Matthew, a fan of Liverpool in the Premier League, used to make appointments with friends to watch football matches, but recently he kept failing to make appointments. It turned out that he had just experienced "the worst pain in a man." The incident occurred after he exercised earlier and felt severe pain in his back and waist, and also felt pain when urinating. I thought I had a muscle strain, so I took painkillers and massage, but eventually the pain became unbearable and I sought medical attention. After an X-ray, doctors diagnosed him with kidney stones. Matthew said that he likes to drink beer with nuts and potato chips while watching football games. He speculates that these habits are the triggers of his kidney stones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Kidney stones rarely cause symptoms in the early stages, but depending on their location or displacement, the pain may be sudden and severe. Both men and women may suffer from stones, but it is more common in men between the ages of 30 and 50. To be precise, kidney stones are called urinary tract stones or urethral stones, which are crystals that form when urine is too thick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Treatment depends on the stone size, location, forming material, etc. If the stone is small (5 mm is the limit), it can be observed first and allowed to pass out on its own; if the stone is larger (but not larger than 2 cm), the most commonly used method is currently Treatment is extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy. However, some patients are not suitable for this treatment, or they want to remove stones in one go. Doctors will consider using the more invasive ureteroscopic lithotripsy. If the stone is more than 2 centimeters or is a staghorn stone (shaped like antlers), it is generally recommended that the patient undergo minimally invasive surgery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The report showed that the stone in Matthew's body was about 3 centimeters in size, and the doctor suggested that it could be treated with extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since the stone was slightly larger in size, it could not be completely crushed and expelled the first time. A second extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy was required. Subsequent follow-up confirmed that the stone had been completely expelled and no surgery was required to remove it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After treatment, the doctor repeatedly reminded him that urethral stones are easy to recur. He was advised to give up the habit of drinking beer while watching football games, drink more water and go to the toilet more often, and exercise regularly to help reduce the chance of recurrence. In addition, because theophylline contains oxalate and milk contains calcium, you should drink less strong tea and milk tea to reduce the chance of developing stones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr. Yongbai Su, Fellow of the Royal College of General Practitioners<\/p>\n\n\n\n