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Symptoms of Kidney stones
List of symptoms of Kidney stones:
The list of signs and symptoms mentioned in various sources for Kidney stones includes the 18 symptoms listed below:
- No early symptoms - early stages have no symptoms
- Severe abdominal pain
- Kidney pain - sharp pain usually on the back and at the side
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Groin pain
- Hematuria
- Kidney infection symptoms - very serious symptoms:
Note that Kidney stones symptoms usually refers to various symptoms known to a patient, but the phrase Kidney stones signs may refer to those signs only noticable by a doctor.
More ways to research these symptoms: To research other symptoms use the symptom center, or to research causes of more than one symptom in combination, try our multi-symptom search.
Research More About Kidney stones
Do I have Kidney stones?
- Kidney stones: Introduction
- Kidney stones: Diagnostic Testing to confirm diagnosis
- Home Diagnostic Testing
- Alternative diagnoses and misdiagnosis for Kidney stones
- Failure to Diagnose Kidney stones
- Hidden Causes of Kidney stones
- How serious is it?
- Treatments for Kidney stones
- More about Kidney stones
Home Diagnostic Testing
Home medical tests related to Kidney stones:
- Bladder & Urinary Health: Home Testing:
- Prostate Health: Home Testing:
- Kidney Health: Home Testing:
Wrongly Diagnosed with Kidney stones?
The list of other diseases or medical conditions that may be on the differential diagnosis list of alternative diagnoses for Kidney stones includes:
- Cholecystitis
- Appendiciits
- Diverticulitis
- Epididymitis
- Pyelonephritis
See the full list of 14 alternative diagnoses for Kidney stones
More about symptoms of Kidney stones:
More information about symptoms of Kidney stones and related conditions:
- Other diseases with similar symptoms and common misdiagnoses
- Tests to determine if these are the symptoms of Kidney stones
- Symptoms that may be caused by complications of Kidney stones
- Underlying causes of Kidney stones
- Associated conditions for Kidney stones
- Risk factors for Kidney stones
Other Possible Causes of these Symptoms
Click on any of the symptoms below to see a full list of other causes including diseases, medical conditions, toxins, drug interactions, or drug side effect causes of that symptom.
- Blood in urine - see all causes of Blood in urine
- Burning when urinating - see all causes of Urinary burning
- Chills - see all causes of Chills
- Cloudy urine - see all causes of Cloudy urine
- Fever - see all causes of Fever
- Groin pain - see all causes of Groin pain
- Hematuria - see all causes of Blood in urine
- Kidney infection symptoms - see all causes of Kidney symptoms
- Kidney pain - see all causes of Kidney pain
- Nausea - see all causes of Nausea
- No early symptoms - see all causes of No symptoms
- Severe abdominal pain - see all causes of Abdominal pain
- Severe back pain - see all causes of Back pain
- Side pain - see all causes of Side pain
- Smelly urine - see all causes of Urine odor
- Urinary urgency - see all causes of Urinary urgency
- Vomiting - see all causes of Vomiting
- Vomiting - see all causes of Vomiting
Medical Books Online about Kidney stones
16 MEDICAL BOOKS ONLINE! Full text. Free access without registration. The full text of published medical book chapters related to Kidney stones is available from published medical books for more detailed information about Kidney stones.
Full text. Free access (no registration).
Copyright notice for book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.
Related videos for Kidney stones
Treating Kidney Stones
How your kidney stones are treated will depend on the size, location and type of stone you have. Our panel of experts will discuss the different...
What Are Kidney Stones?
Kidney stones, as the name implies, can lodge themselves in the kidney or along the urinary tract, causing extreme pain. What are they and how can...
Kidney Stones in Summer
Ice cream, beaches, and.... kidney stones? It's a little known fact, but kidney stones are much more common in the summer. Why is this the case?...
Types of Kidney Stones
Not all kidney stones are alike. Learn about the different types, and how each kind of stone brings its own specific problems.
