Kidney stones

What are kidney stones? Kidney stones are solid crystals formed from the salts in urine.

They are sometimes called renal calculi

Kidney stones can block the flow of urine and cause infection, kidney damage or even kidney failure.

They can vary in size and location

Kidney stones can block the flow of urine, which can then cause damage to your kidneys and sometimes kidney disease. Stones increase your chance of urinary and kidney infection and can result in germs spreading into your blood stream (septicaemia). The risk of kidney stones is about one in 10 for men and one in 35 for women.

If you have had a kidney stone, you have an increased chance of getting a second stone. Thirty to fifty per cent of people with a first kidney stone will get a second stone within five years.

After five years, the risk declines

However, some people keep getting stones their whole lives. There are four major types of kidney stones: A kidney stone can form when substances such as calcium, oxalate, cystine or uric acid are at high levels in the urine, although stones can form even if these chemicals are at normal levels. Medications used for treating some medical conditions such as kidney disease, cancer or HIV can also increase your risk of developing kidney stones.

A small number of people get kidney stones because of certain medical conditions that lead to high levels of calcium, oxalate, cystine or uric acid in the body.

Many people with kidney stones have no symptoms

However, some people do get symptoms, which may include:

• also known as ‘renal colic’) – usually just below the ribs on one side
• radiating around to the front
• sometimes towards the groin. The pain may be severe enough to cause nausea
• vomiting an urgent feeling of needing to urinate
• due to a stone at the bladder outlet

How are kidney stones detected? Many stones are found by chance during tests for other conditions.

Kidney stone tests may include:

• If a stone passes out of your body
• collect it
• take it to your doctor

This can help to decide on your treatment

Urine and blood tests can also help to find the cause of your stone.

Most kidney stones can be treated without surgery

Most stones will pass by themselves within three to six weeks.

In this situation, the only treatment required is pain relief

However, pain can be so severe that hospital admission and very strong pain-relieving medication may be needed.

Always seek immediate medical attention if you are suffering strong pain. Small stones in the kidney do not usually cause problems, so there is often no need to remove them. A doctor specialising in the treatment of kidney stones is the best person to advise you on treatment.

If a stone doesn’t pass and blocks urine flow or causes bleeding or an infection, then it may need to be removed. New surgical techniques have reduced hospital stay time to as little as 48 hours. Treatments include:

• – ultrasound waves are used to break the kidney stone into smaller pieces
• which can pass out with the urine

ESWL is used for stones less than 2 cm in size – for stones larger than 2cm. A small cut is made in your back, then a special instrument is used to remove the kidney stone – an instrument called an endoscope is inserted into the urethra, passed into the bladder and then to where the stone is located.

It allows the doctor to remove the stone or break it up so you can pass it more easily – if none of these methods is suitable, the stone may need to be removed using traditional surgery.

This will require a cut in your back to access your kidney and ureter to remove the stone. Kidney stones can range in size from a grain of sand to that of a pearl or even larger. They can be smooth or jagged, and are usually yellow or brown.

A large stone may get stuck in the urinary system. This can block the flow of urine and may cause strong pain.

Kidney stones can cause permanent kidney damage

Stones also increase the risk of urinary and kidney infection, which can result in germs spreading into the bloodstream.

If you have had one kidney stone, some tips that may help to prevent a second stone forming include: about the cause of the previous stone. Ask your doctor to check whether the medications you are on could be causing your stones.

Do not stop your medications without talking to your doctor.

Get quick and proper treatment of urinary infections

Avoid dehydration

Drink enough fluids to keep your urine volume at or above two litres a day. This can halve your risk of getting a second stone by lowering the concentration of stone-forming chemicals in your urine.

Avoid drinking too much tea or coffee

Juices may reduce the risk of some stones, particularly orange, grapefruit and cranberry. Eating or drinking grapefruit or cranberry juice can affect some medicines. Ask your doctor for advice as grapefruit juice and cranberry juice, in particular, can interact with medications.

Don’t add salt while cooking and leave the saltshaker off the table. Choose low- or no-salt processed foods. Avoid drinking more than one litre per week of drinks that contain phosphoric acid, which is used to flavour carbonated drinks such as cola and beer.

Always talk to your doctor before making changes to your diet. is fine – it cannot cause kidney stones because it contains only trace elements of minerals. For more information about kidney or urinary health, please contact our free call Kidney Health Information Service (KHIS) on Your kidneys filter your blood Types of kidney stones Calcium The most common stones are formed when calcium combines with other minerals like oxalate or phosphate Struvite Struvite stones are caused by urinary tract infections (UTI’s) and can be quite large Uric Acid Uric acid stones are often caused by eating very large amounts of protein foods and are often softer than other types of stones.

Eating a lot of fish, shellfish, and meat—especially organ meat—may increase uric acid in urine Cystine stones Cystine stones are a rare inherited condition where the protein cysteine can build up in urine and form stones. Causes of kidney stones Symptoms of kidney stones a gripping pain in the back blood in the urine cloudy or bad smelling urine shivers, sweating and fever – if the urine becomes infected small stones, like gravel, passing out in the urine, often caused by uric acid stones ultrasound CT scans x-rays including an intravenous pyelogram (IVP) , where dye is injected into your bloodstream before the x-rays are taken Treatment for kidney stones extracorporeal shock-wave lithotripsy (ESWL) percutaneous nephrolithotomy endoscope removal surgery Complications of kidney stones Avoiding recurrence of kidney stones Talk to your doctor Reduce your salt Drinking mineral water Where to get help In an emergency, always call 911 Your GP (doctor) Kidney Health United States 1800 454 363 Kidney Health United States - Kidney stones factsheet .

Key Points

• Kidney stones can block the flow of urine and cause infection, kidney damage or even kidney failure
• Kidney stones can block the flow of urine, which can then cause damage to your kidneys and sometimes kidney disease
• risk of kidney stones is about one in 10 for men and one in 35 for women
• After five years, the risk declines
• Many people with kidney stones have no symptoms