KIDNEY STONES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26114, 29 March 1946, Page 7

KIDNEY STONES

(Contributed by the Department of Health.)

Some people have the bad luck to develop kidney stone, get themselves into acute agony with colic as the stone tries to pass down the ureter or from the ureter into the bladder, and have to be rescued sooner or later by surgery if the stone is of any size. Others do not get so far as large stone formation, but pass crystalline accumulations or gravel. Two abnormal conditions lie behind the formation of gravel or kidney stones. There is some infective or degenerative condition in the kidney, and there is a steady or frequently repeated excess of some ■ salt being thrown out through the damaged kidney. It may be uric acid or oxalates, or phosphates that are coming through in excess, but there is rarely a pure stone. When nine-tenths or more of a stone is of one salt it is regarded as pure. To avoid or minimise recurrences it is essential to know the salt which is being excreted in excess, as treatment varies with the type of stone.

For example, if there is an abnormal concentration of i urates, uric acid, or oxalates in the urine, alkali is given till the urine is kept moderately alkaline. If. on the other hand, phosphatie deposits are occurring, the aim will be to keep the urine faintly acid Hence medical supervision is necessary for anybody with a tendency to kidney gravel or stone. The diet has to be regulated according to the type of salt in abnormal concentration in the urine, or in a stone removed at operation, or passed naturally after a bout of colic.

For all of us, interest lies in the avoiding of kidney stones. Any person threatened with kidney stone particularly, and all of us. really, should drink much more fluid than we do. The taking of large quantities of water daily, as barley water or lemon drinks if preferred, is the best preventive of more gravel and stones in anyone affected. Such a person should aim at four or even five pints in the day. This keeps the urine dilute, and lessens the chances of depositing as crystals, any salt being thrown out in excess through the kidneys. Healthy folk should remember, too, that' taking ample fluid each day saves strain on our kidneys.