Prevention Tips For Kidney Pain
Kidney pain is commonly caused by urinary tract infections, kidney stones, and direct trauma, so kidney pain prevention entails preventing these causes. Heres what you can do to reduce your risk of developing kidney pain:
- Stay hydrated and drink plenty of water to promote urination and expel bacteria.
- Dont hold in your urine.
- After a bowel movement, wipe front to back in order to discourage bacterial movement from the rectum into the urethra.
- Take showers as opposed to baths.
- Gently wash skin around the vagina and anus do not use harsh soap or scrub vigorously.
- Empty your bladder as soon as possible after intercourse.
- Avoid the use of scented deodorants and scented feminine hygiene products near the genitals.
- Eat a low-oxalate diet.
Mohan Garikiparithi got his degree in medicine from Osmania University . He practiced clinical medicine for over a decade before he shifted his focus to the field of health communications. During his active practice he served as the head of the Dept. of Microbiology in a diagnostic centre in India. On a three-year communications program in Germany, Mohan developed a keen interest in German Medicine , and other alternative systems of medicine. He now advocates treating different medical conditions without the use of traditional drugs. An ardent squash player, Mohan believes in the importance of fitness and wellness.
How Else Can I Prevent Uric Acid Stones
You can take other steps to prevent uric acid stones:
- Drink at least 12 cups of fluids every day, preferably water.
- Maintain a healthy weight.
- Follow the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension diet, which can reduce both high blood pressure and the risk of kidney stones.
- Take any medications your provider prescribed to prevent uric acid stones from forming.
Reduce Intake Of Salt
Salt is rich in sodium, and high sodium levels cause calcium buildup in the urine. Increased sodium levels cause a proportionate increase in the calcium levels the calcium and the oxalates in the body get deposited to form stones. When buying canned food, check the label for the amount of sodium.
Avoid excess intake of salt in your food. The foods that are rich in salt are French Fries, canned soups, packaged meats, etc. Processed food also contains phosphorus, another ingredient that can cause kidney stones.
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Diet And Calcium Stones
Follow these guidelines if you have calcium kidney stones:
- Drink plenty of fluids, particularly water.
- Eat less salt. Chinese and Mexican food, tomato juice, regular canned foods, and processed foods are often high in salt. Look for low-salt or unsalted products.
- Have only 2 or 3 servings a day of foods with a lot of calcium, such as milk, cheese, yogurt, oysters, and tofu.
- Eat lemons or oranges, or drink fresh lemonade. Citrate in these foods prevents stones from forming.
- Limit how much protein you eat. Choose lean meats.
- Eat a low-fat diet.
Do not take extra calcium or vitamin D, unless the provider who is treating your kidney stones recommends it.
- Watch out for antacids that contain extra calcium. Ask your provider which antacids are safe for you to take.
- Your body still needs the normal amount of calcium you get from your daily diet. Limiting calcium may actually increase the chance that stones will form.
Ask your provider before taking vitamin C or fish oil. They may be harmful to you.
If your provider says you have calcium oxalate stones, you may also need to limit foods that are high in oxalate. These foods include:
- Fruits: rhubarb, currants, canned fruit salad, strawberries, and Concord grapes
- Vegetables: beets, leeks, summer squash, sweet potatoes, spinach, and tomato soup
- Drinks: tea and instant coffee
- Other foods: grits, tofu, nuts, and chocolate
Can Medication Treat Uric Acid Stones
Your provider may prescribe medications to:
- Reduce uric acid levels in your blood and urine.
- Keep your urine alkaline .
- Dissolve the uric acid stones.
Alpha blockers are a type of medication that may help stones in the ureter pass faster. Your provider will talk to you about this option if its right for you.
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Watch Your Alcohol Intake
Alcohol harms your kidneys in several ways, explains Maruschak. Its a waste product that your kidneys have to filter out of your blood and it makes your kidneys less efficient. Its dehydrating, which can affect the kidneys ability to regulate your bodys water levels. It can affect your liver function, which in turn can impact blood flow to the kidneys and lead to CKD over time. And a high alcohol intake has been liked to an increased risk of high blood pressure, which can lead to kidney disease.
Maruschak says both men and women should drink no more than one alcoholic beverage per day. Thats 12 ounces of regular beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Its always best to speak with your physician about your alcohol intake, as some people should not be consuming any alcohol at all, she says.
How Are Uric Acid Stones Diagnosed
Your healthcare provider will ask you about your medical history and do a physical exam. Then your provider will do other diagnostic procedures, including:
- Blood tests: A blood test can detect too much uric acid or calcium in your blood. These tests can also suggest or rule out other conditions that may be causing your symptoms.
