Kidney Stone Information and Overview
What is a kidney stone?
A kidney stone is a hard, crystalline mineral material that is found within the kidney or urinary tract. Kidney stones often cause hurtful and severe pain in the groin, flank, or abdomen. Kidney stones are a common cause of hematuria, or having blood in urine. When a person has a kidney stone, the condition is known as nephrolithiasis. A kidney stone located in the urinary tract is known as urolithiasis, and a kidney stone located in the ureters is known as ureterolithiasis. Rice and Lake Urology is the leader in the Columbus, Georgia area for the treatment of kidney stones.
Who is at risk for kidney stones?
It’s possible for anyone to develop a kidney stone, but there are certain groups of people that are more at risk than others. These groups of people include those with certain conditions and diseases, or those or are taking certain medications. Most people who develop kidney stones will develop them while they are between the ages of 20 and 49, and it’s estimated that at some point in their lives, 1 out of every 10 people living in the United States will develop kidney stones at some points in their lives. Some people are more prone to developing kidney stones multiple times in their life when they first develop kidney stones between their second or third decade of life.
For residents of industrialized countries, kidney stones are more common than bladder stones. For developing countries, the opposite is true, and bladder stones develop more commonly than kidney stones. The cause for this is believed to be related to the diets of those living in the different countries. For males, urinary tract stones are about three times more common than in females. The chance of developing a kidney stone for a male begins to rise when a male reaches their 40s, and it continues to climb as they age into their 70s. For those who have already developed a kidney stone, they are more likely to develop a stone again. Family history and kidney stones also play a part in who is at risk for developing kidney stones. Caucasians and Asians are more likely to develop a kidney stone than Africans, African Americans, or Native Americas.