Do you feel pain in your side and someone told you that you might be suffering from renal colic? Certainly not all pain in this area is certainly a sign of a problem with the kidneys, so what is it? renal colic; What are its symptoms, causes and how to treat it? Follow this article with us.

What is Renal Colic?

It is the pain that you feel as a result of existence Kidney stones Or in the urinary tract in general, which also includes the ureters, bladder and urethra. When these stones move, they block the urinary tract or part of it, causing this pain.

Kidney stones form when certain minerals, such as calcium, build up in the urine uric acid They are crystal-like objects, and these stones can be very small, like a grain of wheat, or they may be very large, the size of a golf ball, and when the size of these stones becomes larger, they can cause unbearable pain.

Symptoms of renal colic

The symptoms of colic differ from one person to another according to the size and location of the stones. Small stones may not cause severe pain because they pass with the urine when it is excreted. However, with large stones, they cause severe pain because they block one of the urinary tracts.

As for the symptoms that characterize colic in the kidneys, they are as follows:

• Feeling pain on one side in the area between the lower ribs and the hip, and the pain may extend to the back, lower abdomen, and even the thigh.
• Colic comes in bouts that last 20-60 minutes each and then subside.

The pain can also be accompanied by several symptoms caused by kidney stones, as follows:

• Feeling pain when urinating.
• difficulty urinating
• Blood in the urine that may be pink, dark red, or brown.
• Unusual smell of urine.
• Nausea and vomiting.
• Cloudy urine with small particles.
• Constant need to urinate.

Is renal colic dangerous?

Colic itself can be alleviated and treated, but you must go to the emergency room immediately if these symptoms appear with the presence of colic, because they may indicate a serious problem:

• Loss of ability to urinate.
• Continuous vomiting without stopping.
• Fever, a temperature greater than 38 degrees.

The difference between renal colic and muscle spasms

The pain that occurs due to the kidneys is considered more severe than the pain of muscle spasms, and the pain of the kidneys can be felt on one or both sides and the pain extends to the hips, lower abdomen and the inner part between the thighs, while back pain caused by cramps affects only part of the back and may extend Sometimes to the back.

Also, kidney pain is often observed with the emergence of other symptoms indicating the presence of kidney stones, as we mentioned earlier, in contrast to the pain of muscle spasms in the back.

Causes of renal colic

The feeling of renal colic can irritate you with the accumulation of stones in the kidneys, and when these stones interfere with the normal flow of urine, this leads to swelling of the kidneys, causing severe pain. The causes of kidney stones that cause colic are as follows:

risk factors

Some of these factors may increase the risk of renal colic, but they are not a prerequisite for infection:

• Drought.
• A diet that contains plenty of vitamin D.
• Overuse of diuretics.
• Having a family history of kidney stones.
• Malabsorption in the intestine, which may be caused by Crohn’s disease or due to surgery.
• Previous infection with kidney stones.
• Urinary tract infection.
• Use of antacids containing calcium.

Renal colic for pregnant women

Pregnancy is one of the factors that increase the possibility of kidney stones due to the changes that occur to the pregnant body, especially in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. From fluids, it causes dehydration and eventually kidney stones, which leads to feeling symptoms of pain in the kidneys.

Diagnosis of renal colic

When you feel pain and go to the doctor, he will ask you about the rest of the symptoms and ask you about the medical history in the family. He will also order several tests to determine the type of excess substances in the blood that may have caused the stones. He may request several x-rays to determine the location of the stones and their size in the urinary system, such as X-rays, CT scans, and x-rays. Ultrasound.

Kidney colic treatment

After determining the appropriate diagnosis and the size and location of the stones, the treatment of colic depends on getting rid of the stones as follows:

• Passing stones with urine by drinking plenty of fluids, especially small stones, and following up on the occurrence of stones with a doctor for periodic examination.
• Take some pain relievers to relieve the pain until the stones are removed.

In the case of relatively large stones, several other procedures may be resorted to, such as:

• Ureteroscopy to extract stones.
• Lithotripsy using shock waves, which is an external procedure on the body that uses sound waves to target the stones to break them up until they are disposed of with urine.
• Percutaneous lithotripsy under general anesthesia.
• Placement of a stent in the ureter helps relieve obstruction and allows stones to pass through it.
• Surgical intervention may be used to completely remove the stones after trying to break up the stones.

The doctor may prescribe several other medications that help relieve the rest of the symptoms and prevent the accumulation of more stones, such as:

• Antibiotics.
• corticosteroid.
• Calcium channel blockers.
• Selective alpha-1 blockers.

Prevention of renal colic

Prevention of colic in the kidneys begins with preventing the formation of stones in the first place, and you can do this by following several steps:

• Your doctor may prescribe thiazide diuretics if your body has a tendency to form calcium oxalate stones.
• Drink plenty of fluids throughout the day to prevent your body from dehydrating.
• Reduce the amount of sodium salts (table salt) in your meals.
• Eat citrus fruits such as oranges, lemons, and grapefruits.

Finally, you can consult your doctor about what you should eat or avoid if you always get kidney stones that cause renal colic so that you can protect yourself as much as possible from it, especially if you have one of the risk factors we mentioned.