- Urine test: Your provider may ask you to do a 24-hour urine test. You collect your urine over 24 hours so your provider can test it for calcium and uric acid.
- Imaging: You may need a CT scan or ultrasound to find uric acid stones in your urinary tract. These imaging scans can help find even small stones. Usually, providers dont use abdominal X-rays because they may miss smaller stones.
- Stone analysis: You may need to urinate using a special strainer to catch any stones you pass. Your provider will send the stone to a laboratory for analysis to figure out what type of kidney stone it is. Analyzing the stone helps your provider determine the cause and how you can prevent it from happening again.
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Foods That Are Allowed To Prevent Kidney Stones
The allowed foods in the diet to prevent formation and eliminate kidney stones are mainly water-rich, which increase the amount of fluid and dilute the urine, preventing the formation of crystals and stones.
The individual who has a stone in the kidneys should drink 2 to 3 liters of fluid per day. A good option is to add natural fruit juices to the diet, include soups both at lunch and dinner and drink water, helping to increase urine production, thus avoiding stone formation and, if they already exist, facilitating the displacement of them through the urinary tract to be eliminated with urine.
Eating Diet And Nutrition
A healthy diet can help protect you from heart disease and kidney disease. Keep your heart and kidneys healthy by eating plenty of the following foods:
- fruits and vegetables
- unsaturated fats such as olive oil or corn oil
- low-sodium foods
People with advanced chronic kidney disease may need to adjust their diet to avoid high potassium. If you have advanced kidney disease, you may need to limit foods such as bananas, oranges, potatoes, and tomatoes and eat apples, berries, grapes, and peaches instead. Check with your provider to find out if you should cut back on your potassium. Do not alter your diet without checking because you might eat less of these healthy fruits and vegetables unnecessarily.
More information is provided in the NIDDK health topic, Potassium: Tips for People with Chronic Kidney Disease.
You need protein. However, protein breaks down into wastes that your kidneys need to remove. Most people eat more protein than they need. Large amounts of protein make your kidneys work harder. High-quality proteins such as meat, fish, and eggs make fewer wastes than other sources of protein. Beans, whole grains, soy products, nuts and nut butters, and dairy products can also be good sources of protein.
More information is provided in the NIDDK health topic, Protein: Tips for People with Chronic Kidney Disease.
More information is provided in the NIDDK health topic, Phosphorous: Tips for People with Chronic Kidney Disease.
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Eat These Foods That Can Cause Kidney Stones In Moderation
If you have urinary health issues, you want to do everything possible to keep them from recurring. Please consume these foods that can cause kidney stones in moderation or eliminate them from your diet see if your symptoms abate.
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How Can I Tell The Difference Between Back Pain And Kidney Pain
Since your kidneys are right by your back muscles, it can be hard to tell the difference between kidney pain and back pain. As both become severe, it is important to be able to tell the difference so you can see the right doctor. Here are some tips to help differentiate between the two:
- Lower back pain is fairly common, while kidney pain isnt.
- Lower back pain tends to stay around the back area, although it may go down the sciatic nerve and into your leg. Kidney pain can radiate to the side, groin and abdomen.
- Kidney pain is generally higher in the back, just below the rib cage.
- Kidney pain is a deeper type of pain and is harder to pinpoint the area.
- Kidney pain can be on one side only or both sides. Lower back pain tends to be in the middle, although it can radiate to the side.
- If you have kidney pain, you may also have signs of an infection . You may also have nausea and vomiting, have a fever, or feel dizzy. With back pain, you wouldnt have those symptoms. Instead, you may feel weakness in your lower body, be incontinent , or have difficulty controlling your bowels.
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Limit Saturated Fats And Avoid Trans Fat
Diets that are high in saturated and trans fats increase the risk of heart disease and whats bad for your heart is bad for your kidneys. Heart health and kidney health are interconnected, as the heart constantly pumps blood throughout the body and the kidneys continuously filter the blood in order to remove waste products and excess fluid from the body, Maruschak says.
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend limiting saturated fats to less than 10 percent of your total daily calories. Main sources include meats, full-fat dairy products, butter, lard, coconut oil, and palm oil, says Maruschak. And try to avoid trans fats, found in baked goods and fried foods. Instead, fill up on heart-healthy unsaturated fats, found in fatty fish, avocados, olives, walnuts, and many types of vegetable oils.
S For Preventing Kidney Stones
- By Daniel Pendick, Former Executive Editor, Harvard Men’s Health Watch
If youve ever had a kidney stone, you surely remember it. The pain can be unbearable, coming in waves until the tiny stone passes through your urinary plumbing and out of the body. For many, kidney stones arent a one-time thing: in about half of people who have had one, another appears within seven years without preventive measures.
