Kidney Stones Health Article

Alternative treatment

Alternative treatments for kidney stones include the use of herbal medicine, homeopathy, acupuncture, acupressure, hypnosis, or guided imagery to relieve pain. Starfruit (Averrhoa carambola) is recommended to increase the amount of urine a patient passes and to relieve pain. Dietary changes can be made to reduce the risk of future stone formation and to facilitate the resorption of existing stones. Supplementation with magnesium, a smooth muscle relaxant, can help reduce pain and facilitate stone passing. Homeopathy and herbal medicine, both western and Chinese, recommend a number of remedies that may help prevent kidney stones.

Prognosis

A patient's prognosis depends on the underlying disorder causing the development of kidney stones. In most cases, patients with uncomplicated calcium stones will recover very well. About 60% of these patients, however, will have other kidney stones. Struvite stones are particularly dangerous because they may grow extremely large, filling the tubes within the kidney. These are called staghorn stones and will not pass out in the urine. They will require surgical removal. Uric acid stones may also become staghorn stones.

Prevention

Prevention of kidney stones depends on the type of stone and the presence of an underlying disease. In almost all cases, increasing fluid intake so that a person consistently drinks several quarts of water a day is an important preventative measure. Patients with calcium stones may benefit from taking a medication called a diuretic, which has the effect of decreasing the amount of calcium passed in the urine. Eating less meat, fish, and chicken may be helpful for patients with calcium oxalate stones. Other items in the diet that may encourage calcium oxalate stone formation include beer, black pepper, berries, broccoli, chocolate, spinach, and tea. Uric acid stones may require treatment with a medication called allopurinol. Struvite stones will require removal and the patient should receive an antibiotic. When a disease is identified as the cause of stone formation, treatment specific to that disease may lessen the likelihood of repeated stones.

BOOKS

Asplin, John R., et al. "Nephrolithiasis." In Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, ed. Anthony S. Fauci, et al. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1997.

Fishman, Mark C., et al. Medicine. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Co., 1996.