Specialities
- Piles Treatment
- Constipation Treatment
- Anal Fistula Treatment
- Obstetric Fistula Treatment
- Rectal Prolapse Treatment
- Pelvic Organ Prolapse Treatment
- Fissure Treatment
- Pilonidal Sinus Treatment
- Rectal Abscess Treatment
- Hernia Treatment
- Varicose Veins Treatment
- Incontinence Treatment
- Fecal Incontinence Treatment
- Urinary incontinenceTreatment
- Circumcision Treatment
- Urology Treatment
- Urinary Stones Treatment
- Enlarged Prostate Treatment
Urinary Stones Treatment
Kidney stones, or renal calculi, are solid masses made of crystals. Kidney stones usually originate in your kidneys. However, they can develop anywhere along your urinary tract, which consists of these parts:
- kidneys
- ureters
- bladder
- urethra
Kidney stones can be a painful medical issue. The causes of kidney stones vary according to the type of stones.
How can I prevent kidney stones?
To help prevent future kidney stones, you also need to know what caused your previous kidney stones. Once you know what type of kidney stone you had, a health care professional can help you make changes to your eating, diet, and nutrition to prevent future kidney stones.
Drinking liquids
In most cases, drinking enough liquids each day is the best way to help prevent most types of kidney stones. Drinking enough liquids keeps your urine diluted and helps flush away minerals that might form stones.
Though water is best, other liquids such as citrus drinks may also help prevent kidney stones. Some studies show that citrus drinks, such as lemonade and orange juice, protect against kidney stones because they contain citrate, which stops crystals from turning into stones.
Unless you have kidney failure, you should drink six to eight, 8-ounce glasses a day. If you previously had cystine stones, you may need to drink even more. Talk with a health care professional if you can’t drink the recommended amount due to other health problems, such as urinary incontinence, urinary frequency, or kidney failure.
The amount of liquid you need to drink depends on the weather and your activity level. If you live, work, or exercise in hot weather, you may need more liquid to replace the fluid you lose through sweat. A health care professional may ask you to collect your urine for 24 hours to determine the amount of urine you produce a day. If the amount of urine is too low, the health care professional may advise you to increase your liquid intake.
Medicines
If you have had a kidney stone, a health care professional also may prescribe medicines to prevent future kidney stones. Depending on the type of kidney stone you had and what type of medicine the health care professional prescribes, you may have to take the medicine for a few weeks, several months, or longer.
For example, if you had struvite stones, you may have to take an oral antibiotic for 1 to 6 weeks, or possibly longer.
If you had another type of stone, you may have to take a potassium citrate tablet 1 to 3 times daily. You may have to take potassium citrate for months or even longer until a health care professional says you are no longer at risk for kidney stones.
Talk with a health care professional about your health history prior to taking kidney stone medicines. Some kidney stone medicines have minor to serious side effects. Side effects are more likely to occur the longer you take the medicine and the higher the dose. Tell the health care professional about any side effects that occur when you take kidney stone medicine.
Hyperparathyroidism surgery
People with hyperparathyroidism, a condition that results in too much calcium in the blood, sometimes develop calcium stones. Treatment for hyperparathyroidism may include surgery to remove the abnormal parathyroid gland. Removing the parathyroid gland NIH external link cures hyperparathyroidism and can prevent kidney stones. Surgery sometimes causes complications, including infection.