Having a kidney stone is among the most uncomfortable and painful conditions. However, it is not just a one-time painful episode, and can be a warning sign that something in the body is out of balance. Health experts say many people focus only on relieving the immediate pain, but the bigger concern is that kidney stones often return.
“While most people focus on just getting through the immediate pain, the real issue is that these stones often come back. The National Kidney Foundation says one in ten people will deal with a stone at some point, and without a plan to prevent the next one, there is a 50 per cent chance of facing another episode within just five years,” said Dr. Sanjay Garg, Consultant, Urology and Andrology, Manipal Hospital.
Understanding the causes of kidney stones, risk factors, and prevention strategies can help people avoid recurring attacks and protect long-term kidney health.
Kidney stones are hard, pebble-like deposits that form in the kidneys when minerals and salts in urine become highly concentrated and stick together. The most common type is calcium oxalate kidney stones, which typically occur when a person is dehydrated or consumes too much salt or oxalate-rich foods. A few other types of stones include:
According to Dr. Garg, you may get recurrent episodes of kidney stones if you are:
When you do not hydrate your urine enough, it becomes very thick and concentrated, so minerals easily stick together and form stones.
Eating too much salt, spinach, nuts, chocolate, red meat, or non-veg increases calcium and uric acid levels in urine, which helps stones form.
If you are overweight or obese, have diabetes, or pre-diabetes, it can change your body’s acid-base balance and raise stone-forming chemicals in urine, making stones more likely.
If a close family member has had kidney stones, or if you have thyroid, gout, kidney, or gut problems, the body may naturally make urine that forms stones more easily.
Too much vitamin D, calcium supplements taken carelessly, or some other medicines can raise calcium or acidity in urine and increase the chance of stones over time.
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