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Posts Tagged ‘Grain Of Sand’

Can Bladder Stones in Cats be Prevented?

December 1st, 2009

If you’ve ever had any experience with a cat bladder stone, you want to know why this happened to your cat and how to prevent it from happening in the future.  By the time you’ve finished reading this article, you’ll have a better understanding of bladder stones in cats.

Where Do Cat Bladder Stones Come From?

Researchers have several theories on this.  The most commonly accepted one is that they form due to high mineral levels in your cat’s urine.  This can be due to a bladder infection or from his diet.  When the mineral levels get too high, crystals form.  These crystals grow and form stones in your cat’s bladder.  These stones can be very small, about the size of a grain of sand, or they can grow to the size of a small pebble.

If a stone blocks one of your cat’s ureters (the tube leading from the kidney to the bladder), or his urethra, a urinary blockage can occur, making it difficult or impossible for him to pass urine. 

Tips For Preventing Bladder Stones In Cats

The most important thing you can do is to start feeding your cat a high quality canned food.  Cats who eat dry food exclusively are more prone to developing bladder stones because they are usually chronically dehydrated.  Cats are made to get most of their water from their prey.  A mouse is over 90% water, so a cat in its natural environment doesn’t need to drink as much water.

Most canned foods have a moisture level of about 78%.  You can see that feeding your cat canned food will help prevent him from becoming dehydrated.  A cat that is dehydrated will have very concentrated urine, which can lead to the formation of bladder stones.

Be sure your cat always has plenty of clean fresh water available.  It’s best to give him filtered water to be sure it’s pure.  A cat that drinks plenty of water will have dilute urine, which is helpful in preventing bladder stones.

Some cat owners give their cats a supplement containing cranberry.  Cranberry is great for making the urine more acidic and preventing the formation of bladder stones.  It also helps to prevent cat bladder infections, too.

Herbal Pet Remedies Can Help Prevent Cat Urinary Problems

People have been using herbal remedies like uva ursi and barberry to treat and prevent urinary problems for centuries.  Homeopathic remedies are  in great demand as well. 

Now cat owners are asking if these herbal pet remedies can help their cats.  The answer is yes.  The advantages of these remedies is that not only are they safe and effective, but they’re inexpensive, and don’t have any side effects.

However, it’s extremely important to buy products that are formulated especially for animals.  You’ll want to purchase herbal pet remedies only from reputable companies that stand behind their products.

Natural remedies for cat urinary problems can help treat and prevent the problem of cat bladder stones.  This is an easy way to keep your kitty healthy.

Darlene Norris has combined her long-time interest in natural healing with her experience working at a vet clinic to bring you her new website, Natural Pet Urinary Health. Discover how herbal and homeopathic remedies can help treat cat bladder stones, and find the best place to buy these remedies at http://naturalpeturinaryhealth.com

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Kidney Stone Causes – Genetic Traits Can Cause Kidney Stones

November 11th, 2009

Kidney Stone Formation

Our kidneys function as filters in our body. It has nephrons or fine tube-like filters which excretes the waste from the blood and produces the urine. These nephrons then act as filters of the blood and the wastes collected by pass through the ureter and into the bladder where it becomes urine. In turn, the kidneys expel the urine out of the system. The kidney stones causes are therefore those that detract the kidney from performing these functions.

Kidney stones may normally form in the kidneys unnoticed. In fact, they can remain unnoticed if the size of the kidney stone is very small; usually the size can be smaller than a grain of sand. If the kidney expels this size from its system, it will be barely noticeable at all and will not cause any problems or complications.Still, it is best for us to know the kidney stone causes.

However, if the kidney stone is stuck in the ureter, this will now have a snowball effect. The kidney stones are in crystal form and can get into contact with calcium and salt sediments that can cause it to enlarge. This will damage the ureter and lead to a high probability of infection.

Kidney Stone Causes

Several circumstances may cause kidney stones but there are still no proven explanations as to why they form. The following are only probable causes:

Hereditary reasons ? Genetic traits passed on from generation to generation, can cause kidney stone problems. Some are born with high susceptibility to kidney stone formation because they have different ways of absorbing minerals in their body. Others have poor calcium absorption while some have poor metabolism and have difficulty managing certain chemicals.

