What can we do to prevent kidney stones?
To avoid kidney stones, a combination of lifestyle changes and the use of some medications may be required.
To reduce the risk of kidney stones:
Drink water throughout the day. For those who have a history of kidney stones, it is generally advised to drink enough water to produce around 2.5 liters of urine. It may be necessary to measure the urine output to ensure enough water is drunk. Drinking a big glass of water, especially before going to bed, reduces the density of the urine to be produced during the night.
Especially those who live in hot and dry climates and those exercising frequently may need to drink more water to produce enough urine.
Avoid food that is rich in oxalate. If you have a tendency to develop calcium oxalate stones, which are the most common type of stone, you should avoid foods containing high oxalate. Among others, these foods include beet, okra, spinach, chard, sweet potato, hazelnut, tea, chocolate, and soy products.
Limit salt and animal protein. Reduce the amount of salt you eat and prefer non-animal protein sources such as legumes.
Continue eating foods rich in calcium, but use calcium supplements carefully. Calcium taken with food has no effect on your risk of kidney stones. Unless your doctor recommends otherwise, continue eating food rich in calcium. As extra calcium supplements may increase the risk of stones, consult your doctor before taking them. You can decrease the risk by taking these supplements together with food. It should also be noted that diets with low calcium content may increase the risk of kidney stones in some people.
Is it possible to determine the type of kidney stone?
The type of kidney stone and the risk of a person for developing stones can be determined. With a metabolic evaluation and the analysis of the stone, removed by surgery or dropped naturally, it is possible to determine the risk. The formation of the stones can be reduced by regulating eating habits and, if necessary, by drug supplementation.
Which methods are used in the treatment of stones?
The treatment of the stone disease depends on many factors such as the location, largeness, and the type of the stone. For the stones that are too large to be dropped naturally, surgical methods or, if the stone is suitable, the method of externally breaking down stones with shock wave therapy (ESWL) is used.
Medicinal treatment is used to facilitate the falling of stones small enough to fall and to solve the patient’s pain and infection problems. It is possible to shrink some rare stones with medication, however, medicational treatments do not make any difference in most of them. On the other hand, there are some treatments to prevent or retard the formation of stones.