If you’ve ever had a kidney stone, it’s not something you’re likely to forget. Passing a kidney stone is a painful experience. But it happens in many adults, and there are ways to help treat and prevent them.
Kidney StonesIf you’ve ever had a kidney stone, it’s not something you’re likely to forget. Passing a kidney stone is a painful experience. But it happens in many adults, and there are ways to help treat and prevent them.How kidney stones formEach person has 2 kidneys. Your kidneys make urine by removing water, waste, sugar, and many other kinds of substances from your blood. The urine moves from your kidneys to your bladder through 2 tubes called the ureters. Your bladder stores the urine until it leaves your body through another tube called the urethra.Your urine can contain many kinds of minerals and salts called chemicals. These include calcium, oxalate, uric acid, and phosphate. When high levels of these chemicals are present in the urine, one or more of them can clump together and form crystals.Normally, urine contains chemicals that keep crystals from forming. But low amounts of urine from dehydration, obesity, medicines, health conditions, and your diet can cause crystals to form. You’re also more likely to have crystals form if your parents or a sibling has had them.Sometimes, the crystals grow larger and become kidney stones. They can be as small as a grain of sand or as large as a pearl -- or even a golf ball. A crystal or small kidney stone may pass out of the body through the urinary tract without being noticed. But a larger kidney stone may stay in your kidney or become stuck in a ureter, the bladder, or the urethra.SymptomsKidney stones that cause no symptoms are called “silent” kidney stones. If a kidney stone gets stuck in your ureter, it blocks the flow of urine out of your kidney. This can cause your kidney to swell. This condition is called hydronephrosis, and it often causes a sharp, cramping pain in your back, side, lower abdomen, or groin. Men may feel pain in the tip of their penis. There may be blood in your urine if it looks dark in color. You may have nausea and vomiting. You may need to urinate often, and there may be a burning feeling when you urinate. Sometimes the stone causes an infection, which can cause fever and chills. Other times, a stone may cause only an ache in the groin. Or the stone may cause few symptoms until there is an infection.DiagnosisYour healthcare provider will ask about your medical history and give you a physical exam. You may have urine tests or blood tests. Your healthcare provider may recommend other tests to see if you have a kidney stone. Common tests include an ultrasound of the kidney. Ultrasound uses sound waves to create images of the kidney on a computer. You may also have a computed tomography, or C-T, scan. A C-T scan creates a picture of your body from the kidneys to the bladder with a series of X-rays put together by a computer. Another test is called a kidney-ureter-bladder, or K-U-B, X-ray. This X-ray shows the size and position of the stone.TreatmentThe treatment of a kidney stone depends on its location, its size, and the type that it is. There are 3 types of kidney stones: calcium, uric acid, and struvite, or an infection stone. A small stone may pass on its own over 24 to 48 hours without any treatment. A larger stone may take up to 4 to 6 weeks to pass. If you don’t have a urinary tract infection and are able to deal with the discomfort caused by a larger stone, your healthcare provider may prescribe medicine that causes the ureter to relax to help the stone pass. You may also be given medicine for pain and nausea. Talk with your healthcare provider about the amount of fluids you need.Other treatments include shock wave lithotripsy therapy. During this procedure, X-rays or ultrasound are first used to help find the stone. Then, a machine sends strong sound waves into the part of the body where the stone is located. The sound waves, or shockwaves, can break a larger stone into smaller stones that can pass more easily. Afterward, your healthcare provider will give you home-care instructions. You may also be given a strainer to collect the stones for testing. It may take a few weeks for them to pass.Another treatment is ureteroscopy. This procedure is often done under general anesthesia with an ureteroscope. This is a thin telescope or flexible tool with a camera on it. The scope is passed into the bladder, up the ureter, and into the kidney. When the kidney stone is found, it is removed with a small basket-like device. If needed, the stone can also be broken into smaller pieces with a laser and then removed. A stone can also be removed with percutaneous nephrolithotomy. This procedure is also done under general anesthesia. A small incision or cut is made in a person’s back or side. A healthcare provider then uses a tool called a nephroscope to find and remove the stone. The scope breaks up the large stone into smaller pieces and suctions them out of the kidney.Other types of kidney surgery are available, such as open, laparoscopic, or robotic. These may be used if other procedures or treatments don’t work.PreventionOne way to help keep kidney stones from forming is to drink more water throughout the day. Your healthcare provider may also recommend some changes in your diet. He or she may refer you to a dietitian or nutritionist to discuss your diet. You may need to eat less sodium, meat, and dairy foods. You should also eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. You may need to eat foods low in the chemical oxalate, too. Always discuss your dietary habits and medicines with your healthcare provider. Tests may be ordered to help pinpoint the cause of your stones. And you may be given medicines to help keep stones from forming.What we have learnedKidney stones always cause pain. True or false? The answer is false. Small stones may pass without being noticed. These are called “silent” kidney stones.There is nothing you can do to prevent kidney stones. True or false? The answer is false. There are steps you can take to prevent kidney stones, such as drinking more water throughout the day and changing your diet.A large kidney stone always has to pass on its own. True or false? The answer is false. There are treatments for kidney stones, including breaking them into smaller stones or removing them.
Online Medical Reviewer: Foster, Sara, RN, MPH
Online Medical Reviewer: Marcellin, Lindsey, MD, MPH
Date Last Reviewed: 05/01/2020
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