Examples of these chemicals are cystine (a type of amino acid), oxalate (a form of salt), and uric acid. These substances can stick together and crystallize. If they form crystals, then there is a higher possibility of having kidney stone problems.

Climate ? If a person is lives in a place where there is a very dry climate, he tends to dehydrate easily. Once a person is dehydrated, body will excrete less liquid and thus the urine may come in a more concentrated form.  If the urine is concentrated, the minerals and chemicals come in closer contact with each other and may have the opportunity to crystallize and cause damage.

Diet ? A person?s diet has to change if he is already suffering from kidney stone problems.  For example, if you are already suffering from kidney stones caused by uric acid and calcium stones, then, it is best to avoid foods rich in calcium and uric acid.

Over the Counter medication ? Medications like antacids and diuretic pills may form kidney stones. These medications can contain a lot of calcium and may cause calcium-based kidney stones.

Having only one kidney or an abnormally shaped kidney ? People who had their kidney removed or donated can have a very high chance of getting kidney stone problems because their kidney will have to take on the function of the missing one and will need to work double time. An abnormally shaped kidney may also mean that the other kidney will have to work double time.

Some of the kidney stones causes may promote the occurrence of crystallines in the renal system. Minimizing the risk of forming a stone that will be block the ureter is possible by avoiding dehydration. Keeping one?s urine dilute will not allow the formation of a stone nucleus.

Alvin Hopkinson is a leading health researcher in the area of natural remedies and kidney stone removal. Discover how you can get rid of your kidney stones for good using proven home remedies, all without using harmful medications or drugs. Visit his site now at http://www.nomorekidneystone.com

Alvin Hopkinson is a leading health researcher in the area of natural remedies and weight loss.


He had published many health articles online, is a platinum expert author in EzineArticles and writes for Health Central, which is a leading health authority website.


Some of his sites includes:

High Blood Pressure Treatment & Medications Reviews

Gout Relief Made Easy – Gout Natural Cure

Fat Loss Diet – Effective Weight Loss Diet Tips

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Kidney Stones Remedies and Vital Information – Restore Your Kidney Naturally

November 11th, 2009

Kidney stones result of the formation of crystals of salts and minerals in the urine. By sticking together, these crystals may form in the kidneys or urinary tract stones (renal lithiasis) of different size vary from a grain of sand to a large golf ball.

In most cases, the stones are made of calcium oxalate (account for more than 80% incidence of kidney stone) or uric acid (a byproduct of protein metabolism) due to low-protein diet.  Kidney stones are curable, but can reoccur after the treatment if the patient has not changed the kind of lifestyle causing the disease: unhealthy diet, lack of hydration of the body, etc.

What are the causes of kidney stones?

There are many causes of kidney stones; some of them are:

Lack of fluid intake – Too low consumption of water and other liquids: your kidneys need enough water to dilute the urine. Insufficient absorption of water makes it difficult to the kidneys to dilute the urine and prevent crystallization of salts and minerals, resulting in kidney stones or other kidney damages.

Unhealthy diet – Consumption of foods that contain too much calcium oxalate and uric acid: foods that are rich in calcium oxalate and uric acid tend to promote the formation of crystals in the urine of some individuals.

Family history – heredity is a factor of kidney stones. A person whose parent has already had kidney stones is more likely to develop it.

Gender – Although everyone can suffer kidney stones, men are two times more affected by the disease than women are

What are the symptoms?

The symptoms of kidney stones are unnoticed if the calculus are small sizes. It is possible to have kidney stones without suspecting the existence beforehand. Smaller calculus can cross the urinary tract and be expelled in urine without being obvious.

However, when big stones (the size of a golf ball, for instance) migrate in the urinary tract, painful symptoms occur including Dysuria, Pyuria, etc.

The most common symptoms of kidney stones are as follows:

* Chills, fever;
* Pyuria – pus in the urine;   
* Persistent urge to urinate;
* Frequent nausea and vomiting;
* Hematuria – presence of blood in the urine;
* Dysuria – burning on urination when passing stones
* Severe pain in the side and back, below the ribs and radiates to the genital organs and thighs. The pain may last a few minutes or hours, depending on the time of expulsion of the stones.

What is the conventional treatment?

Most small kidney stones are removed by the urinary tract without any treatment. If painful symptoms occur, it is necessary to use lithotripsy, a non-surgical medical procedure that uses shock waves to break up stones that form in the kidney, bladder, ureters, or gallbladder. The fragments are then expelled in urine during the following weeks. Many studies found that lithotripsy significantly increase the risk for diabetes and hypertension later in life. So, avoid it if you can.

