What makes kidney stones so painful?

Question

What makes kidney stones so painful?

In: 13

Answer 1

Imagine trying to force a golfball through a garden hose. The golfball is the kidney stone, and the hose is your ureter (the tube that drains fluid from your kidneys into your urinary bladder). Your ureters are pretty small and delicate, about 6-8mm in diameter.

Now imagine the golfball is also sharp, because it’s not a ball, it’s a little calcium oxalate crystal (ETA: there are some that are round, but the sharp crystal kind are the most common). Every time a little urine flows from the kidney to the bladder (every few seconds), it’s going to jostle that little thing, until it eventually breaks up or passes the hard way.

Answer 2

Imagine trying to force a golfball through a garden hose. The golfball is the kidney stone, and the hose is your ureter (the tube that drains fluid from your kidneys into your urinary bladder). Your ureters are pretty small and delicate, about 6-8mm in diameter.

Now imagine the golfball is also sharp, because it’s not a ball, it’s a little calcium oxalate crystal (ETA: there are some that are round, but the sharp crystal kind are the most common). Every time a little urine flows from the kidney to the bladder (every few seconds), it’s going to jostle that little thing, until it eventually breaks up or passes the hard way.