Prevention of Kidney Stones

‘Care for your Kidneys’ series

(Brought to you by MOHAN Foundation & Care for Your Kidney Foundation)

Those who have kidney stones (Urolithiasis) will not forget it. It affects about 12% of the world population at some stage in their lifetime. In Indian population, about 12% of them are expected to have urinary stones and out of which 50% may end up with loss of kidney function.

For most of us, our kidneys can effectively flush out chemicals, such as calcium and oxalate, from our bodies. But if those chemicals build up in our kidneys, they can bind together and form kidney stones.

Some stones are so small they pass out of our body without notice. Others may be as large as a golf ball. If these larger stones have trouble leaving your body, they can block urine, causing sharp pain in your lower back, side, or stomach.

Like most conditions, the sooner you have them treated the better. Here are some things you should know about kidney stones.

Risk Factors of Kidney stones

 Some people are more at risk to get kidney stones:

• Kidney stones strike mostly people between age 20 and 40.
• Although stones happen more often in men, the number of women who get kidney stones has been increasing.
• Once a person develops a kidney stone, he or she is more likely to get another.
• You are more likely to get kidney stones if:

Symptoms of Kidney Stones

It is important to identify and treat kidney stones as soon as possible. Here are the most common symptoms of kidney stones:

• Extreme, sharp pain in the back or side that will not go away or may come and go.
• Blood in the urine.
• Nausea and vomiting
• Cloudy or odorous urine
• Frequent urination
• A burning feeling when you urinate.
• Fever and chills

Prevention of Kidney Stones

The following tips may lower your chance of getting kidney stones:

Drink water – The most important thing you can do is drink more fluids, especially water. Try to drink 8-10 glasses of water a day. If you do not already drink that much, slowly increase how much you drink. For example: add one glass of water each day until you are drinking 8 to 10 glasses a day. This slow increase will give your body time to adjust to the extra fluids.

Note: You are drinking enough water when your urine is clear or light yellow. If it is dark yellow, you are not drinking enough fluids.

If you have a calcium kidney stone, it may help to: 

• Eat less salt and salty foods. One way to do this is to avoid processed foods and limit how often you eat at restaurants.

• Talk to your doctor or dietician about how much calcium you need every day. Try to get your calcium from food, rather than from supplements. Milk, cheese, and yoghurt are all good sources of calcium.

 

If you have an oxalate kidney stone, your doctor may ask you to limit certain foods that have a lot of oxalates, such as dark green vegetables, nuts and chocolate.

If you have kidney stones in the past, it may also help to:

• Eat a balanced diet that is not too high in animal protein. This includes beef, chicken, pork, fish, and eggs. These foods contain a lot of protein, and too much protein may lead to kidney stones.
• Increase how much fibre you eat. fibre includes oat bran, beans, whole wheat breads, wheat cereals, cabbage, and carrots.

• Avoid grapefruit juice.
• Drink lemonade made from real lemons (not lemon flavouring). It is high in citrate which may help prevent kidney stones.

• Talk to your doctor if you take vitamins or supplements. He or she may want you to limit how much fish liver oil or calcium supplements you take. Also, do not take more than the recommended daily dose of vitamins C and D.

Just a few simple measures may go a long way in preventing painful kidney stones. However, always discuss with your doctor before starting or stopping any treatment or diet.