When the stones are large, surgery may be required to extract them. The patient is then placed under general anesthesia. After surgery, the patient is advised to consume healthy diet and drink pleanty of fluids to prevent the formation of new stones.

If, despite surgery and dietary changes there is no good result, the doctor may prescribe Thiazide Diuretic, a drug that increases urine output by the kidney; or Allopurinol, a drug used to treat gout or kidney stones by preventing the accumulation of uric acid in the organism. Side effects of those drugs can include hypokalemia, high cholesterol, triglyceride, impaired glucose tolerance, diabetes mellitus impotence, and more.

Why use drugs and surgery when you can be cured naturally for the rest of your life?

Natural herbal remedies offer many benefits; some of them are:
•    The cost is a lot less;
•    No side effects mentioned above
•    The treatment is Safer and more assimilable by the body;
•    No need to go or wait in emergency room when pain strikes
•    Effective for a long term, thus prevents the formation of other kidney stones;
•    Allow your kidneys recover their ability to filter and thus avoids complications (renal failure, cancer, dialysis).

Why is it so important to treat your kidney stones?

Untreated kidney stones can lead to:
•    Chronic renal failure
•    Kidney damages or kidney cancer
•    Formation of other kidney stones
•    A decrease in the ability of the kidneys to filter
•    Regular use of dialysis to purify the blood or painful death
•    More renal colic pain and tingling due to blockage of urine flow by stones.

Our kidney stones remedies have been safely used worldwide for the past 5 years to maintain optimal kidney health.  A healthy lifestyle along with a daily use of our herbal remedies can effectively cure kidney stones and prevent others from forming. Our remedies are the first and only kidney stone products on the market that has over 20 clinical studies to support its effectiveness. To learn more, please visit our kidney stones remedies website and save 5%.

Raphaelo is a nutritionist who strongly believes in natural healing and health diet. He loves to encourage others to eat a healthy diet, the best way to prevent many incurable disease and stay strong. To learn more, Please visit “>http://www.vitalfoodstore.com/””> kidney stones remedies website

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What Cause Kidney Stones

November 9th, 2009

Kidney stones are made of salts and minerals in the urine that stick together to form small “pebbles.” They are usually painless while they remain in the kidney, but they can cause severe pain as they break loose and travel through narrow tubes (ureters) to exit the body during urination. The kidneys are the master chemists of the body. Normally, there are two of them, one on either side of the spine under the lower ribs. They are reddish brown in colour and shaped like kidney beans. Each kidney is about the size of your clenched fist.

Kidney stones form when the components of urine ? fluid and various minerals and acids ? are out of balance. When this happens, your urine contains more crystal-forming substances, such as calcium and uric acid, than the available fluid can dilute. At the same time, your urine may be short of substances that keep crystals from sticking together and becoming stones. Kidney stones are also prone to develop in highly acidic or highly alkaline urine.

A kidney stone develops when substances in urine form crystals that stick together and grow in size. In most cases, these crystals are removed from the body by the flow of urine, but they sometimes stick to the lining of the kidney or settle in places where the urine flow fails to carry them away. These crystals may gather and grow into a stone, ranging in size from a grain of sand to a golf ball.

Diet plays an important role in the development of kidney stones, especially in patients who are predisposed to the condition. A diet high in sodium, fats, meat, and sugar, and low in fiber, vegetable protein, and unrefined carbohydrates increases the risk for renal stone disease. Recurrent kidney stones may form in patients who are sensitive to the chemical byproducts of animal protein and who consume large amounts of meat.

Calcium Stones: people who form this type of stone either have too much of one type of three chemicals in their urine, or not enough of another. In particular, they have either too much calcium, oxalate, or urate in their urine, or too little citrate. Eating too much salt may cause too much calcium to stay in the urine A few patients will have kidney stones from overproduction of the calcium controlling hormone, parathormone. Drinking milk does not cause kidney stones.

Uric acid stones: These stones are formed of uric acid, a byproduct of protein metabolism. You’re more likely to develop uric acid stones if you eat a high-protein diet. Gout also leads to uric acid stones. Certain genetic factors and disorders of the blood-producing tissues also may predispose you to the condition.

