What is the urinary tract?
What are kidney stones?
Kidney stones are hard little pebbles that form in your kidneys. The stones can be too tiny to see or more than an inch in size. Sometimes the stones stay in your kidneys and don't cause any problems. Sometimes the stones leave your kidneys and travel down your urinary tract. If a stone leaves your kidney, it will either get stuck somewhere in your urinary tract or you will pee it out.
When stones travel in the urinary tract, they can cause pain and bleeding. If they get stuck, they also can cause an infection or block the flow of urine. If the flow of urine is blocked for a long time, the kidney can swell up enough to be damaged.
As stones travel through your urinary tract, they may be called different names based on where they are located:
What causes kidney stones?
What are the symptoms of kidney stones?
Tiny stones may not cause symptoms.
Stones in your bladder may cause pain in the lower abdomen (belly area).
Stones in a kidney or ureter may cause back pain, usually in the area between your ribs and hip. The pain can also be across your belly and down between your legs. The pain is very severe and comes and goes.
Other symptoms include:
If the stone causes an infection, your urine may be cloudy or smelly and you may have a fever.
How can doctors tell if I have a kidney stone?
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Your doctor will suspect a stone based on your symptoms
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You'll have a urine test to look for blood
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Your doctor may also do an imaging test called a CT scan
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The CT scan is used to locate the stone and see if the stone is blocking your urinary tract
How do doctors treat kidney stones?
Small stones that aren't causing a blockage or an infection don't need to be treated. The stone will often pass on its own. You may need medicine for pain.
Larger stones usually don't pass on their own. You will need medicine for pain. If the stone doesn't pass, doctors usually need to remove it. To remove your stone, doctors might:
When using a scope to remove a stone, doctors might:
Once the scope is in, doctors can pull the stone out with the scope. Or they may need to break it up with a laser or other methods such as shock wave lithotripsy. A stone that has been broken into small pieces will come out when you pee.
Doctors usually need to see what the stone is made of after it's broken into pieces. They'll have you pee through a strainer to collect the stone pieces. You'll give the pieces to your doctor for testing.