Patient Surveys for Kidney stones
- Patient Profile Survey
Take Survey View Results - Survey about the symptoms of your Kidney stones
Take Survey View Results
Symptoms of Kidney stones: Online Medical Books
16 MEDICAL BOOKS ONLINE! Review the full text of medical books online, free, without registration, for more information about the symptoms of Kidney stones.
Acute renal failure:
Signs and Symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))
Oliguria, azotemia, anuria, electrolyte imbalances, anorexia, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or constipation, stomatitis, uremic breath, headache, drowsiness, irritability, confusion, neuropathy, seizures, coma, pruritus, pallor, heart failure, edema
Calcium imbalance:
Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))
Calcium deficit causes nerve fiber irritability and repetitive muscle spasms. Consequently, characteristic symptoms of hypocalcemia include perioral paresthesia, twitching, carpopedal spasm, tetany, seizures and, possibly, cardiac arrhythmias. Chvostek’s sign and Trousseau’s sign are reliable indicators of hypocalcemia. (See Trousseau’s sign. Also see Chvostek’s sign, page 918.)
Clinical effects of hypercalcemia include muscle weakness, decreased muscle tone, lethargy, anorexia, constipation, nausea, vomiting, dehydration, polydipsia, and polyuria. Severe hypercalcemia (serum levels that exceed 15 mg/dl) may produce cardiac arrhythmias and, eventually, coma.
Polycystic kidney disease:
Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))
The neonate with infantile polycystic disease often has pronounced epicanthal folds, a pointed nose, a small chin, and floppy, low-set ears (Potter facies). At birth, he has huge bilateral masses on the flanks that are symmetrical, tense, and can’t be transilluminated. He characteristically shows signs of respiratory distress and heart failure. Eventually, he develops uremia and renal failure. Accompanying hepatic fibrosis may cause portal hypertension and bleeding varices to develop, requiring sclerotherapy or portacaval shunting.
Adult polycystic kidney disease is commonly asymptomatic through the patient’s 40s, but may induce nonspecific symptoms, such as hypertension, polyuria, and recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs). Later, the patient develops overt symptoms related to the enlarging kidney mass, such as lumbar pain, widening girth, and swollen or tender abdomen. Abdominal pain is usually worsened by exertion and relieved by lying down. In advanced stages, this disease may cause recurrent hematuria, life-threatening retroperitoneal bleeding resulting from cyst rupture, proteinuria, and colicky abdominal pain from the ureteral passage of clots or calculi. Generally, about 10 years after symptoms appear, progressive compression of kidney structures by the enlarging mass produces renal failure and uremia. Hypertension is found in about 20% to 30% of children and up to 75% of adults due to intrarenal ischemia, which activates the renin-angiotensin system.
Chronic renal failure:
Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))
Chronic renal failure produces major changes in all body systems:
❑ Renal and urologic: Initially, salt-wasting and consequent hyponatremia produce hypotension, dry mouth, loss of skin turgor, listlessness, fatigue, and nausea; later, somnolence and confusion develop. As the number of functioning nephrons decreases, so does the kidneys’capacity to excrete sodium, resulting in salt retention and overload. Accumulation of potassium causes muscle irritability, then muscle weakness as the potassium level continues to rise. Fluid overload and metabolic acidosis also occur. Urinary output decreases; urine is very dilute and contains casts and crystals.
❑ Cardiovascular: Renal failure leads to hypertension, arrhythmias (including life-threatening ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation), cardiomyopathy, uremic pericarditis, pericardial effusion with possible cardiac tamponade, heart failure, and periorbital and peripheral edema.
❑ Respiratory: Pulmonary changes include reduced pulmonary macrophage activity with increased susceptibility to infection, pulmonary edema, pleuritic pain, pleural friction rub and effusions, crackles, thick sputum, uremic pleuritis and uremic lung (or uremic pneumonitis), dyspnea due to heart failure, and Kussmaul’s respirations as a result of acidosis.