Preventing kidney stones isnt complicated, but it does take some determination.
Kidney stones form when certain chemicals become concentrated enough in the urine to form crystals. The crystals grow into larger masses , which can make their way through the urinary tract. If the stone gets stuck somewhere and blocks the flow of urine, it causes pain.
Most stones occur when calcium combines with oxalate. Stones can also form from uric acid, which is a byproduct of protein metabolism.
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Pretzels Chips And Crackers
Ready-to-eat snack foods like pretzels, chips, and crackers tend to be lacking in nutrients and relatively high in salt.
Also, its easy to eat more than the recommended portion size of these foods, often leading to even greater salt intake than intended.
Whats more, if chips are made from potatoes, theyll contain a significant amount of potassium as well.
SUMMARY
Pretzels, chips, and crackers are easily consumed in large portions and tend to contain high amounts of salt. Additionally, chips made from potatoes provide a considerable amount of potassium.
What Foods Cause Kidney Stones
The diet for people with nephrolithiasis should be low in salt and protein, and with a high intake of fluids to avoid the formation of stones and help to eliminate them through the urine. To check if you are ingesting enough water, pay attention to the color of the urine, which should be clear, and without a strong odor.
There are several types of kidney stones that can have a different composition, for example, they can be of struvite or calcium oxalate, so the doctor usually performs a series of tests to identify what is the composition and depending on the result some foods to be avoided can vary. However, in general, most recommendations remain the same.
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Blockage Of Blood To The Kidney
A blockage of blood to the kidney is called a renal infarction or a renal vein thrombosis. This happens when the blood supply to and from the kidney is suddenly slowed or stopped. There are several causes, including a blood clot.
Blood flow blockages to the kidney typically happens on one side. Symptoms include:
- severe side or flank pain
- lower back pain or ache
- stomach tenderness
- blood in the urine
What Causes Kidney Stones
Painful, prevalent and persistent, kidney stones are hard mineral deposits that build up inside the kidneys and are expelled out of the body. This is a very common issue for many Americans, but why do you get kidney stones, and what can individuals do to prevent them? This guide to kidney stones and prevention can illuminate questions like How do kidney stones form? and Am I at risk for stones? If you think you are at high risk or may be experiencing some symptoms, connect with the Atlanta Kidney Stone Center to schedule a treatment.
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Can Kidney Pain Be A Sign Of Cancer
The early stages of kidney cancer do not cause pain. Pain only occurs when the tumor grows to the point that it puts pressure to nearby organs and tissue. The most common signs of kidney cancer include blood in the urine, pressure in your side or back, swollen ankles, high blood pressure, and unexplained weight loss, among others.
How Common Are Uric Acid Stones
Researchers estimate that one in 10 people in the United States will have a kidney stone at some point in their lives. Theyre more common in men than women. For men, the lifetime risk is about 19%. For women, its about 9%.
Most people dont get kidney stones before age 30. But many cases can happen earlier in life, even among children.
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How Do Uric Acid Stones Form
If you have high levels of uric acid, then crystals start to form. These uric acid crystals combine with other substances in your body and create a solid mass. The mass keeps growing. It may stay in the kidney or move down the urinary tract and settle in the ureter.
If the stones are very small, they may pass out of your body in your urine without too much pain. But if they dont pass, they cause urine to back up in the kidney, ureter, bladder or urethra. Thats when you get pain and other symptoms.
What Are The Tests For Kidney Disease
Tests for kidney disease include a blood test and a urine test. Both tests can be done in your doctors office or at a commercial facility.
- The blood test checks your GFR, which tells how well your kidneys are filtering. GFR stands for glomerular filtration rate.
- The urine test checks for albumin in your urine. Albumin is a protein that can pass into the urine when the kidneys are damaged.
If these tests show you have kidney disease, you may need to repeat these tests on a regular basis. More information is provided in the NIDDK health topic, Testing for Kidney Disease.
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Limit Shellfish And Meat
Research has found that a toxin called domoic acid in shellfish and some fish that eat algae can harm kidneys in mice. People are not mice. But, the really troubling finding was that very tiny levels of the toxin could harm kidneys. Shellfish also have high levels of purines, which can be a problem if you have gout. So, it may be wise to cut back on shellfish if you eat it a lot.
Watch Your Blood Pressure
Have your blood pressure checked regularly. High blood pressure has no symptoms, but it can increase your risk of kidney and heart problems.
You can get a simple, quick and painless blood pressure check free of charge at your GP surgery and many high street pharmacies.
If your blood pressure is higher than it should be, a GP can suggest lifestyle changes or, if necessary, prescribe medicine to reduce your blood pressure.
An ideal blood pressure is considered to be between 90/60mmHg and 120/80mmHg.
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