Treatment
Kidney stone can produce a acute severe pain that can wax and wane at regular intervals. Pain medications can be used to control pain and bring about relief. If vomiting and nausea are present, these medicines can be administered intravenously.
In the majority of cases, taking plenty of fluids can help to ease out kidney stones on their own, while the person is urinating. Factors that facilitate spontaneous passage include –
- Size of the stone
- Size of the person
- Prior stone passage
- Prostate gland enlargement
- Pregnancy
Some medications like alpha blockers (tamsulosin) and calcium channel blockers (nifedipine)are administered to make the passage of stones easy. If stones that do not pass on their own, a treatment known as lithotripsy is carried out in which the stones are broken up into smaller pieces which can then pass through the urinary tract.
Surgical techniques are carried out when other methods have failed. They include-
- Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy is carried out to remove kidney stones by making a small incision in the skin
- Urinary stones can also be removed by ureteroscopy using an instrument known as uteroscope, which is passed through the urethra into the ureter through the bladder.
