‘CT scan detects 99% of stones in urinary tract’

It is very common for middle-aged people to experience a sudden onset of colicky pain with or without blood in the urine. Along with the classic symptoms, tests like ultra sonogram and a simple X-ray, a majority (60-80%) of the stones in the kidney and the ureter can be detected. Sometimes, the X-ray may not show tones like uric acid and cysteine. 

Therefore, a CT scan maybe required to detect the stones. A good CT scan can detect 99 per cent of stones in the urinary tract. The advantage of CT scan is that it can give the exact location, size and density (Hounsfield unit) of the stone — these are the main factors to decide the treatment options. Once diagnosed, it has to be treated immediately. Or else, it may end up in renal damage due to blocking of the urinary tract or lead to recurrent urinary tract infection. Dr Muthuveeramani V, Head & Senior Consultant – Urology, Institute of Renal Sciences, SIMS Hospital 

We decide how to treat it after doing a sleep study that assesses different parameters. Snoring may as such seem harmless. But you need to understand the term apnea. It means ‘pause of breath’. 

Typically, when people start snoring after a while, there is a sudden pause, which means that the person is not breathing. This causes the brain to wake the person up and he or she continues to snore again, and this cycle continues throughout the night. This means despite long hours of sleep there is no relaxation for the person. There are no tablets for it at the moment. Dr N Ramakrishnan, Director, Nithra Institute of Sleep Sciences