Thursday, June 11, 2009

Understanding Kidney Stone Symptoms

By Robert Johnson

Silent stones are kidney stones that are present without symptoms. You may never even know you have them. Often these kidney stones will go away by themselves, and you will never have experienced any pain or other symptoms. Kidney stones that are larger in size or that become lodged in a place where they cannot easily pass can be very painful and be accompanied by many other symptoms, as well.

The first symptom of a kidney stone may be pain in the abdomen. It may not be severe at first, but as the stone increases in size or moves to a more painful location in the urinary tract the pain can become unbearable. Pain during urination or menstruation is another common sign of having a kidney stone. When a kidney stone blocks the flow of urine it can begin to cause tremendous pain.

Complications while urinating are also common symptoms of kidney stones. If tissue around the nearby tissues becomes damaged the result may be blood in the urine. Changes in the color of urine can also occur. Sometimes, the location of a kidney stone can make it impossible to hold urine and cause a dramatic increase in the frequency of urination.

When fever and chill accompany severe back pain, it is most likely the result of a kidney stone. You may also experience pain in the genitals. Severe pain, infection and inflammation caused by damage to the urinary tract often cause the individual suffering from kidney stones to experience severe nausea and vomiting. These are all fairly common signs of a kidney stone.

You can't determine whether or not you have a kidney stone based on symptoms alone, but these symptoms can direct a medical professional in the right direction to identify your problem. A medical professional should never rely on your symptoms alone to identify a kidney stone.

Kidney stones are painful, but can be treated. The symptom may come on gradually, or hit you all at once. Everything depends on the size, growth and where the stone is located in the urinary tract. Get an exact diagnosis from a doctor. They will do a series of tests to determine if you have a kidney stone and will be able to identify the location and size of the stone using X-rays, CT scans, or ultrasounds.

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