The kidneys have a major functions in our body. They are powerful chemical factories that remove waste products, drugs, excess fluid from the body, release hormones that regulate blood pressure, produce an active form of vitamin D that promotes strong, healthy bones and control the production of red blood cells.
Toxins which have not been dissolved in the body, create kidney stones which are hard, crystalline mineral material. Your body eliminates the small kidney stones, but it is unable to do that with the larger ones. The large kidney stones remain in the body and cause numerous ailments, such as pain during urination since the tube that links the bladder and the kidneys, is blocked by a kidney stone.
You should also know that one in every 20 people develops kidney stones in their life.
Remember small kidney stones may go undetected and pass out painlessly when you urinate with no symptoms. Symptoms usually occur if the kidney stone gets stuck in your kidney, starts to travel down the ureter (the tube that attaches each kidney to the bladder) – the ureter is narrow, and the kidney stone causes pain as it tries to pass through and causes an infection.
Here are the 7 symptoms and signs of kidney stones that you shouldn’t ignore:
- Unpleasant odor or cloudy urine.
- Pain when you urinate, especially in the morning.
- Needing to urinate more often than usual.
- Abdominal pain, sudden and severe, which often gets worse with time.
- Lower back pain, which is sometimes also felt in the groin – men may have pain in the testicles and scrotum.
- Feeling restless, vomiting and nausea.
- Blood in the urine.
To prevent kidney stones, you should definitely start eating foods that are good for kidney health. Talk to your doctor to prepare a special diet for you in order to lessen the risk.
