Basically kidney stones are formed due to an excess of chemicals within your body. The role of the body when healthy and functioning is to flush these chemicals out through the urine. If these chemicals are not flushed out of the body, they can crystallize and are then deposited in different places throughout the urinary tract.
What is the Urinary Tract?
The areas that these crystallized chemical deposits can be found are kidneys, bladder, ureters and urethra. When you try to pass urine, stones formed throughout the urinary tract can cause quite severe pain as they block the flow of urine. If the kidney stones do not actually block the flow of urine then they may be passed without the need for surgery or other methods simply by natural flow. This depends on their size, composition and location.
Size
Kidney stones can vary greatly in size and this usually depends on the level of chemical compounds that are deposited. Sizing of kidney stones in women can range anywhere from less than 1mm to larger than 1 inch. The smaller kidney stones don’t usually show any symptoms unless they are caused by an infection of some sort. Kidney stones of less than around 4-5mm can generally be passed through urine easily. However, kidneys stones greater than 6 mm can cause a great deal of pain and discomfort. Larger kidney stones should not be passed through urine.
Composition
Calcium stones are quite common and are generally easy to pass through urine. However, Struvite stones are usually caused as a result of a urinary infection and tend to be larger because of their composition.
Location
Stones formed in the kidneys have to travel through a narrow ureter to exit the body via the urine. If they are located in the ureter and are a small size, kidney stones can be passed easily. Kidney stones that are a long way from the opening can take a longer time to get to the ureter. Unfortunately, this longer time provides opportunity for more chemicals to accumulate and the kidney stone to grow bigger in size – making it harder to remedy.
Passing kidney stones in women can be easily achieved by by drinking plenty (I mean lots) of water and by making a few changes to your diet (eat more healthy). Some large stones can be broken into smaller pieces by non surgical methods and then passed through urine.