❑ GI: Inflammation and ulceration of GI mucosa cause stomatitis, gum ulceration and bleeding and, possibly, parotitis, esophagitis, gastritis, duodenal ulcers, lesions on the small and large bowel, uremic colitis, pancreatitis, and proctitis. Other GI symptoms include a metallic taste in the mouth, uremic fetor (ammonia smell to breath), anorexia, nausea, and vomiting.
❑ Cutaneous: Typically, the skin is pallid, yellowish bronze, dry, and scaly. Other cutaneous symptoms include severe itching; purpura; ecchymoses; petechiae; uremic frost (most often in critically ill or terminal patients); thin, brittle fingernails with characteristic lines; and dry, brittle hair that may change color and fall out easily.
❑ Neurologic: Restless leg syndrome, one of the first signs of peripheral neuropathy, causes pain, burning, and itching in the legs and feet, which may be relieved by voluntarily shaking, moving, or rocking them. Eventually, this condition progresses to paresthesia and motor nerve dysfunction (usually bilateral footdrop) unless dialysis is initiated. Other signs and symptoms include muscle cramping and twitching, shortened memory and attention span, apathy, drowsiness, irritability, confusion, coma, and seizures. EEG changes indicate metabolic encephalopathy.
❑ Endocrine: Common endocrine abnormalities include stunted growth patterns in children (even with elevated growth hormone levels), infertility and decreased libido in both sexes, amenorrhea and cessation of menses in females, and impotence, decreased sperm production, and testicular atrophy in males. Increased aldosterone secretion (related to increased renin production) and impaired carbohydrate metabolism (increased blood glucose levels similar to diabetes mellitus) may also occur.
❑ Hematopoietic: Anemia, decreased red blood cell (RBC) survival time, blood loss from dialysis and GI bleeding, mild thrombocytopenia, and platelet defects occur. Other problems include increased bleeding and clotting disorders, demonstrated by purpura, hemorrhage from body orifices, easy bruising, ecchymoses, and petechiae.
❑ Skeletal: Calcium-phosphorus imbalance and consequent parathyroid hormone imbalances cause muscle and bone pain, skeletal demineralization, pathologic fractures, and calcifications in the brain, eyes, gums, joints, myocardium, and blood vessels. Arterial calcification may produce coronary artery disease. In children, renal osteodystrophy (renal rickets) may develop.
Renal calculi:
Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))
Clinical effects vary with size, location, and etiology of the calculi. Pain, the key symptom, usually results from obstruction; large, rough calculi occlude the opening to the ureter and increase the frequency and force of peristaltic contractions. The pain of classic renal colic travels from the costovertebral angle to the flank, to the suprapubic region and external genitalia. The intensity of this pain fluctuates and may be excruciating at its peak. If calculi are in the renal pelvis and calyces, pain may be more constant and dull. Back pain (from calculi that produce an obstruction within a kidney) and severe abdominal pain (from calculi traveling down a ureter) may also occur. (See Types of renal calculi.) Nausea and vomiting usually accompany severe pain.
Other associated signs include fever, chills, hematuria (when calculi abrade a ureter), abdominal distention, pyuria and, rarely, anuria (from bilateral obstruction, or unilateral obstruction in the patient with one kidney).
Lower urinary tract infection:
Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))
Lower UTI usually produces urgency, frequency, dysuria, cramps or spasms of the bladder, itching, a feeling of warmth during urination, nocturia, and possibly urethral discharge in males. Inflammation of the bladder wall also causes hematuria and fever. Other common features include low back pain, malaise, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain or tenderness over the bladder area, chills, and flank pain.
Indications of calcium imbalance depend on the type of imbalance. (See Signs and symptoms of calcium imbalance.)
A lack of calcium causes nerve fiber irritability and repetitive muscle spasms. Consequently, characteristic signs and symptoms of hypocalcemia include perioral paresthesia, twitching, carpopedal spasm, tetany, seizures and, possibly, cardiac arrhythmias. Although Chvostek’s and Trousseau’s signs are reliable indicators of hypocalcemia, they aren’t specific.
