What is the difference between kidney stone and gallstone? What is the difference in treatment?

gallstones are bile acid crystals that have formed in the gall bladder. Kidney stones come in four varieties. They are all crystals that form in the kidney. Both can utilize something called lithotripsy to break up the stones into smaller pieces, making them easier to pass. Sometimes gall bladders are just removed (not kidneys). Water will not flush out gallstones, but can help push kidney stones along.......sometimes.

Kidney stones are formed in the kidneys. Gall stones are formed in the Gall Bladder. Sometimes they can be broken up with sound but they are still painful. Gall stones frequently still have to be removed with surgery.

One is in your kidney and the other is in your Gallbladder. Kidney stones are made of salts and minerals in the urine that stick together to form small "pebbles." They can be as small as grains of sand or as large as golf balls. They may stay in your kidneys or travel out of your body through the urinary tract. The urinary tract is the system that makes urine and carries it out of your body. It includes your bladder and kidneys and the tubes that connect them (ureters). The gallbladder is a small sac found just under the liver. It stores bile made by the liver. Bile helps you digest fats. Bile moves from the gallbladder to the small intestine through tubes called the cystic duct and common bile duct. Gallstones are made from cholesterol and other things found in the bile. They can be smaller than a grain of sand or as large as a golf ball. Most gallstones do not cause problems. But if they block a duct, they usually need treatment When a stone travels through a ureter, it may cause no pain. Or it may cause great pain and other symptoms. Check out WebMD.com to see if about treatment options. Depends on the severaty of the case.

Gallstones are in the gallblabber...little organ behind the liver which produces bile, or in the duct between the gallbladder and the liver. They must be removed by surgery. They cannot be flushed out by drinking fluids. Laproscopic surgery ( done tru 3 or 4 very small incisions in the abd. ) is now common for gallstones and recovery time is much shorter than with standard surgery. Kidney stones are in the kidneys, ureters or bladder. Sometimes they may be passed by drinking high volumes of fluids. Ultrasound treatment can also be used to crush larger stones so they can be passed without surgery. You can look on webmd.com for more info.

Gallstones are in the gallbladder which is a reservoir for bile, they are a problem only if they plug the bile duct, in which case requires removal of the gallbladder. Drinking water has no affect on gallstones.