Kidney pain: what to do and who to see?

People with kidney pain can be identified by their appearance. Any changes in the urinary system lead to the formation of edema. Edema is most pronounced in the morning, but during the day it decreases slightly. Urine excretion is difficult. To eliminate swelling and restore normal urination, it is necessary to use diuretics and conduct special therapy.

The urinary system consists of a number of organs, some of which are paired, and it would be wrong to assume that swelling is the only sign of the development of urinary pathology. How is it structured and what is it intended for? What happens in the body when the kidneys hurt? What measures should be taken if the kidneys hurt and how to avoid this condition? Let's answer these questions in order.

[ 1 ], [ 2 ], [ 3 ], [ 4 ], [ 5 ]

What causes kidney pain?

There are not many diseases that cause pain in the barrels, but they all give a rather painful picture of the course. Pathological changes in these organs are manifested in the form of:

• nephritis of various localizations (most often pyelonephritis and glomerulonephritis are encountered);
• renal failure;
• kidney stone disease;
• polycystic kidney disease;
• nephroptosis (pathological mobility);
• tuberculosis;
• tumor neoplasms.

How do kidneys hurt with glomerulonephritis?

The main structural unit of renal tissue is the nephron. It contains a large number of small blood vessels that intertwine to form a lump. It is with this vascular lump that the disease called glomerulonephritis is associated, which leads to kidney pain. The defeat of the renal lumps occurs due to serious immune disorders after complex infectious, viral or combined attacks on the body. Such provocateurs can be angina and flu, foci of chronic tonsillitis and pneumonia, rubella, hepatitis or herpes.

The kidneys hurt with this disease for a long time, although the original source remains unidentified until complete recovery. According to the nature of the course, acute and chronic forms are distinguished, and according to the type - primary and secondary.

The acute form of the disease is a rare case. Symptoms appear after an inflammatory process, such as tonsillitis, in a week or two. Against the background of good health, difficulties with urination appear, the color of urine changes, acquiring a reddish tint, blood pressure increases, headaches and dizziness join in, patients begin to notice that their kidneys hurt. Due to the fact that urine is excreted poorly, in small doses, the formation of edema becomes inevitable. Edemas form mainly on the face. Fluid accumulates inside the body, for example, in the pericardium or pleural space of the lungs, sometimes leading to a significant increase in body weight. The skin has a pronounced pallor. Slightly above the lumbar region, on the sides of the spinal column, heaviness and pain appear, which intensifies with light tapping.

Sometimes a person may not even suspect that his kidneys hurt, because the acute form may proceed with vague symptoms, without a change in the color of urine and with minor external edema. This diagnosis can only be detected by conducting clinical urine tests. Thus, the acute stage very often turns into a chronic stage. The disease can become chronic even with improper treatment of the acute form diagnosed in time. In any case, it is necessary to remember that the viral and infectious nature of any disease can lead to the feeling that the kidneys hurt. After "meeting" with another disease, it is imperative to conduct laboratory testing of urine before the start of treatment and two weeks after it to make sure that the renal structures are not damaged.

The chronic form of the disease proceeds with weakly expressed symptomatic indicators, sometimes the kidneys hurt. Edema may or may not be visually manifested, urinary disorders may not be constant and insignificant, but, nevertheless, at the level of internal manifestation there will be constant negative changes, such as wrinkling of organs, one or two at once, blood poisoning with urine products, due to improper work, which ultimately leads to the development of renal failure and complete cessation of urination. But all this develops over many years, with or without periods of exacerbation.

How do kidneys hurt with pyelonephritis?

Unfortunately, cases when the kidneys hurt are not as rare as we would like. Pyelonephritis occurs as often as any diseases of an infectious and inflammatory nature. The pathogenic zone after which pyelonephritis develops can be any previous inflammation, including tonsillitis and sinusitis, sexually transmitted infections and inflammation of internal organs. In the presence of chronic foci of inflammation in the organs of the genitourinary system, there is a high probability of developing a pathological process according to the ascending principle, when the infection, rising upward, spreads right up to the urinary organs themselves.

