Kidney Stone | Symptoms, Causes, Types, Diet & Home Remedies

What is Kidney Stone ?

Do you know that pain in the lower abdomen can also be a problem of stones. This is a negative effect of wrong eating and uncontrolled lifestyle. It is known as kidney stone. If it is not treated in time, then this problem can take a serious form.

A kidney stone is a solid deposit made up of minerals and salt. Their size can range from small to large. It is found in the kidney or in the urinary tract. Kidney stones are also called nephrolithiasis. A kidney stone is a crystalline mineral that can occur anywhere in the kidney or urinary tract. A small stone passes out with urine without any symptoms. But if the stone is more than 5 mm, it can cause obstruction in the urethra, resulting in symptoms such as pain and vomiting. Various factors can increase the risk of developing these stones. Most stones are caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Risk factors include high levels of calcium in the urine, obesity, certain foods, certain medications, calcium supplements, gout and not getting enough fluids. Chemical uric acid, phosphorous, calcium, oxalic acid present in urine form stones.

A kidney stone is a crystalline and hard mineral substance that forms within the kidneys or in our urinary tract. Kidney stones are a common cause of hematuria (blood in the urine) and often cause severe pain in the abdomen, groin or abdomen. Urinary stones develop mostly in patients who are between 20-49 years old and those who have had more than one case of this disease are always at risk of further stone development.

People with long-term uric acid levels have a higher risk of developing uric acid-related kidney stones. Pregnant women, although the numbers are few, develop kidney stones at times. Factors that contribute to the formation of kidney stones during pregnancy include slowed passage of urine, decreased bladder capacity because of her enlarged uterus, and increased progesterone levels in her body. Often dehydration from fluid intake over time leads to the formation of kidney stones. This disease is more common in men than in women. The condition of having a single stone or multiple stones in the kidney is known as nephrolithiasis. However, having stones in other places in the urinary tract is known as urolithiasis.

Types of Kidney Stones

There are four types of kidney stones :

1) Calcium Stone :

Calcium stone is the most common type. It is compose of a combination of calcium oxalate (the most common), phosphate, or maleate. To keep it under control, you’ll need to reduce the amount of potatoes, peanuts, chocolate, beets, and spinach.

2) Uric Acid Stone :

This type is found more in men than in women. This is very common in people who are suffering from chemotherapy and gout. These types of stones are formed when the amount of acid in the urine increases.

3) Struvite Stone :

This type occurs mostly in women who have urinary tract infections. The size of these stones can be large, which can obstruct urine.

4) Cysteine ​​Stone :

This stone case is very handy. This type of stone is found in women and men.

Causes of Kidney Stone

Nowadays having kidney stones (Calculi) has become common. The stone should be treat immediately as soon as its symptoms are seen. Let us know what are the causes of kidney stones. One of the main reasons for drinking less amount of water is :

  • Chemical excess in urine
  • Lack of minerals in the body
  • Dehydration
  • Vitamin D excess
  • Excessive consumption of junk food.
  • Diet plays an important role in the development of kidney stones and it has been found that high sodium foods have a tendency to develop kidney stones.
  • Medicines taken to treat kidney disease, cancer and HIV can also cause stones.
  • Stones can also develop due to medical conditions that increase the level of calcium, oxalate and uric acid in the body.
  • If someone in your family has had kidney stones, it is possible that you may also be at risk of getting stones. If you already have a kidney stone, then it is more likely to grow in the future.
  • Drinking water is very important for your health. If you drink too little water, your risk of getting kidney stones increases. Keep in mind that you will need to drink 6 to 8 glasses of water.
  • If the amount of protein, salt, and sugar in your diet is too high, then you are at increased risk of getting kidney stones. The person who consumes a lot of salt, then he suffers more. That’s why it’s important that what you eat is beneficial to your overall health.
  • Not just obesity, if your body mass index (BMI) and waist size are too high, your risk of getting kidney stones increases. So it would be better if you reduce your obesity.
  • If you have a medical condition or have had surgery in the past, such as gastric bypass surgery, inflammatory bowel disease, or chronic diarrhea. Because of all this, it is possible that the digestive process may be affect. Due to which calcium and water are not absorbed in your body and the chances of stone formation increase.
  • Apart from these, any kind of medicine or supplement such as depression or migraine and vitamin C, dietary supplements, calcium based antacids also increase the risk of kidney stone.

