What are kidney stones?
Kidney stones are also known as renal calculus or nephroliths and are
a solid piece of material that forms in the kidneys because of the
minerals typically found in urine. Normally, sand and small stones form
in almost everybody’s kidneys, because of not drinking enough water, not
drinking water that is sufficiently pure or because of a bad diet. But
the body passes sand and the very small stones naturally, without any
symptoms and without pain, which means a person doesn’t even notice it.
However, sometimes, the sand leads to a stone formation and the stone
itself grows much more in size, blocking the ureter. A stone is
considered large enough to block the ureter if it’s bigger than 3
millimeters in diameter. This is what actually causes the sharp pain
patients experience and which they describe as being radiant, starting
in the lower back and ending in the groin region. The blockage of the
ureter is very serious and dangerous, because it can lead to kidney
malfunctioning and dilation. Other symptoms, apart from pain, that
signal that one may have one or more kidney stones, are nausea,
vomiting, blood and pus in the urine, fever and a very painful
urination.
How do kidney stones form?
Usually kidney stones form when the natural water, salts and minerals
balance in urine changes. And the way it changes determines the type of
kidney stone you will have, but most of them are calcium-type. The most
common three reasons for which stones form are: hereditary reasons, not
drinking enough water and medical conditions. If you don’t drink enough
water, the salts, minerals and the other elements of the urine fuse to
one another and form stones. As far as medical conditions go, diseases
such as gout, inflammatory bowel disease and Crohn’s disease affect the
body’s normal balance and can lead to the forming of kidney stones.
How are kidney stones treated?
Sand and any stone that is less than 3 millimeters in diameter
usually pass through our bodies unnoticed. But, the other ones need help
in doing so. As far as treatment goes, it depends on how big the stone
actually is. They are classified into small and large and their
respective treatment is as follows.
- For small stones – treatments include drinking plenty of water,
in order to flush the stone out. However, you should not do this unless
your doctor tells you so, because drinking an abnormal amount of water
may have serious consequences. Another treatment consists of pain relievers,
although this is not the treatment per se. The idea is to actually let
the body pass the stone by itself, but this is usually extremely
painful, so doctors prescribe pain killers such as opioids for it. And
the third remedy for small kidney stones is medication, which
is given to a patient by a doctor, in order to help him pass the stone.
This type of pills relaxes the ureter muscles, which means less pain and
a faster cure.
- For big stones – the treatments for big stones often includes using
sound waves in order to break the stone apart and then letting the body
pass it naturally, surgery for the extremely large stones, using a scope
to remove it or parathyroid gland surgery.
How to prevent kidney stones naturally
Since having one or more kidney stones is quite a painful and
stressful condition, most doctors recommend that the general population
adopts some prevention measures. Some of those measures are natural and
very easy to incorporate into our daily lifestyle. Here they are.
#1. Drink as much water as you can
Of course, seeing as the disease is kidney related and that one of
its main causes is the fact that the body doesn’t receive enough water,
which makes the minerals and salts in the kidneys clump and form the
stones, the first prevention tip is to drink plenty of clean water. The
idea is that your kidneys need to flush out all of the urine, as many
times a day as possible and as watered down as possible, so that it
doesn’t have time to form the stones. It’s good to know that any liquid
works, but water is the best and healthiest option. Also, make sure it’s
clean water, that doesn’t have build-up in it. But, even though liquids
in general are good for this purpose, you need to avoid grapefruit and
cranberry juice, because they are high in oxalates, tomato juice,
because it has a very high salt content, and sugary beverages. Recent
studies have shown that drinking just one soda a day increases your
chances of developing kidney stones by 23 per cent.
#2. Add lemon, lime and vinegar to your everyday beverages
The idea behind this practice is to alkalinize your body and very
effectively prevent the formation of kidney stones. Apart from
prevention, these liquids will also dissolve all the exiting stones you
might have and will keep your kidneys very clean. Therefore, all you
need to do is add some freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice, as well as
apple cider vinegar to your daily doses of water. Another way of
introducing the miracle liquids to your body is by mixing 2 oz organic
olive oil with 2 oz organic lemon juice and drinking the concoction as
it is. After that, drink 12 oz of purified water.
#3. Consume foods that are rich in calcium
This might seem weird as a prevention method, because popular lore
has it that one of the main reasons for kidney stone formation is
calcium, but it’s actually beneficial as far as prevention goes.
Although you will find many sources that show you how to prevent calcium
kidney stones, recent studies have shown that calcium sticks to calcium
oxalate, the primary substance to blame when it comes to kidney stones;
it crystallizes and flushes it out of the body, so that it doesn’t get
the chance to form the dreaded kidney stones. This is why most experts
recommend including as many foods rich in calcium as possible into your
daily diet. Some of these foods are: leafy greens, nuts and seeds, milk
and butter, in raw form, from cows that have been fed with grass.
#4. Supplementing your diet with magnesium and vitamin B
Magnesium is a natural mineral substance that fights against the
oxalate found in many foods. It can be found naturally in avocados,
beans, bananas, lentils and raw cocoa beans. Apart from that, you can
also take it in supplement form, via pills that also contain Vitamin B.
Magnesium is actually one of the first things that the ER will
administrate to a patient that comes in with kidney stones, because it
also helps fight the already formed masses. But, like always, prevention
is better than cure, so make sure to introduce it to your diet via the
delicious foods that we mentioned.
#5. Avoid eating foods that encourage the formation of kidney stones
Apart from introducing certain fruits and vegetables into your diet
that will help prevent the minerals and salts in your urine from
clumping and forming dangerous masses or from purifying your urine
altogether, a great part in prevention is played by staying away from
many foods that increase the danger. Here is a list of things you need
to stay clear of:
- Avoid eating soy and soy based products;
- Avoid drinking too much caffeine, because it keeps the kidneys from working properly;
- Avoid processed foods and cured meats, because they have a high salt
content and salt is one of the main ingredients in urine that forms
stones;
- Avoid all the foods that are high in oxalates, such as black tea,
grains and a variety of nuts, vegetables and fruits, such as beets,
spinach, rhubarb and strawberries;
- Avoid soda pop beverages that highly acidify the body because they have high phosphoric acid content;
- Stay away from a high-protein diet, because proteins increase the levels of uric acid.
A good thing to bear in mind on how to prevent a kidney stone is that
it is a recurring condition, which means that, if you’ve had them
before, that’s all the more reason to stay on top of things and learn
how to prevent kidney stones from recurring. Also, keep in mind that
your pets can form them as well. Cats and dogs suffer from this
condition too, but it can be prevented, usually via correct nutrition.
Kidney stones, although not extremely dangerous as a condition per
se, can clog the ureter to the extent that is not functional anymore
and, apart from that, cause excruciating pain when trying to pass them.
People that have suffered from kidney stones report that it is actually
one of the worst pains a human being can suffer, surpassing even the
pain of childbirth. Bearing this in mind, you will see why prevention is
so much better than treating kidney stones.
Source:
Homeremedyshop
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