Essential Information for Women Regarding Kidney Stones
Kidney stones, yeah, those pesky pebbles can sure cause a ruckus! But here's the lowdown on these tiny troublemakers, debunking some common misunderstandings.
Kidney stones form when there's an excess of minerals like calcium, oxalate, uric acid, and phosphorus in your pee. These rock-hard structures can vary in color, density, location, and shape, ranging from sand-like grains to golf ball-sized spiky ones.
Contrary to popular belief, kidney stones don't just target men – even though men have a slightly higher overall risk, about 11% compared to women's 6%. This misconception is fading as more women are diagnosed with stones. The increased detection may be due to better-sensitive imaging tech that spots even tiny, asymptomatic stones, but it's also likely linked to common health struggles like obesity, unhealthy diets, and sedentary lifestyles.
Dr. Robert Sweet, medical director of the Kidney Stone Center at UW Medical Center – Northwest, explained that this gender gap narrows even more when women have conditions like obesity, diabetes, and associated metabolic syndromes. Women are also more susceptible to complex kidney stones that are harder to treat, and they tend to experience related complications like recurrent urinary tract infections and reduced quality of life.
Climate change could potentially add another layer to the kidney stone risk factors. Researchers have noticed a connection between kidney stone rates and temperature, suggesting that hotter, drier climates might see a higher stone prevalence. Heat is already considered a risk factor, and dehydration in hot, dry weather can increase stone formation too.
So, watch out for classic symptoms: pain (back or sides that might radiate to the groin), nausea, vomiting, blood in the urine, and fever. UTIs can also be a sign of stones in the kidney, especially if you've had them before.
Treatment depends on the size and location of the stone. Pain relief and anti-inflammatory meds might do the trick if the stone passes on its own. If not, imaging can help pinpoint the stone, and further treatment can relieve pressure in the kidney and reduce infection risk.
Medical expulsion therapy might be an option for smaller stones in the ureter. This involves taking medication to relax muscles in the ureter, allowing the stone to pass into the bladder. Shock wave lithotripsy, a procedure that uses high-energy sound waves to crack and break up stones, could be another option if you have one or two softer stones that aren't in a dependent location. Ureteroscopy/laser lithotripsy, a surgical approach with minimal incisions, might be best for multiple stones or stones in difficult locations. And if you've got big, complex stones that refuse to budge, percutaneous nephrolithotomy could be the way to go.
Once you've been through the stone gauntlet, preventing new ones is crucial. Making sustainable, long-term dietary and lifestyle changes is key, like boosting water intake, reducing sodium, and focusing on fruits and veggies. Close collaboration with on-staff dieticians can help create a personalized plan to keep stones at bay.
At UW Medicine, they understand how important prevention and management are, so they work closely with patients as partners and resources to ensure successful, long-term solutions.
- Aging can increase the risk of various health-and-wellness issues, including chronic diseases like kidney stones, especially among women who might be more susceptible due to conditions like obesity and diabetes.
- Science has uncovered that kidney stones are not exclusive to men, contrary to popular belief, and they can lead to complications such as recurrent urinary tract infections and reduced quality of life, especially in women.
- Women's health is an important aspect of health-and-wellness, as medical-conditions like kidney stones can affect women differently, especially when associated with obesity, diabetes, and metabolic syndromes.