Signs and symptoms of hypercalcemia include muscle weakness, decreased muscle tone, lethargy, anorexia, constipation, nausea, vomiting, dehydration, polydipsia, and polyuria. When calcium levels are greater than 3.2 mmol/L (13 mg/dL), calcification in kidneys, skin, vessels, lungs, heart, and stomach occurs and renal insufficiency may develop, especially if blood phosphate levels are normal or elevated due to impaired renal function. Severe hypercalcemia (serum levels that exceed 4.5 mmol/L or greater than 18 mg/dL) may produce cardiac arrhythmias and, eventually, coma.
Clinical features vary with the form of disease.
The neonate with infantile polycystic disease may have pronounced epicanthal folds, a pointed nose, a small chin, and floppy, low-set ears (Potter facies). Signs of respiratory distress and heart failure may be evident. Eventually, he develops uremia and renal failure. Accompanying hepatic fibrosis may cause the development of portal hypertension and bleeding varices.
Adult polycystic kidney disease is commonly asymptomatic while the patient is in his thirties and forties but may induce nonspecific signs and symptoms, such as hypertension, polyuria, and urinary tract infection. Later, the patient develops overt signs and symptoms related to the enlarging kidney mass, such as lumbar pain, widening girth, and a swollen or tender abdomen. Such abdominal pain is usually worsened by exertion and relieved by lying down.
In advanced stages, this disease may cause recurrent hematuria, life-threatening retroperitoneal bleeding resulting from a ruptured cyst, proteinuria, and colicky abdominal pain from the ureteral passage of clots or calculi. Generally, about 10 years after symptoms appear, progressive compression of kidney structures by the enlarging mass produces renal failure and uremia.
Acute renal failure is a critical illness. Its early signs are oliguria, azotemia and, rarely, anuria. Electrolyte imbalances, metabolic acidosis, and other severe effects follow as the patient becomes increasingly uremic and renal dysfunction disrupts other body systems: ❑ GI — anorexia, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or constipation, stomatitis, bleeding, hematemesis, dry mucous membranes, uremic breath
❑ central nervous system (CNS) — headache, drowsiness, irritability, confusion, peripheral neuropathy, seizures, coma
❑ cutaneous — dryness, pruritus, pallor, purpura; rarely, uremic frost
❑ cardiovascular — early in the disease, hypotension; later, hypertension, arrhythmias, fluid overload, heart failure, systemic edema, anemia, altered clotting mechanisms
❑ respiratory — Kussmaul’s respirations, pulmonary edema.
Fever and chills indicate infection, a common complication.
Chronic renal failure produces major changes in all body systems.
Initially, salt-wasting and consequent hyponatremia produce hypotension, dry mouth, loss of skin turgor, listlessness, fatigue, and nausea. Later, somnolence and confusion develop.
As the number of functioning neph-rons decreases, so does the kidneys’ capacity to excrete sodium, resulting in sodium retention and overload. Accumulation of potassium causes muscle irritability and then muscle weakness as the potassium level continues to rise. Fluid overload and metabolic acidosis also occur. Urine output decreases; urine is very dilute and contains casts and crystals.
Renal failure leads to hypertension and arrhythmias, including life-threatening ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation. Other effects include cardiomyopathy, uremic pericarditis, pericardial effusion (and possibly cardiac tamponade), heart failure, and peripheral edema.
