Best Ways To Get Rid of Kidney Pain

Your lower back has been hurting for about a week now; and you suspect that all the fatty foods you’re eating have finally taken their toll on your kidneys. You think that your kidneys are causing the pain, and you prepare yourself for a kidney stone diagnosis. While it’s important to go see your doctor immediately, don’t panic because your kidneys may not be the ones hurting. Also, kidney pain is not just caused by kidney stones, but by other conditions as well.

Kidney Pain VS Common Lower Back Pain

It’s easy to mistake common lower back pain for kidney pain. Your kidneys are located in the back part of your abdominal cavity, on each side of your spine. The right kidney sits just below the diaphragm behind the liver, while the left is below the diaphragm and behind the spleen. Dull, lower back pain is most likely not caused by kidney disease, but by aching muscles, ligaments or disks in the spinal column touching sensitive nerves. This kind of pain usually gets worse with movement, and can be relived through massage or heat application.

Kidney pain tends to be felt in the flank area, which is located in the back, at the lower edge of the ribs on either side of the spine. The pain tends to be severe, sharp, and occur in waves, as opposed to the dull, aching sensation of strained muscles and ligaments. It’s rare for kidneys to cause dull pains; in fact, kidney pain is nowhere near the level of common lower back pain. Simply put, kidney pain hurts a lot more.

Causes of Kidney Pain and Treatment

Kidney Stones

Kidney stones form when the minerals and fluids in your urine are out of balance, which means it contains too much crystal-forming substances, like calcium and uric acid. There are not enough fluids to dilute these crystals, so they stick together and block the ureter, the tube that connects your kidneys to the bladder. The blocked urine backs up into the kidneys, causing them to swell and stretch the pain-sensitive capsule around them.

Pain Profile: The pain caused by kidney stones is colic, meaning, it comes in waves as opposed to dull, continuous pain. Some people say that the pain caused by kidney stones is comparable to that of giving birth. Patients suffering from kidney stones usually can’t hold still, and are constantly writhing and pacing. The pain is so severe that it usually causes nausea and vomiting.

Treatment for Kidney Stones

Home treatment: If you have a kidney stone, you’ll most likely be diagnosed with it when you’re already in great pain. You will be taken to the emergency room where your doctor will give you the option to either wait for the stone to pass while taking pain medications, or have a medical or surgical procedure to remove the stone. You can get rid of small stones measuring 5 mm by taking pain medicine and drinking extra fluids.Small stones usually pass on their own. According to statistics, nine out of every 10 stones smaller than 5mm, and five out of 10 stones measuring 5 mm to 10 mm pass on their own. In addition, only one or two out of 10 stones require more than home treatment. The following are common home treatments for kidney stone:
Drink more fluids. Drink eight to 10 glasses of water a day to keep your urine clear. You may drink two glasses of water every two hours while you’re awake. Talk to your doctor first before increasing your fluid intake if you also have heart or liver disease.
Take pain medicines: Non Steroidal Anti Inflammatory Drugs are typically prescribed to relieve kidney pain. If your body can’t still handle the pain even with the medications, your doctor may need to prescribe stronger pain medicines.
Do not drink grapefruit juice: Drinking grapefruit juice increases your risk of developing more kidney stones.
Other medicines: Substances known as alpha-blockers and calcium channel blockers have been shown to make passing kidney stones a lot easier. Ask your doctor if any of these medicines can help you.
Hospitalization: Your doctor will likely suggest medical or surgical treatment if the stones are blocking your urinary tract, preventing urination and causing severe pain. Your treatment options are as follows:
Extracorpreal Shock Wave Lithotripsy (ESWL): ESWL uses shock waves to break the stones and pass them easily out of your body. It’s the most commonly used medical treatment today for kidney stones.
Percutaneous nephrolithotomy: If ESWL doesn’t work for you because your stones are very large and hard, your doctor may perform percutaneous nephrolithotomy. He puts a narrow telescope into the kidney through a small cut in your back. He then removes the stone or breaks it up for easier removal.
Ureteroscopy: Similar to nephrolithotomy, ureteroscopy involves putting a telescope tube up the urinary tract to the stone’s location. The doctor then uses instruments to remove it or break it up. In some cases, a small hollow tube called a ureteral stent is placed in the ureter for a brief period of time to drain urine. This type of procedure is often done when the stones have already moved from the kidney to the ureter.
Open surgery: Open surgery is rarely used to remove kidney stones. In the procedure, the surgeon makes a cut in the belly or the side of the body to remove the stone.

Kidney Infection (Pyelonephritis)

Kidney infection or pyelonephritis is a type of urinary tract infection (UTI) that begins in the urethra or bladder and travels up the kidneys. Prompt medical attention is required for this condition because the infection can spread to the bloodstream and become life-threatening. Kidneys become inflamed due to the infection, stretching the pain-sensitive capsule around them and causing pain.

Pain Profile: Pain caused by kidney infection is sharp and aching. Most patients are sensitive even to the lightest touch in the flank area. The pain is usually debilitating, and comes with other symptoms such as: nausea, high fever, and vomiting.

Treatment for Kidney Infection

Home Treatment: Most cases of kidney infection are treated at home through antibiotics and painkillers. Treatment is very similar to that of kidney stones, and involves the following:
Antibiotics: Kidney infection is usually treated with antibiotics. Some doctors prescribe antibiotics even before they get the results of your urine test if they suspect infection.
Painkillers: Ibuprofen and paracetamol can help ease pain and reduce your temperature if you have a fever. Take note though that ibuprofen is not recommended if you have a history of liver or kidney disease, or asthma. Your doctor may prescribe stronger painkillers if the pain is severe.
Fluids: Make sure to drink at least two liters of water a day despite the pain. Inform your doctor if you have another medical condition that prevents you from drinking that amount of water; for instance, heart disease.
Hospitalization: You don’t need to be admitted to the hospital if you’re infection isn’t severe. Hospitalization is only necessary if your infection doesn’t respond quickly to antibiotics; and if you’re getting dehydrated because of vomiting and lose bowel movement. You may also need to stay in the hospital if you have medical conditions like diabetes that need to be observed during treatment.Intravenous (IV) antibiotics may be administered to you if your fever is too high or if you’re pregnant. Patients with weak immune systems and low tolerance to oral antibiotics are also likely to receive IV antibiotics. The physician may put fluids directly into your veins to prevent dehydration. Painkillers
are also used to help you cope with the pain while waiting for the inflammation to subside.

Dull Aching Kidney Pain

Kidney pain is rarely dull and aching. In fact, it is very unusual for a slowly developing blockage to cause any pain at all. If, however, you experience dull, aching pain from your kidneys, the following are the likely causes:

Kidney Cancer: Rarely, a kidney tumor can grow and stretch the pain-sensitive capsule around the kidneys. Kidney tumors are usually removed through surgery.
Polycystic Kidney Disease: This disease is hereditary and can lead to massive enlargement of the kidneys over a period of years. Dull aching pain due to polycystic kidney disease is usually felt in the front of the abdomen rather than in the back. Treatment usually involves dialysis and kidney transplantation, especially in the end stage of the disease.
Chronic bilateral obstructive uropathy: Kidney blockage can also occur gradually as opposed to the sudden blockage by kidney stones. Chronic bilateral obstructive uropathy is a blockage of urine in both kidneys that gets worse over time. Treatment depends on what’s causing the blockage; for example, UTI is treated with antibiotics, while an enlarged prostate is treated with heat therapy.

Many people don’t care about their kidneys until they’re already writhing in pain. Remember that prevention is always better than cure. Eat a balanced diet and exercise regularly to keep your kidneys healthy.

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