Urinary calculus
Urinary calculi or urinary stones are "pebbles" that form inside the urinary tract. They develop in the kidney and correspond to the slow accumulation of microcrystals contained in the urine. They can measure a few millimeters up to the size of a golf ball.
Renal colic
Medical treatment is always necessary to calm the pain of renal colic. It is sometimes necessary to administer opioid products in emergencies. It is recommended to perform a scanner without contrast injection to determine the seat and the size of the calculation.
A stone whose size is less than 5 mm can be eliminated spontaneously but this is not always the case !. Emergency natural drainage is sometimes necessary if medical treatment is insufficient to relieve the pain or if there is a fever.
Causes and risk factors of urinary stones
The most important risk factor is the lack of drinks because insufficient hydration causes crystallization of metabolites (aggregation of eliminated molecules) in the urine.
Certain metabolic diseases (causes of elevation of calcium in the blood or in the urine, elevation of uric acid.) Are more rarely involved.
Urinary stasis caused by an obstacle (example: prostate adenoma) can lead to the formation of stones in the long term.
Chronic urine infection is also a contributing factor.
Symptoms of urolithiasis
The symptoms depend on the site of the stones and their impact on the kidney. The lithiasis may be uncomfortable and may be discovered during an X-ray examination.
It can cause lower back pain, including classic renal colic.
It can also cause less typical pain, flank, subumbilical, testicular, and even simple burning during urination.
Sometimes lithiasis is manifested by isolated hematuria (presence of blood in the urine).
Treatment of urinary stones
Symptoms, possible complications and contributing factors must be treated. The treatments are therefore largely dependent on the type of lithiasis.
Apart from emergency situations, there are several possible medical and surgical treatments which depend on the number, size, location and nature of the stones.
pain is still being treated. It is relieved by the combination of pain medication (analgesics) and oral anti-inflammatory drugs. Hospitalization is only necessary when the pain is severe or when there is a complication (pyelonephritis, renal failure). Depending on the case, the treatment will be medical or surgical.
Medical treatment includes certain rules of hygiene, treatment of a disease (eg gout) when it is involved, and extracorporeal lithotripsy (ESL).
Dietary measures depend on the nature of the stones.