What Are Kidney Stones? 什么是肾结石？

A kidney stone isn’t actually made of stone. But if you have to pass one when you pee, it may feel like it is.

肾结石可不是真由石头构成的。但如果你在小便的时候需要把它排出来的话，感觉上可能就特别像块石头了。

Kidney stones are small -- usually between the size of a kernel of corn and a grain of salt. When your body has too much of certain minerals, and at the same time doesn’t have enough liquid, these pebble-like objects can form.

肾结石很小——通常差不多在一粒儿玉米粒和一粒盐之间那么个大小。当你的身体含有过多的某些矿物质，同时又没有足够的液体时，这些类似小卵石的物体就会形成。

The stones can be brown or yellow, and smooth or rough. Both men and women can get kidney stones, but men’s chances of getting them are about double that of women’s.

这些石头是棕色或黄色的，光滑的或粗糙的。男性和女性都可能会患肾结石，但男性患肾结石的几率是女性的两倍。

Causes

原因

It’s often hard to figure out the reason you got a kidney stone. But they are created when your urine has high levels of certain minerals. These include:

* calcium

* oxalate

* uric acid

通常很难找出肾结石的原因。但是当你的尿液中含有大量的矿物质时，它们就会产生。这些矿物质包括：

钙

草酸盐

尿酸

Think about stirring up your favorite drink from a powder mix. If you don’t add enough liquid -- say, water or juice -- the powder will clump up and turn into hard, dry chunks.

想象一下来搅拌你最喜欢的饮料。如果你没有加入足够的液体——比如水或果汁——粉末就会变成又硬又干的大块。

Similarly, if you don’t have enough urine in your body to water down the high concentration of minerals, stones can form.

同样，如果你体内没有足够的尿液来淡化高浓度的矿物质，就会形成结石。

Other things that can make you more likely to get kidney stones include:

其他一些会让你容易得肾结石的因素包括:

* diet

* 节食

* diarrhea (which can dehydrate you)

* 腹泻（会让你拉脱水的那种）

* obesity

* 肥胖

* certain medical conditions and medications

* 某些身体状况和药物

* a family history of kidney stones.

* 有肾结石的家族病史

感谢阅读，下次我们来说一下肾结石的类型和症状。

 

原文来自：webmd.com

翻译：齐大夫讲泌尿外科，作者富贵姐