Kidney stones (renal calculi) are deposits made from salts and minerals that form within the kidneys.

Kidney stones may be found in any part right from the urinary tract to the bladder and may have many causes. Stones form when the urine becomes more concentrated, letting minerals to crystallize and stick together and form a mass.

Kidney stones can be debilitating; however, there is generally no permanent damage caused by the stones if their presence is known on time. Based upon circumstances, you might require nothing other than plenty of water and some pain killers to pass out a kidney stone. However, if stones become lodged in the urinary tract, and cause urinary infection and pain and do not get dislodged on their own – Surgery may be required.

For those with a risk or history of developing stones, the physician may recommend preventive treatment to reduce your chance of growing kidney stones again.

We provide a nursing care plan for kidney stones, nursing care plan for renal calculi and nursing care for renal failure patients for their well being and betterment.

Symptoms of a kidney stone may exist many a few times, even if a kidney stone exists in your body until it enters the ureter which is the part of the system which connects the urinary bladder to the urethra. At the point, you might experience symptoms as follows:

• Intense pain at the back and sides and under the ribs.
• Pain that radiates to the lower abdomen and groin
• Non-continuous, but the pain that comes a series of spasms and waves and changes in strength
• Pain while urinating, pink, cloudy or foul-smelling and reddish or brownish urine
• Persistent urge to urinate, but urinating in very small quantities, urinating more frequently than usual, feeling urine not getting completely cleared from the bladder.
• Nausea and vomiting, fever and chills if illness exists

After the surgery, the patient is recommended to get the nursing care plan for kidney stones to avoid any risks to his/her health.

Reasons why one develops a kidney stone

The chief cause of kidney stones is the shortage of water within the body, mostly due to less fluid intake.

Stones are generally seen in people who drink less than the eight to ten glasses of water every day. When there is less water to dilute the acid, the urine becomes increasingly acidic and this allows the deposition of salts and minerals and formation of stone within the urinary tract.

Other health conditions e.g. Crohn’s disease, urinary tract ailments, renal tubular acidosis, hyperparathyroidism, medullary sponge kidney, and Dent’s disease are also a few of the causes resulting in an increase in the risk of kidney stones.

Kinds of kidney stones

Knowing the kind of kidney stones might provide clues about the best way best to reduce your chance of having kidney stones and it helps if one can determine the exact cause. Should you pass a stone, you could bring it if possible, so that the same could be sent for analysis to understand what it is made up of and how this happened. This will help prepare better for the avoidance of such situations in the future.

Kinds of kidney stones include the following:

• Magnesium stones – Most kidney stones are calcium stones, normally present as deposits of calcium oxalate. Oxalate is a compound produced daily by the liver and naturally found in foods. Most nuts and chocolate, many types of fruits and vegetables, have a naturally high oxalate content.
  
  High levels of vitamin D, bypass operation performed in the intestine, a few dietary factors, and other metabolic disorders, may make one prone to increased concentration of calcium or oxalate and more prone to such stone. Such stones may get formed as calcium phosphate.
  

  
  This sort of stone is also a common feature in conditions such as renal tubular acidosis. Sometimes, it might also be related to certain migraine headaches or because of consuming taking seizure drugs like topiramate.

• Struvite stones – Struvite stones get formed as a reaction to infections like urinary tract disease. These stones may grow quite quickly and be large sometimes with almost no symptoms and no warnings.

• Uric acid stones – Uric acid stones may form in people who do not drink an adequate amount of fluids or who lose too much fluid, or people who consume a high-protein diet, or those that have gout. Genetics also plays an important role in the chance of uric acid stones being formed in our bodies.

• Cystine stone – This is a result of a hereditary disorder where some people with this hereditary disease which causes their kidneys to excrete a lot of amino acids or cystinuria and this makes them highly susceptible to Cystine stones.

Remedy for Kidney Stones

Managing kidney stones is extremely focused on symptom management while the stone passes away from the body; as passing a stone can be quite debilitating.

Home remedies may be appropriate if an individual has a history of kidney stones. Those who have never had kidney stones and therefore never passed one should consult a Urologist.

If hospital treatment is required, a person might be rehydrated through an intravenous (IV) tube, and anti-inflammatory drugs may also be administered.

Pain killers and sometimes even narcotics are utilized to ease the pain of passing the stone and make it somewhat tolerable. Medication may also be used to reduce symptoms of vomiting and nausea.

Sometimes, a shock wave treatment may be performed by a urologist. This is a remedy that is called a Lithotripsy and it entails sending a shockwave to the bladder stone to split it into smaller bits. Once the stones are broken into smaller pieces, that helps them pass out while urinating.

Individuals with larger stones found in areas that don’t permit for lithotripsy may have to get them surgically removed. For example, elimination of the stone through an incision at the trunk or simply by inserting a thin tube into the urethra.

Prevention of Kidney Stones

As the proverb goes, prevention is always better than cure!! Because fluid intake and dehydration increase the risk factors for kidney stone formation, it can be extremely valuable to consume plenty of water.

Depending upon why the kidney stone was formed in the first place along with the medical history of an individual, alterations in diet or drugs are suggested to lower the probability of having more kidney stones. If a person has passed a stone, it could be especially beneficial to have it analyzed in a lab to find out the exact type of stone, so avoidance measures could be contemplated for the specific things that are highly risky for this type of stone.

Individuals that have a propensity to form calcium oxalate kidney stones could be advised to restrict their intake of foods high in oxalates, such as spinach, rhubarb, Swiss chard, beets, wheat germ, and peanuts. Drinking citric juices like lemonade or lemon juice might be beneficial in preventing the recurrence of kidney stones.

Warming up and cooling down

Both sessions should begin with light activity, followed by stretching. Once muscles have been stretched, it is possible to work for a little while. One should again close the exercise session with a few more stretches.

Cardiovascular exercise

This is a continuous activity like cycling or walking, using the larger muscles of the body. It causes you to feel good and relaxed and benefits your body by relaxing muscles. Consider activities that you like to do, e.g. walking/swimming/jogging/cycling/ playing tennis or squash. You may perform any one exercise or combine a few exercises and form your own program depending on what you like to do.

Resistance Exercise

This can be very good for muscle strengthening and may also benefit your entire body. Kidney patients have problems with muscle wasting, and resistance training can prevent this. Building muscles can allow you to do other kinds of exercise. It is advisable to work with smaller weights and do repetitions rather than using large weights.

As the patient recovery is ensured by postoperative nursing care for renal calculi, Getting a nursing care plan for kidney disease is a vital element of the curing process. Post-operative care for individuals might be easy and may be short term or long term or may entail procedure for a few.

In the case of long term post-operative nursing care for renal calculi, a patient is much better off within the warmth or home rather than in a hospital. Aiding this kind of care is something that we provide from our home care nursing services. As a part of our services, our group of nurses and other caregivers, would come and see you and offer care. In some cases, the nurse may remain with the individual for 24*7 monitoring and attention.

Therefore, if you require a nursing care plan for kidney disease in your home, look no further and trust your loved ones’ care to Care24 and we guarantee a satisfactory and quick recovery of the individual in the most effective and fastest way possible.