What are kidney stones and how do they form?

Discomfort when urinating, blood in the pee and pain in the side of the abdomen are some of the most common symptoms in those with kidney stones: small crystals, or stones, that form in one of the kidneys and can cause very serious health problems.

Below, check out some information that details the concept of kidney stones, how these stones form and what tips are available to prevent the formation of these crystals.

What are kidney stones and how do they form?

Popularly known as “kidney stones”, kidney stones are small crystals that form inside one of the human kidneys. The formation of these stones results from the excessive accumulation of some chemical substances that, when not diluted correctly and excreted, end up crystallizing. In general, it has to do with overconsumption of some foods and too little water intake.

Water is extremely important for keeping our body healthy: it is no surprise that it performs different functions. Among them, daily water intake helps to dilute different types of substances that are released in the body after consuming food. However, when a person drinks little water and has a diet rich in certain substances, it is difficult to dilute them and their accumulation causes crystallization. Calm down, let's explain better.

Diets rich in proteins of animal origin can increase the concentration of uric acid in the body, which favors an increase in the pH of the urine as a whole, making the pee acidic. So, when you don't drink enough water, this pH will hardly be able to balance itself and all these factors favor the crystallization of uric acid, which turns into one or more stones.

In addition, we can also mention other substances, such as excessive sodium consumption: it accumulates in the urine, the very small amount of water present cannot cope with it, and kidney stones appear. Thus, it is clear that reducing water intake and increasing consumption of certain foods favors the formation of kidney stones.

Despite the examples mentioned, there are many other substances, foods and even microorganisms (such as bacteria) that favor the development of stones. Although it may not seem like it, kidney stones are a problem with several complexities.

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But that's not all: once stones are formed, they can travel to other organs. This means that a stone generated in the kidney can easily migrate to your bladder, for example. Some of the classic symptoms include: fever, pain in the side of the abdomen, pain when peeing, bloody urine and more.

The size of the stones and the frequency with which they form is always different: the dimensions vary from millimeters to centimeters, and the frequency varies according to genetics and care for the body's health.

Among the forms of treatment, it is possible to say that some people are able to expel stones naturally through pee — with or without the use of medication, or with certain medical procedures. Otherwise, it is necessary to carry out some more or less invasive procedure, such as surgery, which varies according to the location, number of stones, and the size of the stones.

If the diagnosis has concluded the presence of one or more stones in any of your organs, it is extremely important to begin medical treatment immediately. Those who ignore stones can not only suffer a lot of pain, but they can also be at risk of losing a kidney during extremely severe cases.

Despite being horrible, kidney stones can be prevented: just drink the amount of water recommended by doctors, which is usually a little more than 2 liters per day, and be careful not to overconsume food (especially those of animal origin and which contains a lot of sodium).