Out of the total number of kidney stone patients, a stunning 70% are susceptible to suffer the same medical situation again, within a span of 5 to 7 years. So prevention is very important. If you have already suffered the excruciating pain and agony of trying to get rid of the stones I’m sure you don’t want to go through it again. Do whatever is in your hand to prevent kidney stones. Follow the advice of your urologist and dietician. You may have to follow a strict diet and follow an exercise routine but then health is wealth! Isn’t it? I’m sure you agree with me there.
It’s easier said than done! But if you do the basics as advised by qualified medical professionals, you’ll save yourself a lot of inconvenience. You can prevent stones from forming by increasing your fluid intake. Drink lots of water to keep the urine dilute. Drink at least 3 liters of water everyday. Besides that, specific kinds of stones can be avoided by regulating your diet as specifically advised by a professional. A dietitian may advise people with calcium oxalate stones to reduce the oxalate content of their diet. Uric acid stones can be prevented with a medicine. Kidney stones can also be prevented through other methods like increasing your intake of calcium, which surprisingly works better than a low calcium diet. Avoid certain antacids, vitamin D and urinary infections and take to a low-oxalate diet. Other advice from a specialist may be appropriate for rarer conditions.
To prevent kidney stones from recurring, your doctor needs to ascertain the cause. That can be accomplished by conducting necessary physical tests, urine and blood tests. Your urine sample can be used to measure urine volume and levels of acidity, calcium, sodium, uric acid, oxalate, citrate, and creatinine. If you’ve passed a stone and saved it, the laboratory can analyze it to determine its composition. Your medical history will be studied and the doctor will question you about your occupation and eating habits beside other things.
The fact of the story is that you will have to make certain lifestyle changes. Probably, drink more water than you are used to. Depending upon the type of stones, be it calcium, oxalate, Cysitne, struvite or any other, one may have to make changes to their eating habits- Eat more of some foods and cut down on others. Certain medications prevent calcium and uric acid stones.
Do take all the above measures to make sure that you don’t get inflicted with painful kidney stones all over again. It’s just a little bit of effort and a life time of peace, happiness and health!
