“If you’ve ever had a kidney stone, you definitely want to avoid having another one,” says Dr. Erica Lambert, urologist with the UConn Health Center. “Kidney stones often cause no pain while they are in the kidneys, but they can cause sudden, severe pain as they travel from the kidneys to the bladder.”
Kidney stones are extremely common. One in 10 people will have them in their lifetime. The incidence of stone disease in men is three times that of women and they are more prevalent in Caucasians. Most stones form between the ages of 20 and 50.
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.
The most common cause of kidney stones is not drinking enough water. Some people are more likely to get them because of a medical condition, such as inflammatory bowel diseases or gout. Kidney stones may also be an inherited disease. If other people in your family have had kidney stones, you may have them too.
Lambert says symptoms include severe pain in your side, belly, or groin; urine that looks pink or red; nausea and vomiting. Many female stone patients describe the pain as more intense than that of childbirth.
The most common treatment involves using shock waves to break a kidney stone into small pieces. The bits can pass out of your body in your urine. Other times, a doctor will need to remove the stone or place a small flexible plastic tube (called a stent) in the ureter to keep it open while stones pass.
“After you have had kidney stones, you are more likely to have them again,” says Lambert. “But you can help prevent them by drinking plenty of water, enough so that your urine is light yellow or clear like water, about 8 to 10 glasses of water a day.”
You may have to eat less of certain foods. Typically, a low fat, low salt diet is recommended. Your doctor may also give you medicine that helps prevent stones from forming.
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