How to Protect Yourself from Kidney Stones: 3 Important Rules

Kidney stones, which are defined as more severe than the labor pain, can be caused by very different reasons. To prevent kidney stone formation; Consuming plenty of water, avoiding salt, giving up a single type of diet and moving to active life are among the main measures to be taken.

Don’t eat one type of food

Among the public, protein-heavy nutrition is thought to cause kidney stones. Not only protein-heavy nutrition, but all uniform nutritions can lead to the formation of kidney stones. Especially, grain-heavy nutrition can cause kidney stones and bladding stones in children. There are good or bad rumors among the public about kidney stones for many foods such as coffee, tea, chocolate, asparagus, parsley. However, when scientifically looked at, there is not enough evidence. Diversification of consumed foods is important in terms of general health and is one of the measures to be taken against kidney stones.

Reduce salt increase water

There may be more than one factor in kidney stone formation. The coming together of multiple factors can increase the risk of kidney stones forming. In addition to unchangeable risk factors such as gender and genetics, there are also changeable factors. Water and salt consumption is one of the factors that cause kidney stone formation and can be changed. Failure to drink enough water during the day makes urine more intense, crystals with increasing density can combine and initiate stone formation. Fluid excretion from the body is as important as fluid intake to prevent kidney stone formation. Increasing the daily amount of urine to 2 liters may prevent the crystals, which are precursor to stones, from coming together. Besides water consumption, salt consumption is also important in the formation of kidney stones. Excessive consumption of salt can increase urinary calcium excretion and accelerate stone formation.

Move your life

An active lifestyle can prevent kidney stone formation. Studies show that people with obesity and insulin resistance experience more kidney stone formation. Likewise, kidney and bladder stone formation is more common in bedridden patients than in normal people. Active lifestyle will increase fluid excretion as well as weight control.

Kidney stone treatment is personalized

Despite all the precautions taken, kidney stones may occur. Treatment varies according to the location, size and type of the stone. It is not correct to talk about a single standard in the treatment of kidney stones. Reducing salt and increasing water consumption, active life and diet, which are applied to prevent the formation of kidney stones, are the first steps of treatment.

• Drug treatment in kidney stones: Drug therapy can be used to remove stones that have entered the urinary tract from the body. The drug to be used can facilitate the removal of the kidney stone by relaxing the muscles here. Depending on the area and size of the stone, it can be successful by dropping the stones without the need for a different intervention with the help of abundant water consumption and drugs. Drugs used in some types of kidney stones such as uric acid or cystine acid stones can prevent the formation of stones and also help the formed stone to dissolve.
• Kidney stone treatment by interventional methods: Interventional methods can be applied according to the region and size of the kidney stone. In the method performed using thin tools that can be curled through the urinary canal, the stone can be removed as a whole. Stones too large to be removed in their entire form are broken using a holmium laser. Breaking the kidney stone with Holmium laser is the ideal treatment method for stones 2 cm in size. The most important advantage of the intra-kidney laser stone crushing process performed under general anesthesia is that it is performed without any surgical incision.
• Kidney stone treatment with sound waves: Kidney stones can be broken without any interventional treatment with sound waves. However, this is only less than 1 cm and can be applied to stones inside the kidney.
• Kidney stone treatment with Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy (PNL) surgery: Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy, which is a closed method, is used in the treatment of kidney stones larger than 2 cm. The stone is broken by laser by entering into the kidney through the skin with the help of a thin tube.
• Kidney stone treatment with open surgeries: It is rarely applied. It can be applied in cases where very large kidney stones or kidney anatomy is abnormal.