Symptoms of Kidney Stone

The symptoms of kidney stones are rarely known in the early stages. Although having kidney stones causes pain, but along with it there are many other symptoms:

  • Feeling of pain in the back just below the ribs.
  • Thick and foul-smelling urine.
  • Shivering, sweating and fever.
  • Pain during urination.
  • Lower back, abdominal pain and cramps.
  • Blood in urine.
  • Back pain.
  • Nausea and vomiting.
  • Frequent urination but no urination.
  • Feeling of heavy urination due to stone in urinary tract.
  • Small pieces of stone coming out with urine (in case of uric acid stones).
Kidney Stone

Prevention Tips for Kidney Stone

In case of kidney stones, the stones should be treat as soon as possible. Some changes should be made in diet and lifestyle to avoid kidney stones.

  • Do not take too much protein.
  • Drink about six to eight glasses of water daily.
  • Do not take excessive amounts of sodium. Avoid junk food, canned food and excessive intake of salt.
  • Oxalate is found in sufficient quantity in spinach, whole grains etc. Don’t consume it.
  • Tomato seeds, brinjal seeds, raw rice, urad and gram are more likely to cause stone problems. 
  • Do not consume cold drinks, the phosphoric acid present in it increases the risk of stones.
  • Do not allow uric acid to increase in the body, so do not consume non-vegetarian food at all.
  • If body weight is more than normal, then try to reduce it.
  • Exercise regularly or take a walk.
  • You can also drink orange juice and lemonade. You will benefit from consuming it.
  • You take calcium according to your age. Keep in mind that you should consult your doctor about how much calcium you should take in a day.

Diagnosis of Kidney Stone

Diagnosis of kidney stones is a controversial process. Usually, to confirm the diagnosis of this disease, imaging tests are done on the patients. In case of medical emergency non-contrast CT scan for patients, it can be done faster and it helps to rule out other causes of abdominal and abdominal pain. However, in recent times, as it is believed that CT scans expose too much radiation to patients, ultrasound scans have been use along with plain abdominal X-rays to diagnose kidney stones. Is. When the drug is administered to patients, it has been observed that small stones pass out naturally through urine. However, for larger stones (beyond 9–10 mm) lithotripsy is perform to break larger stones into smaller pieces, so that they can pass out through the urinary system.

Treatment for Kidney Stone

Talking about the treatment of kidney stones, small kidney stones pass out of the body through urine without any treatment. In this situation, the doctor may advise the patient to drink more and more water, so that the stones come out through urine. The doctor may ask to collect the stone so that it can be examine and found to know its type. At the same time, in case of pain due to kidney stone, the doctor may also recommend taking painkillers. Apart from this, if the kidney stones are large in size, then the doctor can admit to the hospital and adopt the following treatment methods :

1) Shock Wave Lithotripsy :

In this process of treatment, the doctor makes the patient unconscious using anesthesia. Later, with the help of some instruments, through wave therapy, breaks the stone into small pieces, so that the stone can come out easily through urine.

2) Cystoscopy and Ureteroscopy :

In cystoscopy, with the help of a telescope, the doctor estimates the position of the stone present in the kidney. At the same time, after getting the correct estimate, they examine the kidney stone more deeply with the help of a separate telescope through ureteroscopy. This instrument is longer and thinner than the instrument used in cystoscopy. After finding out the correct position and size, the doctor breaks the stone present in the kidney according to the need. This makes it easier to pass the stone through urine.

3) Precocious Nephrolithotomy :

In this procedure, the doctor makes a small incision in the back and inserts an instrument directly into the kidney, so that the position of the stone can be accurately detect. Later, with the help of laser, the stone is broken into many small pieces.

Diet for Kidney Stone

What to Eat During Kidney Stone ?

