One of the strangest abilities of our bodies is its capacity to make stones. Photo / Getty Images
One of the strangest abilities of our bodies is its capacity to make stones. Photo / Getty Images
Without proper hydration, good diet and hygiene, the body can turn its fluids into stone.
Of all the body’s amazing abilities, perhaps one of the strangest is its capacity to make stones.
Many will have heard of kidney or gallstones and be aware of the problems they can cause. But other, rarer types of stone in the body can be found in the most unlikely places.
What are these body stones are made of? And what can we do to prevent them?
Kidney stones affect around one in 10 people. They develop mostly from calcium and oxalate filtered from blood into our urine. (Oxalates are naturally occurring compounds found in both plants and humans.) In larger amounts, the oxalate and calcium can crystallise and form a stone.
Kidney stones affect about one in 10 people. Photo / 123rf
Kidney stones can vary considerably in size, from less than a millimetre across to centimetres or more. They can also form unusual shapes – if the stone builds up within the branching channels (calyces) of the kidney, it can take on the form of a deer’s antler. This is called a staghorn calculus.
These stones cause issues when they obstruct the ureters – the two tubes that transport urine from the kidneys to the bladder. If this happens, it can cause severe pain and prevent normal urinary flow. This, in turn, can cause an infection or lead to urine accumulating in and around the kidney.
Another common condition is gallstones. These form inside either the gallbladder or the biliary tree – the duct system that delivers bile to the gut to help break down fats. Gallstones form from either cholesterol or bile pigments and can be singular or multiple.
But, like kidney stones, if gallstones work their way into a narrower space (such as the common bile duct), they too can cause problems such as abdominal pain, infections and jaundice.
Rarer stone disorders
Stones, then, can develop from different bodily fluids. Take salivary stones, for instance.
Saliva is produced by glands that sit next to the ear and beneath the jaw and tongue. Once secreted into the mouth, it helps moisten food so it can be swallowed and kicks off the digestion process. Salivary stones are made from many different elements, including calcium, magnesium and phosphate.
If salivary stones become stuck in the ducts, this can prevent the secretion of saliva into the mouth, causing pain and swelling. Stagnation of saliva might lead to bad breath, or a nasty taste in the mouth, especially if it triggers an infection of the salivary gland.
Stones can also be found in the tonsils. Located at the back of the mouth at the top of the throat, tonsils are masses of lymphoid tissue that are part of the body’s immune system. It’s ironic, then, that they so often get inflamed and infected.
The tonsils have cavities called crypts, in which morsels of food and saliva can lodge. The result is a tonsil stone, or tonsillolith.
These are often softer and less stony but may harden with time and also come with their fair share of problems – mainly bad breath or recurrent infections.
Other body materials can harden too, turning themselves into stone. Faeces, for instance, can become so hardened that it forms a stony mass called a faecolith.
The debris, including sloughed skin, found in your belly button can also form a stone known as an omphalolith.
What can we do about stones?
Happily, some simple measures can prevent these pesky stones from forming, or help to get rid of them.
The most important is proper hydration. Drinking the correct amount of water dilutes urine, prevents constipation and reduces bacterial buildup in the mouth, so can help avert many of these different stone types. In the case of tonsil stones, good oral hygiene, including regular tooth brushing, can help reduce the risk.
Diet is also important, particularly for gallstones, which can be triggered by a high-fat diet and obesity. There are some risk factors that you can’t alter – such as being female or over 40, which raises the likelihood of gallstones forming. Avoiding calcium and oxalate-rich foods such as dairy, spinach and rhubarb may help prevent kidney stones.
But what if you’ve already got a stone? If it’s made you poorly, removal by surgery or endoscopy may be necessary.
In the case of kidney stones, you can wait for them to pass down the ureter into the bladder and out – sometimes with an audible ping into the toilet. A doctor may even ask you to sieve your urine using a tea strainer to catch the stone on its exit.
Salivary stones can sometimes be helped along by sucking on a lemon, which acts as a powerful stimulant for salivation, creating a jet to clear the duct. Salivary and tonsil stones can be gently prodded out using a blunt instrument.
In short, many treatments are available for the different types of body stones – and simple everyday measures can help reduce the risk of them developing.
