Types and Causes of Kidney Stones

Causes of Kidney Stones

There’s various factors can led to the conditions that allow kidney stones to form in the body. These factors can include: (1) Some disturbances in the body's metabolism, (2) Certain inherited defects, (3) Abnormalities within the body.

It is quite impossible to determine why a kidney stone has developed as each type of stone has its own requirements for formation. The exact cause of kidney stones is unknown, but there are a number of factors that may put a person "at risk" for kidney stones and these include: 

• age - more common during middle age

• gender - three times more common in men than in women

• diet - eating a diet high in green vegetables, fat, diary products, salt and brewed tea

• a family history of kidney stones

• recurring urinary tract infections

• reduced water intake

• kidney disorders, such as cystic kidney diseases

• metabolic disturbances, such as bowel, endocrine and kidney problems

• genetic disorders, such as gout (a type of arthritis or inflammation about a joint caused by excess uric acid in the blood), cystinuria, primary hyperoxaluria and renal tubular acidosis (a condition in which the kidneys are unable to excrete normal amounts of acid)

• excess intake of vitamins C and D

• blockage of the urinary tract

• medications, such as diuretics (water pills) or calcium-based antacids

• bed confinement

• alcohol consumption

Types of Kidney Stones:

Calcium stones form from the following:

• Most calcium stones form for unknown reasons, although a genetic basis is suspected.

• Certain foods can upset the balance of acid in the urine.

• Cancer can cause the body to produce an abnormally large amount of parathyroid hormone, which regulates calcium levels in the body. High levels of this hormone can break down bone and releases too much calcium into the blood. As a result, calcium saturates the urine.