Hard, stone-like structures formed within the kidney. Also called calculi; hard masses that form in the urinary tract and which can cause pain, bleeding, obstruction, or infection. Stones are primarily made up of calcium and can vary in size from a few millimeters to over a centimeter and more in diameter. Can block the flow of urine. They can cause blockage of the urinary tract, which in turn can cause cystitis.
Typical symptoms include sharp mid-back pain, blood in the urine, painful urination, nausea, and vomiting.
To help the stone pass, drink 3 quarts of water (the equivalent of 8 soda-sized cans), each day. A heating pad set on ""low'' may help ease the pain. Your doctor may also prescribe pain medicine. If the stone doesn't pass naturally, you may need to be hospitalized.
Kidney stones can cause long-term kidney problems that in rare cases can be fatal. But with proper treatment, serious problems are unlikely. Some doctors believe that drinking lots of beer also helps - well it should actually coz' beer acts like a diuretic + lots of fluid gets into the body + it has a smooth muscle dilator effect on the ureters.
If a stone is too large to pass on its own, or if it gets stuck in the urinary tract, you may need more treatment. About 1 or 2 out of every 10 kidney stones needs more than home treatment.
The most common medical treatment is extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL). This uses shock waves to break a kidney stone into small pieces. The bits can pass out of your body in your urine. Other times, a doctor will need to remove the stone or place a small flexible plastic tube (called a stent) in the ureter to keep it open while stones pass.
No supplement can make any medical claims on their own, so the supplements can't claim to help/prevent kidney stones.... but if your kidneys are healthy, they should run really well.
Drink cranberry juice for prevention. Drink lots of cranberry juice as a treatment -- but you're going to be in a world of pain when you pass the stone. Take the corn silk off of three ears of corn.Boil it for 5 minutes in 3 cups of water.Strain off the corn silk and sip this throughout the day or go to the health food store and get corn silk capsules.
Also, there has been research done that Flomax (a prescription drug for enlarged prostates to aid urination) can help the passage of stones, but I think that's still up in the air. Another one of my doctors prescribed it to me, but then the ER doctors said to stop taking it.
