How You Can Prevent Kidney Stones
If you’ve ever had kidney stones, it’s probably not something you want to repeat. It can lead to a severe and debilitating pain, particularly as the stone tries to pass into your ureter.
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Some of the symptoms of a kidney stone can include severe pain felt along your back and side, pain when you urinate, and urine that’s pink, red or brown. If you have an infection resulting from kidney stones you may have fever and chills. The pain from kidney stones can also move around and can vary in intensity.
If you’ve already had kidney stones, you probably know it’s not a scenario you want to repeat, and even if you haven’t you should do certain things to help you prevent them in the future.
There aren’t many options regarding treatment for kidney stones, other than drinking plenty of fluids and working to cleanse your kidneys and restore them to their normal functionality. You may be given pain medicine as a temporary fix, but unless your stones are very large, not many other options are available. If stones are very large treatments may include using sound waves to break them up or surgery to remove them.
Prevention can be best, and the following are some ways to prevent kidney stones.
Drink Plenty of Healthy Fluids
You should get in the habit of making sure you’re always hydrated because this is important for all-around good health, but also to prevent kidney stones from forming. You can drink water or low-sugar juices, and any fluid with citrate can be helpful to prevent stone formation as well.
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If you notice that your urine is dark, it’s an indicator you need more fluids.
Cut the soda out as well, because certain ingredients found in sodas can actually encourage the development of kidney stones.
Watch Your Diet
There are certain foods that can lead to the development of kidney stones more than others. These include foods with too much animal protein such as steak, chicken, and seafood. Also too much salt can increase your chances of getting kidney stones.
Even some healthy foods such as beets and spinach can contribute to kidney stones, so if you’re someone who has already had stones or you’re predisposed to them, your doctor may tell you to try and avoid some of these foods.
Supplements
At the same time, having too little calcium can also contribute to kidney stones, so try and find out how much you need for your age and take that daily.
A lot of people tend to take Vitamin C supplements, but you may want to be cautious here as well. Vitamin C supplements can trigger the formation of kidney stones, and this is particularly true in men, but it’s not believed that food sources of Vitamin C have the same risk.
Finally, you might want to speak to your doctor about herbal remedies and cleanse options, particularly if you’ve already suffered from kidney stones. There are herbs and cleanses that can help prevent stones and also reduce existing stones, but it’s good to speak with your physician about their recommendations first.
Author: Carmelo Hannity
