Signs and Symptoms
Signs And Symptoms
Pain is the most common symptom of the urinary tract stones. Most of the time pain is associated with vomiting. The site of the pain differs according to the location of the stone.
Kidney stones cause pain in the lumber region especially when small stones move in the kidney. In ureteric stones, pain also radiates towards the lower anterior abdominal wall and the inner side of the thigh. Bladder stones cause pain in the lower part of the abdomen and also cause significant discomfort during micturation (passing urine).
When stones are associated with an infection, it may cause fever. If the stone is causing obstruction, infection may convert the kidney into a bag of pus. This is called Pyonephrosis. In this condition fever will be of very high grade associated with rigors and chills.
Urinary tract infections associated with stones can cause burning micturation.
If a stone impacts in the ureter with the other kidney already nonfunctioning due to a stone or for any other reason, the patient will present with sudden stoppage of urine and all the signs and symptoms of renal failure will develop very rapidly.
Passage of blood in the urine is another common symptom of a stone in the urinary tract. Bleeding may be very minute in amount only detectable by a urine test or there may be gross bleeding visible with the naked eye.
Sometimes kidney stones may cause high blood pressure and stones are diagnosed when being worked up for hypertension.
Stones may remain silent for a long time while they continue to damage the kidney without causing any symptom.
One of the common causes of renal failure in tropical areas is kidney stones.