Have you ever wondered about ‘what are the first signs of kidney stones?’.
This is among the commonest questions I get from my patients. Hello, my name is Dr. Karthik Gunasekaran, consultant urologist in laser kidney stone clinic which specializes in offering non-invasive kidney stone treatments in Chennai city.
In this roundup post, I am going to explain to you about ‘what are the early signs of kidney stones?’ so that you can seek treatment at the right time. Kidney stones are usually hard collections of salt and minerals often made up of calcium or a combination of other elements. Some stones are small, while some other stones are large and can continue to grow in size over the years. Moreover, kidney stone disease is more common among men and women who are obese or who have diabetes. While not all stones are painful, most large stones would cause considerable pain and discomfort.
Common Early Signs and Symptoms of Kidney Stones Include:
1.Pain in back, belly or sides
The pain of kidney stones is usually compared to that of giving birth to a child. Also, this pain also occurs in waves. Moreover, the pain can also fluctuate in intensity as well as location, especially when the kidney stone changes its position. In most patients, kidney stone pain is usually seen on the sides, backs or just below the ribs.
Interestingly, the severity of kidney stone pain is not connected with the stone size. Small kidney stones can be just as painful as large stones.
2. Burning Urination
In most patients, the commonest complaint raised by the patient is burning micturition (also called urination). Furthermore, this pain is sharp and also occurs particularly while passing urine. Interestingly, burning sensation while passing urine is also connected with urinary tract infection. In some individual’s a urinary tract infection may coexist along with kidney stone disease
3. Blood in the urine
Hematuria is another common symptom of kidney stone disease. Hematuria means blood in the urine. This blood can be pink, red or brown in color. In some instances, the blood may not be visibly apparent. Your urologist will ask for a microscopic evaluation of the blood in the urine, this condition is called Microscopic hematuria.
4. Small amount of urine
Sometimes large stones can be very notorious and can block the passage of urine itself!
This is often considered a medical emergency and needs immediate treatment at the earliest.
5. Fever
Fever associated with chills is often a sign of infection that needs active treatment. Moreover, fever and chills is another medical emergency which is not worth ignoring at any cost. So, that about sums up ‘what are early signs of kidney stones’!
