A kidney stone is a solid piece of material that forms in the kidney out of substances in the urine.
A stone may stay in the kidney or break loose and travel down the urinary tract. A small stone may pass all the way out of the body without causing too much pain. A larger stone may get stuck in a ureter, the bladder, or the urethra. A problem stone can block the flow of urine and cause great pain. The presence of stones can lead to urinary infections and also kidney damage in the long term. Stones vary from the size of a grain of sand to a golf ball, and there may be one or several.
Signs to watch out for are:
· Episodes of severe, colicky (intermittent) pain every few minutes. The pain usually appears first in the back, just below the ribs. Over several hours or days, the pain follows the stone’s course through the ureter toward the groin. Pain stops when the stone passes.
· Frequent nausea with severe pain.
· Traces of blood in the urine. Urine may appear cloudy or dark.
Several factors increase the risk for developing kidney stones, including inadequate fluid intake and dehydration, reduced urinary flow and volume, certain chemical levels in the urine that are too high (e.g., calcium, oxalate, uric acid) or too low (e.g., citrate), and several medical conditions. Anything that blocks or reduces the flow of urine (e.g., urinary obstruction, genetic abnormality) also increases the risk.
Preventive measures:
– Drink about 15 glasses of fluid, mostly purified water, every day. It is important that you pass about 2 litres of urine per day.
– Avoid milk and milk products if you have had a calcium or phosphorus kidney stone.
– Avoid excessive sweating.
– If your stones are calcium oxalate stones, restrict your intake of oxalate rich foods like beans, beets, chocolate, grapes, green peppers, spinach, strawberries and tea.
– Some studies have found that a daily intake of 10 mgs of magnesium supplementation reduces stone recurrence by almost 90 %. The best food sources of magnesium are green leafy vegetables, whole grains, nuts and dried beans. Meat, milk and other starches are moderate suppliers. Because refined foods have the least, magnesium intake has dropped since we now eat more refined and processed foods than ever.
– Activity helps, as people who are inactive tend to accumulate a lot of calcium in the bloodstream. Activity helps to pull calcium back into the bones, where it belongs.
– Be cautious of a high protein diet, as protein tends to increase the presence of uric acid, calcium and phosphorus in the urine, which could lead to the formation of stones in some susceptible people. Cut down on meat in case of uric acid stones.
– Consumption of large amounts of Vitamin C – in excess of 3 – 4 grams a day – can increase oxalate production and increase the risk of stones.
Homoeopathy has very good medicines to help make the stones smaller and help them to pass out from the urinary tract. During an acute episode of renal colic where the stone is trying to pass, painkillers and anti-spasmodic medication may be necessary if the pain is too severe. Homoeopathically, medicines like Colocynthis, Magnesium Phosphoricum, Pareira Brava, Ocimum Canum, Berberis Vulgaris, Sarsaparilla, etc may be used during the acute stage of renal colic. The choice of medicine will depend on the symptoms the patient has at that point in time. After the stones have passed, Homoeopathic medication can help prevent recurrence by suitably modifying the susceptibility of the patient. Such treatment will be directed towards correcting a uric acid diathesis and tendency to stone formation by taking into account personal factors of the individual patient.