Causes of kidney pain

Kidneys are a pair of organs in the lower abdomen which are essential to keep the balance between the physiological processes in the body. Their main purpose is to clear the blood of all the toxic waste by releasing it from the body through urine as well as to regulate acid concentration.

Kidney pain is strong and razor-sharp and it indicates the existence of a disease affecting the kidneys, like kidney infections, kidney stones or kidney cancer to mention a few.

Kidney infection is a common kidney disorder which causes the inflammation of the kidneys, making them swell, and the area very sensitive and sore, and quite painful. It can be followed by nausea, vomiting and fever, but it is easily treatable with antibiotics.

Kidney stones are a more serious issue and the pain caused by them is known as one of the most agonizing types of pain ever experienced. Kidney stones occur because insufficient amount of urine leaves the body disrupting the balance of fluids and minerals. They also cause kidneys to swell and provoke vomiting and nausea as well. Kidney stones can be treated with drugs; however sometimes it is required to have a surgical procedure to get rid of them. Making sure to ingest as many fluids as possible will be really beneficial.

Since the kidneys are connected to the bladder, there is a possibility that some conditions which affect it will spread to them. Such is the urinary tract infection. It starts in the bladder but it reaches the kidneys, causing severe abdominal pain and fever and vomiting. This one is treated with antibiotics as well.

The pain in the kidneys related to every of the mentioned diseases is described as sharp and intense, but it is not the only kind of pain which can be felt in the kidneys. Certain kidney pain is dull and throbbing. The conditions which are followed by this kind of pain are rarer.

Such is a polycystic kidney disease. This condition is more serious and cannot be treated simply with antibiotics. The appearance of cysts on the kidneys leads to their swelling and bloating, making the kidneys partly or entirely useless. If only parts of a kidney are unable to function properly, a procedure called kidney dialysis is performed in order to replace some of the kidney functions which are no longer working. However, if the kidneys are so jeopardized that they can no longer function at all a transplant is required.

Another cause of this kind of pain in the kidneys is kidney cancer. It requires immediate removal when discovered and this is done by a surgical procedure.