because stone hindered the urine discharge,” reported the expert from the clinic. In the second step, the Doctors are looking for with these imaging techniques, where the stone is and how big he is. In addition, blood and, if possible, the urine examined. “In the urine small amounts of Blood are then microscopically, because of the stone scars such as in the ureter along, and something has to get hurt.”

Kidney stone treatment: kidney jam, urine derived

After the pain treatment objective addressed the stone is treated. “Is the stone is not very large, and already far in the direction of bladder migrated, it can often leave in a natural way the body,” explains Oliver rich. A lot of drinking and drugs, which extend the urethra a little, easier.

This conservative treatment is out of the question, for example, because the stone is too large, must be derived primarily in the urine, so the kidney is not jammed on. “To do this, the urologist puts on an inside Track,” says the physician. It is passed through a cystoscopy, a small tube from the bladder to the kidney. Bacteria are already in the game, an infection has arisen, and Urosepsis threatening, is to fortify the kidney from the outside. For a so-called renal fistula, an artificial drain, is used.

Kidney stone smash or lasers

Thereafter, the Patient goes home and it will wait until everything has somewhat calmed down. “Often, the stone also slides with the help of the Rail and the ureter-expanding drugs, in the meantime, by itself” is called the urologist a common solution to the problem.

This does not happen, the stone directly in the attack. In many cases, he is using shock waves to smash, this method was developed at the Munich hospital Harlaching. In this form of therapy is pressure waves, which are gentle on the fabric as much as possible, the stone powder. The fragments can be excreted in the following days, then usually not a problem. The treatment is not contact-free, General anesthesia is necessary.

In other cases, the ureter is intubated and the stone with the smallest instruments on this natural drain away.

The stone is very large, is destroyed at the edge percutaneously with the aid of the laser the stone, and suction filtered. The open surgery, the used to be, and, in the case of the kidney stone with a scalpel is removed, would only very rarely used, the expert reported.

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Silent kidney stones treat or not?

The treatment of kidney stones is today in far more than 90 percent successful. Should therefore be treated as a silent kidney stones, so those that are only discovered by chance and not be a problem? “There are professional groups, like pilots, who may have no kidney stones because of the risk of sudden colic may endanger the passengers,” says Oliver rich. Also Truck drivers will be advised to pay attention to kidney stones. The expert treatment recommends but also Concerned that about a lot of travel, and in areas of come to, which do not have the best medical care.

Thus, according to the kidney stones, not kidney stones

Kidney stones have a tendency to form again, if there is no targeted prevention takes place. “It is important, especially if for the first Time, kidney stones are occurred, the stone is studied so as to know what he is,” says Clemens Cohen, chief physician of the clinic for kidney-, high-pressure and rheumatic disorders in the Munich hospital Harlaching. Calcium and oxalate, which most kidney stones are substances taken with the food. The concentration of the two salts in the urine is too high, they fall and form crystals. In order to reduce this concentration, there are two ways, summarizes Clemens Cohen:

1. You need to produce more than two liters of urine per day, so that no crystals in the urine fail. So be careful, if you urinate enough. In order to come to this amount, you should drink more than two and a half liters per day. Who sweats a lot, for example, by physical work and sports, have to drink more. The same applies, if it is very warm.

2. There are natural inhibitors that prevent crystal formation, i.e. the precursor of the stones. These Citrate are included in the vast majority of vegetables. Therefore, eating vegetarian, it can prevent the re-formation of kidney stones.

However, there are also vegetables that are unfavourable in the case of kidney stones, because they contain oxalate, namely, spinach and rhubarb. Affected should not eat so much.

“Then even more kidney stones occur even”

Since most stones consist of calcium, would be the logical conclusion is that people who are prone to kidney stones, take less calcium, so the milk and cheese consumption should be restricted. The expert, however, is clear: “This is awkward, as studies show, then more kidney stones can occur, even.” Because if the diet was kalziumarm, to take the body more oxalate from the food you eat and the risk for kidney stones increases. To save calcium is so in regard to the prevention of kidney stones is not helpful.

To put it simply: a lot to drink and easy vegetarian food can be the recurrence of kidney stones usually prevent. Those who have never had kidney stones, do not need to move, observe these tips so strictly, but should limit the risk factors – so, more, less meat, and eat a sausage, but every day eat more vegetables and enough liquid to absorb.