The lesion begins with the cups and pelvises, quickly moving to the renal tubules, vessels and vascular glomeruli, thus, the entire structure of the renal structures is affected. Both organs can suffer at once, in this case they talk about a bilateral disease, in this case the kidneys hurt on both sides, or one-sided damage is observed. By the form of manifestation, it can be acute and chronic. By the nature of the occurrence, it is divided into primary, which is based on a problem in the urinary system, and secondary, the development of which was preceded by physiological changes.

The disease develops rapidly, with clear signs of intoxication of the body and attacks of pain. Here is an approximate list of symptoms that will help to suspect the onset of pyelonephritis:

• high body temperature readings up to 40 degrees and above;
• profuse sweating with chills that quickly turn into heat and back;
• nausea with the possibility of developing into vomiting;
• frequent and very painful urination in small portions;
• a feeling of pain throughout the body, with the main localization in the lumbar region and large joints;
• the kidneys hurt, and lightly tapping the fingers on the area of their projection, coughing and sudden movements cause severe pain in them;
• Due to the loss of water through urine, sweat and vomit, severe dryness in the mouth is observed.

How do kidneys hurt with kidney failure?

A disease in which the kidneys hurt slightly, partially at first, and if timely measures are not taken, they completely stop working. Blood purification is poor or does not occur at all, which is why the body begins to be poisoned by decay products, such as urea, creatine, uric acid and many other toxic substances that should have been excreted from the body with urine. Along with this, a strong shift in the water-salt balance of the body occurs, which again leads to problems in the form of swelling, lack of urine.

In case of renal failure, the kidneys hurt on both sides, even in the case when the failure begins to develop only in one organ, the second, unable to withstand the heavy load, eventually becomes involved in the pathological process.

The range of symptoms is not numerous, but quite severe:

• a sharp decrease in urine output, up to and including complete cessation;
• dry mucous membranes and flaccidity of the skin;
• increased mental activity, expressed in severe anxiety;
• manifestation of uremia (poisoning by primary urine products) in the form of irritation followed by depression of the central nervous system;
• disturbances in cardiovascular system indicators in the form of changes in blood pressure to high levels, increased heart rate and rapid development of complete heart failure.

Correct diagnosis and timely initiation of treatment allow the body to recover within 10 days, depending on the severity of the disease and the age of the patient, although this does not mean complete recovery, only that the urinary function will be restored.

How do kidneys hurt with urolithiasis?

As practice shows, in most cases, a person knows that his kidneys hurt and, when turning to specialists, already has experience in self-treatment of his own ailment. Stones are formed without any symptoms, signs of a stone appear after the formation process has already been completed and the stone has begun to move. Stones are rarely formed one by one, more often in a group and with a small or large number of small particles, which are usually called sand.

There are many reasons for the formation of sand, the most common are considered to be poor quality drinking water, which is consumed over a long period of time, dietary disorders, an unhealthy lifestyle, which gives preference to passive spending of time, metabolic disorders in the body and pathologies of the endocrine system. These are the main, but far from all the factors that lead to the formation of urolithiasis. Research is still ongoing in the medical community on this topic and new factors are being discovered that contribute to the formation of stones.

In the presence of kidney stones, the kidneys hurt only during the period of exacerbation, as already mentioned above, when the stone began to move. Stones can be in the renal pelvis itself, as well as in any part of the urinary system, for many years, without showing any pathological signs. Or they can have a long-term and painful effect on a person for quite a long time. There is no reason to tolerate the presence of stones in the body. Treatment of kidney stones has long ceased to be labor-intensive and lengthy. There are drugs that allow you to remove even the largest stones in a short time and without surgical intervention.

The structure and main functions of the genitourinary system

As strange as it may sound, our body is a furnace in which the main components burn, leaving behind slag, ash, liquids, gases, alloys and other impurities. If the body did not have natural self-cleaning systems, then over time, from combustion products, life would quickly cease. One of the body's self-cleaning systems from waste products is the urinary system, which is represented by:

• renal structures
• ureters
• bladder
• urethra.

