| KIDNEY CARE CENTER (A Unit of SS Multispeciality Hospital) |
| KIDNEY CARE CENTER (A Unit of SS Multispeciality Hospital) |
|
| Kidney Stone |
| WHAT ARE KIDNEY STONES? |
A kidney stone is a hard deposit of minerals or a collection of crystals that forms in the kidney and looks like a stone. |
These stones can sometimes block the flow of urine, which can cause pain or blood in the urine. |
Chance of another stone People who have one kidney stone have approximately a 50% chance of having another stone in the next 10 years. |
Family history People with a family history of kidney stones are 2-times more likely to get a kidney stone than someone without a family history. |
| WHY DO PEOPLE GET KIDNEY STONES? |
| This is similar to what happens when you are mixing a powdered drink: too much powder and too little water means it won’t be well mixed and powder (like stones) will be left over. |
| Not drinking enough fluid is important and may cause stones to grow. |
| ARE THERE DIFFERENT KINDS OF KIDNEY STONES? |
| There are many different kinds of kidney stones. |
| Prevention and treatment advice usually depends on the type of stone. |
| Capturing the stone through urine will allow the stone to be sent to the laboratory to determine the type of stone. |
| WHAT ARE THE TYPES OF KIDNEY STONES? |
| Most common types |
| Calcium oxalate For calcium oxalate stones, there may be too much calcium and oxalate in the urine. There also may be a low level in the urine of a naturally occurring kidney stone preventer called citrate. |
| Calcium phosphate For calcium phosphate stones, there may be too much calcium and too little acid in the urine. |
| Less common or rare types |
| Uric acid For uric acid stones, there is usually too much uric acid. |
| Cysteine For cystine stones, there is too much cystine – an amino acid. An abnormal inherited gene causes this type of stone. |
| Struvite For struvite stones, there is usually infection in the urine. |
| Mixed types |
| Some stones are a mixture of various types. |
| WHAT CAN YOU AND YOUR DOCTOR DO TO PREVENT KIDNEY STONES? |
| If the urine oxalate is high, then patients need to follow a low oxalate diet. |
| High oxalate foods include spinach and rhubarb. |
| Moderate oxalate foods include potatoes and nuts. |
| If these are eaten, also drink a lot of fluid and consider eating at the same time food with calcium such as milk or yogurt. |
| Take medicine to reduce urine acid levels. |
| If the urine acid level is high, you can ask us for prescription pills to help reduce it. |
| But if the acid level is low there is not much than can be done to raise it. |
| Take medicine for low urine citrate. |
| Adding more citrate to the urine by taking potassium citrate pills can help prevent stones in people with low urine citrate or even with normal urine citrate levels. |
| Work with your doctor |
The most effective treatments require a dedicated plan based on the urine test results. |
Our team may ask you to collect all your urine for a whole day to measure the specific components in the urine. |
It may be helpful to do this 24-hour collection more than 1 time. |
Depending on the results, there are things patients and we doctors can do that can be helpful to prevent new stones, or prevent existing stones from growing bigger. |
| Drink liquids |
| Drinking more liquid (when our team advises)—just about any kind of liquid is fine, except for sugar-sweetened beverages like soda. |
| The goal is to drink enough that your body will make at least 3 litres of urine each day. |
| Change your diet |
For calcium stones, if the urine calcium is high, patients need to eat a low sodium and low animal protein diet. |
If this is not effective, then a pill called a thiazide diuretic can reduce the amount of calcium in the urine. |
Patients should not eat a low calcium diet as this treatment does not work. It will also cause calcium from bones to go out in the urine and weakens bone system. |
| WHAT KINDS OF DOCTORS CAN HELP YOU? |
Nephrologists are doctors who specialize in kidney medicine and focus on stone prevention. |
Urologists are doctors who are trained as surgeons and help remove existing stones and can also prescribe treatments for prevention. |
Both types of doctors work together to prevent and treat kidney stones. |
© 2016.Saraswati Kidney Care Center |