The following things can be include in kidney stone diet :

  • Vegetables: Bitter gourd, ridge gourd, snake gourd, bottle gourd, okra, ivy gourd, tinda, leafy greens and vegetables
  • Pulses: Kidney beans, moong dal, chickpeas, soybeans and lentils
  • Grains: Oatmeal, Broken Wheat, Quinoa Brown Rice, Ragi
  • Fruits: Pears, Grapes, Custard Apples, Watermelons, Apples and Oranges
  • Meat, fish and eggs: chicken breast, swordfish, tuna, cod, lean beef, salmon, tilapia
  • Sugar: 1 teaspoon/day
  • Milk and milk products: cottage cheese, skim milk, curd cottage cheese
  • Oil: 1.5 Tbsp/day (mustard oil, olive oil, canola oil, rice bran oil)

What to Avoid During  Kidney Stone ?

Talking about avoiding stones, according to experts, food and animal protein containing high oxalate and high sodium can increase the problem of kidney stones. Therefore, it is advisable to avoid such substances during this period, which are as follows :

  • Nuts and products made from nuts
  • Groundnut
  • Spinach
  • Wheat bran
  • Meat
  • Egg
  • Fish
  • Milk, yogurt, butter and other milk products
  • Soy Milk, Soy Food and Soy Butter
  • Tofu
  • Sunflower seeds
  • Radishes, carrots, onions, garlic and other high-oxalate and sodium-rich vegetables.

Home Remedies for Kidney Stone

People first try home remedies to remove kidney stones. During treatment, along with stone medicine, these home remedies prove to be very effective. So let’s know what are those home remedies :

1) The amount of fiber in pineapple is very high. It is believe that drinking pineapple juice cleanses the kidneys. It helps in keeping the kidney healthy by removing all the unnecessary elements from the kidney. People who have kidney problems should drink pineapple juice regularly. This will remove your stone in a few days.

2) Fennel sugar, dry coriander, 50-50 grams of them. Taking 11/2 cups of cold water at night after taking it in quantity, the stones come out through urine.

3) Mix 4 teaspoons lemon juice and equal quantity of olive oil. Drink it with water as needed. Do this 2-3 times a day. Do this continuously for three days, if the stone comes out, then do not repeat it further.

4) The vegetable of amaranth provides relief from kidney stones. It is a panacea for melting stones.

5) Apple cider vinegar has alkalizing properties, which helps in dissolving kidney stones. Drink 1 cup of lukewarm water mixed with 2 teaspoons of vinegar and 1 teaspoon of honey several times a day. A research done on apple vinegar found that apple cider vinegar can be helpful in increasing urinary citrate levels. For this reason, it can work to stop the process of kidney stone growth.

6) Taking 100-150 mg of vitamin B regularly can get rid of kidney stones.

7) Using Tulsi is a very popular home remedy to remove kidney stones. For this, chew 5-7 basil leaves daily and eat it. It contains acetic acid and other essential oils which break the stone and expel it through urine. It also acts as a pain reliever. Most people use basil as a medicine for stones.

8) Grind 2-3 bel leaves with water and eat it after adding a pinch of black pepper. Consuming it for two weeks removes kidney stones.

9) Make a powder by grinding large cardamom seeds. Mix 1 tsp powder in a glass of water and add 1 tsp sugar candy and some melon seeds and soak overnight. In the morning, chew the things lying in it well and eat it and drink all the water. This can give you relief.

10) Watermelon contains potassium which helps in strengthening the kidney. It keeps the acid level in urine the same. Along with potassium, it also has a high water content. By eating it, water increases in the body and the stones are remove through urine. Apart from this, take one-fourth teaspoon of coriander powder in watermelon juice and consume it. Do this two-three times a day.

11) Coconut water can also be use to treat kidney stones. Research has believed that coconut water can help reduce the size of kidney stones. It is also helpful in repairing kidney damage caused by the effects of free radicals. In such a situation, consuming coconut water two to three times a day can work to show improvement in this problem to a great extent.

12) Drink pomegranate juice daily. Due to its alkaline property, it prevents the formation of stones and it maintains the acid level in the urine. It is consider to be the best home remedy for the prevention of stones.

