Kidney Stones Prevention

Kidney Stones Prevention

The Northwoods Urology philosophy of being progressive, innovative, and compassionate means consistently striving for the best possible patient care in all aspects of your visit.

5% of the U.S. population will develop kidney stones during their lifetime. If you have or believe you might have a stone, we are pleased to be able to help with the best treatment and options in The Woodlands, Huntsville, Kingwood, and surrounding communities.

Today, however, I want to point out our patient education resources, which contains lots of useful links, information, and advice related to your health. Particularly, I will highlight our section on prevention of kidney stones… It is summer and the hot weather and dehydration can contribute to stone formation.

Because the risk of having a kidney stone is increased if you have previously had one, prevention is very important. Preventative strategies include dietary modification and some drugs, depending on the cause of your stone. These strategies specifically may include:

•Drinking plenty of fluids. Normally, you should drink at least 6 to 8 glasses of water a day, but in the special case of having a kidney stone, you should increase this to 2-3 liters a day!
•Reduce the protein, nitrogen and sodium in your diet
•Restrict oxalate-rich foods such as chocolate, nuts, soybeans, spinach and rhubarb
•Maintain adequate calcium intake
•Certain fruit juices such as orange, cranberry and blackcurrant juice may reduce the risk of specific stones (orange – calcium oxalate, cranberry – struvite, blackcurrant – uric acid)
•Avoid cola beverages
•Avoid large amounts of vitamin C
•Drugs such as thiazide diuretics, allopurinol, potassium and magnesium citrate, depending on the type of stone

Thanks for reading – stay healthy, be sure to call or see your provider if you have any concerns, and know that we appreciate you being part of the Northwoods family.