How to treat kidney stones? With herbs? How are they formed and how do they manifest themselves?

How to treat kidney stones and how can they be prevented?
Will herbs and teas help?

Plus what are the causes of urinary stone formation and symptoms of renal (kidney) colic?

What is urolithiasis anyway?

Lithiasis is the morbid formation of stones. In the case of urinary stones, it is urolithiasis.

This is the morbid formation of urinary stones in the kidneys and urinary tract. The cause of the formation may not always be known. It is influenced by factors such as gender, age, genetics, metabolic disorders, climatic and geographical conditions, fluid intake, diet.

Geographically, urolithiasis is more prevalent in the following regions:
Middle East, India, Southeast Asia.
Urolithiasis affects men approximately 5 times more often than women.

The main causes of urinary stones are

The main causes of urinary stones include improper lifestyle. Improper diet composition, low fluid intake, reduced physical activity, psychological stress, stress.

Difficulties with the outflow of urine are involved in the formation of sediment salts, minerals and other stone-forming substances. Crystals, sand and stones are formed.

In inflammatory diseases of the kidneys and urinary tract, there is also a risk of urolithiasis. It is a consequence of metabolic and hormonal disorders.

What symptoms can occur?

Typical is renal colic, which is pain in the lumbar region.

It can radiate to the groin, abdomen, lower abdomen, sacral area.
This pain is of high intensity and is usually described by the sufferer as the worst pain of his/her life.

Pain when urinating is one of the frequently occurring symptoms of urinary stones.

The difficulty is accompanied by a feeling of nausea, vomiting.

Blood (visible to the naked eye or demonstrable in the laboratory) and pus may be present in the urine.

When the urinary tract is obstructed, the volume of urine excreted decreases. Hydronephrosis is serious. This is a term referring to enlargement of the kidney when urine accumulates in it.

Treatment of kidney stones today

The treatment of urinary stones in the past was exclusively by surgery. Nowadays, pain killers and drugs to prevent spasm of the smooth muscles of the urinary tract are given for acute problems when renal colic occurs.

The stone can then be flushed out through the urinary tract if its size is up to 4-6 mm. This method covers approximately 85% of cases.

Diuretic treatment is also helpful, which actually promotes urine excretion. Medications that reduce calcium excretion, oxalate and uric acid production are also used in the treatment. In case of infections, antibiotics are given.

A non-invasive method is to break up the stones with a high-energy shock wave. This method is called lithotripsy by ultrasound (LERV - lithotripsy by extracorporeal shock wave).

It is used to break up the stone, which is then expelled from the urinary tract in smaller pieces or as fine dust. In this method, drugs are then applied to relieve pain, spasmolytics to relax the muscles of the urinary tract and also preventive antibiotics against inflammation. The advantage of using it is also that you do not have to undergo general anaesthesia.

Contraindications to lithotripsy:

• Overweight more than 120 kg
• Pregnancy
• blood clotting disorder
• arrhythmia, pacemaker, heart failure
• renal failure
• cancer
• stone placement preventing surgery

Percutaneous extraction using a nephroscope, through which a device is inserted through the skin into the kidney. In this way, a stone of 2 cm in size can be removed. It can be used in combination with lithotripsy. It is performed under general anaesthesia. The advantage is that even larger sized stones can be broken in this way.

Urethroscopy is a method with the help of an endoscope - urethroscope. It is introduced through the urinary tract. Today's time provides us with modern technology. This is also the case with endoscopy of the urinary tract. A newer method is with the use of a laser based in the endoscope. The stone is broken and then pulled out in smaller pieces or as sand using the endoscope.

This method combined with the laser is increasingly being used.

Advantages of laser kidney stone crushing

• Any location and composition of the stone
• almost no limits on the size of the stone
• visual control throughout the procedure
• minimal post-operative complications

In case of other complications or such a stone size due to which the named techniques cannot be used, open sinus surgery is performed. Indications are for example pyelonephritis, acute obstruction, large kidney stones, in developmental defects and in other serious diseases.

Nowadays, less than 5% of cases are attributed to it.

A change in the way kidney stones are treated came about in 1980 when ultrasound lithotripsy treatment was introduced. The credit for this goes to Dornier MedTech.

How to avoid problems with urinary stones?

Not all types of urolithiasis can be influenced from the outside. But for people who do not lack this possibility, it is important to adjust the lifestyle.

Adequate physical activity is part of preventing or supporting treatment. With the right amount of physical activity, we also consider psychological well-being. Stress is one of the negative influences in favor of urolithiasis. Physical activity and psychological well-being go hand in hand.

Cold is not beneficial. Colds in youth can cause inflammation and other diseases of the kidneys and urinary tract later on. Therefore, walking and sitting on cold ground should be limited. Young girls neglect to protect the sacral region in colder seasons and this can contribute to urological problems in addition to spinal pain.

On the contrary, one should indulge in dry heat. Keeping the lumbar region warm will benefit the sacral spine and kidneys.

What about drinking? If you do not drink enough fluids, you are contributing to the formation of urinary stones. Therefore, it is important to drink enough. This means a minimum of 2 litres for 24 hours. Drinks such as orange juice, cranberry juice and blackcurrant juice are good for urological problems and counteract the formation of some stones.

It is good to limit high sodium and carbonated minerals. A lower intake of coffee and colas is recommended.

Stop alcohol. It promotes the formation of urinary stones.

In case of diet, it is similar. Rational diet enriched with vegetables, fruits, fiber and foods with higher potassium content. Treat yourself with watermelon and pineapple. Sodium citrate is used in medicine for urinary tract problems.

Emphasis is placed on limiting salt, nitrogen, potassium, and substances that create an acidic environment. Foods such as spinach, rhubarb, beetroot, nuts, soya, chocolate and cocoa are inappropriate due to their higher oxalic acid content. Similarly, animal protein should be limited.

People living in India have a tradition that cooking spinach (oxalic acid) and tomatoes (calcium) together should be avoided. This combination is conducive to stone formation.

Herbs against urolithiasis and urological disorders

For urological difficulties, some valuable recipes from our grandmothers can be obtained. Teas, decoctions, exudations from various plants have a diuretic effect, dissolve urinary stones, or have anti-inflammatory properties.

The following is a short list of herbs and plants:
buckthorn, silver birch, cranberry, chanca piedra, garden bean, white bean, white horehound, thorny needle, field hemp, earth anemone, Chinese curcuma (GOJI), lovage, bearberry, carrot, carrot, Kakost, parsley, forked float, horsetail, nettle, dandelion, dandelion, creeping feather, yarrow, black currant, rose hip, rose hyssop, common heather, common heather, common ash, celery, goldenrod.