One in 10 people will develop kidney stones at some point in their lives, and the number of cases has been gradually rising.
In the worst cases, the pain is severe enough to prompt a trip to the emergency room, sometimes resulting in surgery. But in some cases, it can grow to the size of a pea and become trapped in the ureter (the tube that drains urine from your kidneys down to your bladder), blocking urine flow and causing serious pain. A kidney stone can form when minerals build up in the urinary tract, creating crystals that consolidate into a pebble-like mass.Ī kidney stone may be small and unnoticeable. Most of us have heard about kidney stones and the pain they can cause, but not everyone knows exactly what they are, why some people get them, and how they are treated.