13) Boil 2 onions in a glass of water and boil it on low flame, after cooking, cool it, now grind the onion and filter and extract the juice and drink it for 1-2 days.

14) Boil wheat grass in water and cool it, its regular consumption provides great relief in kidney stones and other kidney diseases.

15) Soak the rajma and boil it. Cool this water and drink it several times a day.

16) Kidney stone is cure by the consumption of corn hair or corn silk (corn). Urine comes more due to its consumption and the stones come out through small particles.

17) Soak dates in water overnight and eat them in the morning, it contains a good amount of fiber. Reduces the risk of getting kidney stones.

18) Eat cucumber, it is easy to get rid of stones.

19) Remove the seeds of the tomato, put the skin in a blender and add a little water to it, so that the juice can be made well. Now blend it well in a blender. After the juice is ready, take it out in a glass and add a spoon of lemon to it. Tomato juice is ready, now drink it. This process can be repeat up to twice a week.

20) The root of the dandelion plant is a superior kidney tonic that stimulates the production of bile. It is also a good source of vitamins (A, B, C, D) and minerals like potassium, iron and zinc. Add a teaspoon of dandelion root to a glass of warm water and leave it for about 10 minutes. After the time is up, filter the water in another glass and drink it slowly by sipping. This process can be repeat for about two to three times a day.

21) Celery juice removes toxins from the kidney. It has also been use to prevent kidney stones for years. It helps in removing the stone from the body. For this, you can grind celery with water in a mixer and make juice and drink it. Do not consume it if you have a bleeding disorder or complain of low blood pressure.

22) Grapes are also include in the native medicine of stones. Consuming it can also help prevent kidney problems from progressing. According to experts, fruits containing citric acid can prove to be effective in preventing the process of kidney stone formation. A research done in this regard has directly found that red and white grape seeds can reduce the risk of kidney stone formation.

23) Wash the asparagus thoroughly and put them in a pan. Now pour enough water in the pan that the asparagus gets submerg in it. Now heat the water till it boils. After the water boils, take out the water present in the pan in a glass. Now add a pinch of salt to it and drink it after sipping like tea.

24) Put dry nettle leaves in hot water and let them sit in the water for about 10 minutes. Now drink it comfortably like tea. It can be drunk up to 2-3 cups in a day for better benefits. Home remedies for stones are also possible with scorpion leaves. In a research done on rats in the Indian Journal of Molecular Sciences, scorpion leaves have been consider beneficial in kidney stones.

25) Mix baking soda in a glass of warm water and drink it slowly. Baking soda i.e. sodium bicarbonate can be use as home stone medicine. This is mention in a research by NCBI. It is believed in research that baking soda can be helpful in breaking the kidney stone formed due to excess of calcium and uric acid and expelling it from the body. 

Note : These home remedies are beneficial, but if the stone is big or the condition is serious, then get the stone treated, do not rely only on home remedies.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are there any other side effects of kidney stones?

Talking about kidney stone damage, it can lead to kidney or urinary tract infection. In addition, fever, nausea, vomiting and lower back pain may occur.

Where does kidney pain occur?

First of all, it is important to understand where the kidney is. The kidneys are bean-shaped organs (approximately 11 cm x 7 cm x 3 cm) that lie in front of the back muscles in the upper abdomen. They are on the left and right sides of the body.

Will a kidney stone cause a fever?

Yes, kidney stones can cause fever.

Can kidney stones cause vomiting?

Yes, kidney stones can cause vomiting.

Why do kidney stones cause back pain?

The urinary tract is very narrow, so when the stone reaches the urinary tract through the kidney, it creates tension in the urethra. Due to this tension, a condition of pain arises in the urinary tract as well as in other organs and muscles related to the urinary tract. This is the reason that in some situations kidney stones cause pain in the lower back.

When should I consult a doctor?

The pain of kidney stone is very unbearable and lasts for a long time. If the following conditions arise, the kidney stone sufferer should contact the doctor without delay.

  • There is more pain in the back or side of the waist.
  • Having blood in urine.
  • In case of fever or shivering.
  • On vomiting.
  • Smelly and thick urine.
  • Burning sensation while urinating.

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