Why do the kidneys hurt?

First of all, it must be said that most people absolutely incorrectly localize a place in which they think painful changes in the kidneys occur. If the patient feels pain in the back or side, this does not mean that he definitely has kidneys, because they are located much higher than the waist, just below the lower ribs.

Symptoms that accompany painful sensations in the kidneys

To say that the kidneys are hurt, and not something else, it is possible if the morbidity of this organ is associated with the predictable symptoms of the disease. So, for example, for the infectious process inside the kidneys there is a dull, aching pain that is localized only on one side of the body. In addition, most infectious diseases of the kidneys will be characterized by a violation of the normal function of urination and a significant increase in temperature.

By the way, many people think that with kidney stones kidneys are very sore , it is not so. Kidney stones do not bother the patient at all until they are excreted through the urinary canals. It is the passage of stones into the bladder along the ureter and is accompanied by severe pain of a spastic nature, also called renal colic.

The reasons why the kidneys hurt

Kidney pain can be caused by a number of diseases that will affect the normal functioning of this organ, in particular, severe kidney pain occurs with arteriosclerosis atherosclerosis, which causes the formation of thrombi or the effect of ischemia of the kidney tissue. In addition, kidney pain occurs with kidney bleeding, hydronephrosis or polycystic kidney disease, with any infection of the urinary tract and with thrombosis of the renal veins, that is, with the formation of small blood clots in the veins of the organ.

Another common disease in which the kidneys are painful is pyelonephritis. In this case, the disease has an infectious nature and leads to edema of the organ, which affects the tension of the capsule, which causes pain. With pyelonephritis, as this is an infectious disease, the kidneys and temperature are sore, nausea and vomiting can also occur. Pyelonephritis requires immediate treatment, because there is a high risk of complications if infectious agents enter the general bloodstream.

Diseases in which kidney pain is poorly expressed

With kidney cancer in the initial stage, almost no severe pain in the kidneys is due to the fact that the disease develops quite a long time, and the tumor stretches the capsule of the organ, which is the source of pain, gradually, so the cancer can not make itself felt by sharp pains .

With polycystic kidneys, there is a massive increase in the kidney for many years, so this disease can not cause sharp pain in the kidneys, but gives only a mildly expressed dull and aching that results from the dilatation of the renal capsule.

When to call a doctor

Often there are cases when the kidneys are aching after alcohol - then not every doctor decides to make an accurate diagnosis, but with what pain should immediately seek medical help? First of all, medical help should be handled if the kidney pain lasts several days and has such accompanying symptoms as fever, recently transferred infectious diseases, aches and fatigue all over the body. You should also go to the doctor if you have blood in your urine, because this can be the cause of a wide variety of diseases, from simple kidney injuries to serious oncological diseases, which are best to start treating in the early stages of development.