Struvite Stones: This type of stone, also called an infection stone, develops when a urinary tract infection (e.g., bladder infection) affects the chemical balance of the urine. Bacteria in the urinary tract release chemicals that neutralize acid in the urine, which enables bacteria to grow more quickly and promotes struvite stone development.

Struvite stones are more common in women because they have urinary tract infections more often. The stones usually develop as jagged structures called “staghorns” and can grow to be quite large.

Cystine stones are formed by a build-up of cystine, combining with lysine, arginine and ornithine. Cystine stones account for 1 percent of all stones and are found in persons suffering from a hereditary disorder called cystinuria. Cystinuria occurs as a result of the kidney tubules not reabsorbing certain amino acids adequately. Cystine stones occur in both men and women equally.

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Understanding The Symptoms Of Kidney Stones

October 24th, 2009

Kidney Stone disease is a disorder involving hardened accumulations of mineral crystals that are deposited in the kidneys and ureters. The stones are usually small, but can vary in size from a grain of sand to the size of a golf ball. Kidney stones are quite common, affecting over 5% of Americans and more often in men than women. Recurrence of the disease is widespread and reaches as high as 50%, especially during the summer months. There are five major categories of kidney stones but calcium stones appear to be the most prevalent.

Clinical symptoms of kidney stones range from no pain if the stone is not moving to agonizing pain that has been compared to childbirth. The first sign of a kidney stone is often bloody urine or intense shooting pain in the flank region or the lower abdomen. As the stone moves down the ureter (the tiny tube that connects the kidneys to the bladder), the pain may progress to sharp cramping or become unbearable renal colic. An urge to urinate or burning on urination occurs as the tiny muscles of the ureter attempt to move the kidney stone along. Associated nausea and vomiting or a state of mild shock may be present. Steady, severe pain may be a sign that the stone has lodged. If this is accompanied by fever or chills, it may be an indication of infection and medical attention should be sought immediately.

The cause of kidney stone formation is not always obvious and usually involves a number of factors. Dehydration and a warm climate, as well as a diet high in proteins or oxalate can lead to concentrated urine and the beginning of a kidney stone. Kidney stones are also known to run in families and may be linked to a sedentary lifestyle or immobility. Active stone formers may also be suffering from an abnormality that prevents them from metabolizing calcium and oxalates.

The diagnosis of kidney stones is usually made on the basis of the location and severity of the pain, then confirmed by an x-ray or CT scan. Ultrasounds are also useful and a urinalysis or urine culture may be done to evaluate mineral levels. Blood may be drawn and a white cell count done to ensure that there is no infection present. If any stones are passed in the urine, it is important to collect them for the physician to evaluate and determine their causes.

Treatment of kidney stones is relatively uncomplicated as most stones will pass spontaneously on their own. The focus is preventing infection and minimizing the pain associated with passing the stone. Surgery may be necessary if the kidney stone is larger than 5mm, if it is blocking the flow of urine or causing an infection or if it will not pass on its own and is causing constant pain. A procedure that involves shattering the stone with shock waves is the most common intervention. For large stones, the surgeon may make a small incision in the back and remove the stone directly with a nephroscope. Open surgical procedures to remove kidney stones are reserved as a last resort because of the risk of hemorrhage.

For those who suffer from recurring kidney stones, the key focus should be prevention. Prevention of kidney stones is the best cure and may involve dietary or lifestyle changes. An adequate fluid intake of at least 6-8 glasses of water daily is imperative to wash out minerals and prevent kidney stones from forming. Other preventative strategies include adopting a diet low in protein and sodium, as well as avoiding oxalate-rich foods. It is also important to maintain a diet adequate in dairy foods and calcium. Contrary to what was once thought, recent research has proven that a diet high in calcium may actually help prevent kidney stone formation. Last, thiazide diuretics may be prescribed to increase urine formation and flush the body of any accumulating mineral salts.

Although they can still be painful, kidney stones are no longer the dreaded disease they once were. Most patients have very good prognoses and excellent outcomes. The advance of technology and the focus on prevention has greatly reduced the cost and pain of having kidney stones.

Disclaimer: This information presented should not be interpreted as or substituted for medical advice. Talk to your doctor for more information about kidney stones.

Copyright © 2006, Heather Colman. Find more kidney stones resources at kidney-stones-hub.info.

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