The main functions for which this device is responsible are the removal of waste substances from the body, maintaining the balance of water-salt ratio in the blood at the required level. It "runs" the entire volume of blood through itself without interruption, acting as a separator. In other words, it releases clean blood back into the circulatory system, and directs everything harmful and unnecessary for the body out in the urine. Some harmful substances are unable to leave the urinary system, settling in it in the form of sand or stones.

When the kidneys hurt, there is a shift in their functions in one direction. In one case, this shift leads to the development of edema, which means that there are more salts in the body, and they retain fluid inside the organs and tissues. With another vector of pathology development, dehydration develops with minimal urine production, severe dryness of the skin and all mucous membranes. If there are deposits of sand and stones in the renal pelvis, sooner or later, pain syndrome develops.

When talking about the structure of the urinary system, it is necessary to mention that the organs included in it are divided into urine-forming and urine-excreting. It is clear that the main load falls on the renal formations, which, being a paired organ, perform an incredible amount of work per day, in terms of the number of liters. Just imagine, the daily volume of blood passing through them reaches two thousand liters, from which about 150-170 liters of primary urine are filtered. When the kidneys hurt, the distribution of the load between the organs is uneven and leads to a decrease in the volume of both primary and secondary urine.

The fluid that is excreted from the body, about 1-1.5 liters per day, is called secondary urine and is a concentrated residue of thoroughly processed primary urine. The urinary organs - the ureters, bladder and urethra - only have to serve as an intermediary between the organs of urine formation and the external environment.

How to understand that your kidneys hurt?

The most effective diagnostic methods are ultrasound examination, magnetic resonance imaging, and in some cases, X-rays with a contrast agent may be used. Of the laboratory methods, the most informative are general blood and urine tests, urine analysis according to Nechiporenko (an average portion of urine is taken for the study), and during inpatient treatment, the average norm of excreted urine is calculated by collecting the Zimnitsky analysis (in eight specially designated jars). Particular attention is paid to the presence of erythrocytes and leukocytes in the urine, the number of which is used to judge the severity of the process or its cessation.

What to do if your kidneys hurt?

If your kidneys hurt, only a professional approach to diagnosis and treatment can give a 100% recovery. Timely visit to the doctor at the slightest suspicion that the kidneys hurt allows you to avoid many complications and physiological changes not only in the renal structures, but also in many other organs.

In acute stages of diseases, they are carried out in a hospital, under the supervision of medical personnel. Chronic processes can be treated in a dispensary manner, but certainly with a visit to the doctor, including for laboratory and diagnostic control. It is impossible to say in a few words how the treatment of a particular disease will be carried out. Each disease is caused by a number of factors. Many patients today have a number of chronic processes that become an excellent testing ground for further addition and kidney problems.

It can only be assumed that with pyelonephritis, antibacterial therapy will be prescribed with a complex of intravenous drip procedures aimed at relieving a pain attack and signs of intoxication, the introduction of painkillers, antispasmodics. All this is appropriate in the acute phase, then drugs and procedures that have a general strengthening effect are connected.

In glomerulonephritis, a strict salt-free diet, antibiotics and diuretics are prescribed to remove fluid from the body, which will not only relieve swelling, but also reduce blood pressure. In some cases, the use of drugs from a number of corticosteroids is indicated.

Kidney stone disease, again, can be treated in two ways - conservative and surgical. Which of these two treatment options will be preferred will be shown by diagnostics, the nature of the pathological process and the individual indicators of the patient.

How to prevent diseases that cause kidney pain?

When talking about preventive measures that will help avoid the occurrence and development of kidney diseases, it is worth considering that they are not much different from any preventive measures. Taking care of your body should be comprehensive and constant, and not just from time to time, and when your kidneys already hurt.

It is necessary to ensure that there are no foci of the most common chronic infections in the body, such as:

• carious teeth;
• tonsillitis and pharyngitis;
• bronchitis, especially in smokers;

Know your predisposition to certain infectious, viral diseases and avoid relapses. Pay attention to the foods and liquids you consume. Drink more clean water, include vitamin complexes in your diet and do not forget about hardening your body and doing sports, especially outdoors.

When your kidneys hurt, naturally, you need to gradually start taking the above preventive measures and only after consulting a doctor.