Preventing Kidney Stones
Preventing Kidney Stones
The key to preventing kidney stones is first finding out what type of kidney stones you have and then taking the appropriate treatment. Laboratory tests help determine the levels of various substances in the stones. From there, your doctor may recommend that you increase your fluid intake, avoid certain foods, or take medication as part of preventing kidney stones.
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Preventing Kidney Stones: An Overview It is important to prevent kidney stones, because once you have had them, you are more likely to form additional kidney stones in the future. In order to prevent kidney stones, your doctor needs to determine what type of kidney stones you have. This is also important in determing your kidney stones treatment.To this end, you may be asked to collect your urine for 24 hours after a stone has passed or been removed. This sample will be used to measure: |
- Urine volume
- Levels of acidity
- Levels of calcium
- Levels of sodium
- Levels of uric acid
- Levels of oxalate
- Levels of citrate
- Levels of creatinine (a product of muscle metabolism).
Your doctor will use this information to determine the cause of kidney stones. A second 24-hour urine collection test may be needed to determine whether the prescribed treatment is working.
Preventing Kidney Stones by Drinking More Liquids
The most important lifestyle change you can make in preventing kidney stones is to drink more liquids, especially water. If you tend to form kidney stones, you should try to drink enough liquids throughout the day to produce at least 2 quarts of urine in every 24-hour period. To prevent cystine kidney stones, you should drink more than a gallon of water every day to dilute the concentration of cystine that escapes into the urine. This can be difficult, however, because a third of that water must be drunk during the night.
Preventing Kidney Stones Through Diet
Recent studies have shown that foods high in calcium, including dairy products, may help prevent calcium stones. However, taking calcium supplements may increase the risk of developing stones. Therefore, doctors often advise patients to avoid food with added vitamin D and certain types of antacids that have a calcium base.
People prone to forming calcium oxalate stones may also be told to cut back on certain foods, such as:
- Beets
- Chocolate
- Coffee
- Cola
- Nuts
- Rhubarb
- Spinach
- Strawberries
- Tea
Wheat bran. People should not give up or avoid eating these foods without talking to their doctor first. In most cases, these foods can be eaten in limited amounts. In order to prevent uric acid stones, your doctor may recommend that you eat less meat, fish, and poultry, which increase the amount of acid in the urine
Suggestions for Preventing Kidney Stones
Additional tips for preventing kidney stones include:
- Drink 12 full glasses of water every day, which will help to flush away the substances that form stones in the kidneys.
- Limit your coffee, tea, and cola intake to one or two cups a day. Caffeine may cause you to lose fluid too quickly.
- Changes in your diet may be needed to prevent calcium and uric acid stones.
- Medicines may be needed to prevent calcium and uric acid stones.
- A family history of stones or a previous history of stones may increase your risk of forming kidney stones.
- If you are at risk for developing stones, your doctor may perform certain blood and urine tests to determine how to reduce your risk.
- People with chronic urinary tract infections and kidney stones will often need to have problem stones removed. Patients must receive careful follow-up visits to be sure that the infection has cleared.