Pulmonary changes include reduced pulmonary macrophage activity with increased susceptibility to infection, pulmonary edema, pleuritic pain, pleural friction rub and effusions, uremic pleuritis, and uremic lung (or uremic pneumonitis). Dyspnea from heart failure also occurs, as do Kussmaul’s respirations as a result of acidosis. Inflammation and ulceration of GI mucosa cause stomatitis, gum ulceration and bleeding and, possibly, parotitis, esophagitis, gastritis, duodenal ulcers, lesions on the small and large bowel, uremic colitis, pancreatitis, and proctitis. Other GI signs and symptoms include a metallic taste in the mouth, uremic fetor (ammonia smell to breath), anorexia, nausea, and vomiting. Typically, the skin is pallid, yellowish bronze, dry, and scaly. Other cutaneous signs and symptoms include severe itching; purpura; ecchymoses; petechiae; uremic frost (most common in critically ill or terminal patients); thin, brittle fingernails with characteristic lines; and dry, brittle hair that may change color and fall out easily.
Restless leg syndrome, one of the first symptoms of peripheral neuropathy, causes pain, burning, and itching in the legs and feet, which may be relieved by voluntarily shaking, moving, or rocking them. Eventually, this condition progresses to paresthesia and motor nerve dysfunction (usually bilateral footdrop) unless dialysis is initiated. Other signs and symptoms include muscle cramping and twitching, shortened memory and attention span, apathy, drowsiness, irritability, confusion, coma, and seizures. EEG changes indicate metabolic encephalopathy.
Common endocrine abnormalities include stunted growth in children (even with elevated growth hormone levels), infertility and decreased libido in both sexes, amenorrhea and cessation of menses in women, and impotence and decreased sperm production in men. Other changes include increased aldosterone secretion (related to increased renin production) and impaired carbohydrate metabolism (causing increased blood glucose levels similar to those found with diabetes mellitus).
Anemia, decreased red blood cell (RBC) survival time, blood loss from dialysis and GI bleeding, mild thrombocytopenia, and platelet defects occur. Other problems include increased bleeding and clotting disorders, demonstrated by purpura, hemorrhage from body orifices, easy bruising, ecchymoses, and petechiae.
Calcium-phosphorus imbalance and consequent parathyroid hormone imbalances cause muscle and bone pain, skeletal demineralization, pathologic fractures, and calcifications in the brain, eyes, gums, joints, myocardium, and blood vessels. Arterial calcification may produce coronary artery disease. In children, renal osteodystrophy (renal rickets) may develop.
Signs and symptoms vary with size, location, and cause of the calculi.
Pain, the key symptom, usually results from obstruction; large, rough calculi occlude the opening to the ureter and increase the frequency and force of peristaltic contractions. The pain of classic renal colic travels from the costovertebral angle to the flank, to the suprapubic region and external genitalia.
The intensity of this pain fluctuates and may be excruciating at its peak. If calculi are in the renal pelvis and caly-ces, pain may be more constant and dull. Back pain (from calculi that produce an obstruction within a kidney) and severe abdominal pain (from calculi traveling down a ureter) may also occur. Nausea and vomiting usually accompany severe pain.
Other associated signs and symptoms include fever, chills, hematuria (when calculi abrade a ureter), abdominal distention, pyuria and, rarely, anuria (from bilateral obstruction or unilateral obstruction in the patient with one kidney).
Lower UTI usually produces urgency, frequency, dysuria, cramps or spasms of the bladder, itching, a feeling of warmth during urination, nocturia, and possibly urethral discharge in males. Inflammation of the bladder wall also causes hematuria and fever.
Other common features include low back pain, malaise, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain or tenderness over the bladder area, chills, and flank pain.
Usually, the first symptom of a kidney stone is
extreme pain. The pain often begins suddenly when a stone moves in the
urinary tract, causing irritation or blockage. Typically, a person feels a
sharp, cramping pain in the back and side in the area of the kidney or in
the lower abdomen. Sometimes nausea and vomiting occur. Later, pain may
spread to the groin.
If the stone is too large to pass easily, pain continues as the muscles
in the wall of the tiny ureter try to squeeze the stone along into the
bladder. As a stone grows or moves, blood may appear in the urine. As the
stone moves down the ureter closer to the bladder, you may feel the need
to urinate more often or feel a burning sensation during urination.
If fever and chills accompany any of these symptoms, an infection may
be present. In this case, you should contact a doctor immediately.
(Source: excerpt from Kidney Stones in Adults: NIDDK)
If you have a kidney stone, you may already know
how painful it can be. Most kidney stones pass out of the body without
help from a doctor. But sometimes a stone will not just go away. It may
even get larger. Your doctor can help.
You should call a doctor when you have
These may be signs of a kidney stone that needs a doctor's care.
(Source: excerpt from What Are Kidney Stones: NIDDK)
Usually, the first symptom of a kidney stone is extreme pain. The pain
often begins suddenly when a stone moves in the urinary tract, causing
irritation or blockage. Typically, a person feels a sharp, cramping pain
the back and side in the area of the kidney or in the lower abdomen.
Sometimes nausea and vomiting occur with this pain. Later, the pain may
spread to the groin.
If the stone is too large to pass easily, the pain continues as the
muscles in the wall of the tiny ureter try to squeeze the stone along into
the bladder. As a stone grows or moves, blood may be found in the urine.
As the stone moves down the ureter closer to the bladder, a person may
feel the need to urinate more often or feel a burning sensation during
urination.
If fever and chills accompany any of these symptoms, an infection may
be present. In this case, a doctor should be contacted immediately.
(Source: excerpt from Kidney Stones: NWHIC)
When considering symptoms of Kidney stones, it is also important to consider Kidney stones as a possible cause of other medical conditions.
The Disease Database lists the following medical conditions that Kidney stones may cause:
Calcium imbalance:
Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)
Hypocalcemia
Hypercalcemia
Polycystic kidney disease:
Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)
Infantile form
Adult form
Renal failure, acute:
Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)
Renal failure, chronic:
Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)
Renal and urologic changes
Cardiovascular changes
Respiratory changes
GI changes
Cutaneous changes
Neurologic changes
Endocrine changes
Hematopoietic changes
Skeletal changes
Renal calculi:
Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)
Pain
Accompanying signs and symptoms
Urinary tract infection, lower:
Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)
Article Excerpts About Symptoms of Kidney stones:
Kidney Stones in Adults: NIDDK (Excerpt)
What Are Kidney Stones: NIDDK (Excerpt)
Kidney Stones: NWHIC (Excerpt)
Kidney stones as a Cause of Symptoms or Medical Conditions
- (Source - Diseases Database)
Kidney stones as a symptom:
For a more detailed analysis of Kidney stones as a symptom, including causes, drug side effect causes, and drug interaction causes, please see our Symptom Center information for Kidney stones.
Medical articles and books on symptoms:
These general reference articles may be of interest in relation to medical signs and symptoms of disease in general:
- Diagnostic Testing for a Diagnosis of Kidney stones
- Research Alternative Diagnoses for Kidney stones
- How serious is Kidney stones?
- More about Kidney stones
- Online Diagnosis
- Self Diagnosis Pitfalls
- Pitfalls of Online Diagnosis
- Symptoms of the Silent Killer Diseases
- Lesser known silent killer diseases
- Books on signs and symptoms
Full list of premium articles on symptoms and diagnosis
About signs and symptoms of Kidney stones:
The symptom information on this page attempts to provide a list of some possible signs and symptoms of Kidney stones. This signs and symptoms information for Kidney stones has been gathered from various sources, may not be fully accurate, and may not be the full list of Kidney stones signs or Kidney stones symptoms. Furthermore, signs and symptoms of Kidney stones may vary on an individual basis for each patient. Only your doctor can provide adequate diagnosis of any signs or symptoms and whether they are indeed Kidney stones symptoms.
» Next page: Diagnostic Tests for Kidney stones
Medical Tools & Articles:
Next articles:
- Diagnostic Tests for Kidney stones
- Diagnosis of Kidney stones
- Signs of Kidney stones
- Complications of Kidney stones
- Misdiagnosis of Kidney stones
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