Kidney Stones: Symptoms And Natural Remedies

Kidney Stones may be formed anywhere in the kidneys, ureters, bladder, or urethra, or they may travel from one place to another throughout the urinary tract.

Symptoms And Signs of Kidney Stones

The rapid onset, or even sudden onset, of severe sharp pain in the flank may be the first sign. Associated with this can be nausea, vomiting, blood in the urine, paleness and sweating. The pain is often of an exquisite nature, and those who have had both say that kidney pain is worse than the pain of heart attacks. Pain and blood in the urine are signs of kidney stones. There are other things that make red urine such as beets. If you notice what appears to be a reddish tint to your urine, first recall what deep red things you may have eaten over the past few meals. If you don't recall eating anything deep red then make an appointment to see your doctor.

The pain of a kidney stone is due to either stretching the ureter or the kidney pelvis by backed up urine during blockage by the stone, or by actual movement of the stone down the ureter.

Prevention of Kidney Stones

As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Following are some simple steps you can take to miss an expensive and painful appointment with a kidney stone. Some people are known to be stone formers, constantly passing small, sand-like stones. These people should find a laboratory that will give them an analysis of their stones. They should then pay attention to foods having high analyses of that particular substance of which their stones are made, such as phosphates, oxalates, calcium, etc. Once this discovery has been made, it remains only to avoid those foods, thereby hopefully avoiding the formation of a larger stone.

There are various lifestyle factors known to increase a risk of certain types of stones.

LIFESTYLE                               STONE TYPE      PREVENTIVE

High protein diet                       Uric acid               Low protein diet

Milk drinking                             Calcium                 Avoid dairy milk(may use soy, rice,nut milks)

Refined carbohydrates            Calcium                Complex carbohydrates

Animal products                       Oxalate                  Vegan diet

Alcohol                                       various                  Use no beverage alcoholic

Vitamins A &C supplements  Calcium                  Beware of fortified foods and pills

Worcestershire sauce             Various                  No sauce of this nature

Sedentary lifestyle                   Calcium                 Get up and get out

Dietary Factors Causing Kidney Stones

With the advances in medical technology you would think that kidney stones would be on their way off the most dreaded list of afflictions in America, but that is not the case. The fact of the matter is, stones are on the rise. After World War II dietary fats and oils, animal protein, and milk products greatly increased, and by 1970 kidney stone formation was about three times higher than it had been prior to 1940.

It has been suggested that milk, animal protein, foods high in oxalates, high sodium, and a high sugar diet increase the likelihood of stone formation. Does that menu sound a lot like the typical American diet? It has also been suggested that fiber, magnesium, and potassium reduce the risk. A high potassium diet, as in fruits and vegetables, decreases urinary calcium excretion and tends to be high in alkali, thus increasing urinary citrate. This combination has been found to reduce stone formation by 51 percent. Foods that are high in oxalate have been suggested to increase stone formation.

Rich sources of oxalates, which comprise the commonest type of kidney stones (70 percent), include chocolate, black tea, beets, figs, ground pepper, peanuts, oysters, parsley, rhubarb, spinach, and poppy seeds. Avoid dairy products, red meat, excessive salt intake, and whole sesame seeds. Always drink at least ten eight-ounce glasses of water per day if you have a high risk of kidney stones.

For individuals who have a genetic or a dietary problem with the use of refined carbohydrates, eating foods high in oxalates will increase their risk significantly for getting kidney stones.

The refined carbohydrates which increase stone formation include items such as sugar, white rice, and white flour products. Three heaping tablespoonfuls of unprocessed wheat, or rice bran, on the other hand, were found to reduce the risk of formation of renal calculi by half. A high fiber diet using grain brans and reducing the calcium intake, will go a long way in preventing kidney stones. Protein should also be low as it encourages excretion of excess calcium in the urine. Animal products include meat, fish, chicken, cheese, milk, and eggs. The consumption of animal protein in a population, to a large degree, determines the risk of kidney stones in that population group. Since animal products are also high in fats, it may be in part due to the reduction in fats that vegetarians have fewer stones than non-vegetarians. It is certain that a low fat diet will help prevent the formation of kidney stones.

A high intake of salt increases calcium loss through the kidneys, which may be converted from the urine into kidney stones. Salt is high in almost all refined food products and canned goods.

Another study found that kidney stones are caused, at least in part, by not getting enough exercise, and by drinking coffee, tea, colas, chocolate, or alcoholic drinks, and by failing to drink sufficient water during periods of hot weather to compensate for fluid loss. During dehydration there is a concentration of waste products, which encourages such minerals as calcium and oxalate to form crystals; then kidney stones can develop, one crystal at a time.

Chocolate is rich in sucrose (table sugar), fat, and oxalate. This combination greatly increases one's likelihood of getting kidney stones. The urine after a single chocolate bar contains high levels of both calcium and oxalates. Sugar increases excretion of calcium in the urine

The risk of forming kidney stones can be greatly reduced by cutting out soft drinks. The phosphoric acid in the drinks is sufficient to put a person at greater risk of forming stones. As phosphorous levels rise in the blood, calcium levels fall, meaning the kidneys are processing large amounts of stone-forming calcium. And once phosphorous levels themselves drop, the blood is replenished with calcium taken from the bones, thus causing osteoporosis.

Men prone to developing kidney stones may help to prevent them by drinking orange juice, or eating ample quantities of oranges. About one pint per day is as effective as standard drugs for keeping kidney stones from forming. Citrate in the juice inhibits calcification of the stones.

Eating oranges, lemons, limes, and grapefruit with meals seems to prevent kidney stones, as certain people prone to stones have low levels of citrate in their urine. Men are three times more likely than women to get stones, and ages 40 to 65 are the most favored ages. Citrus fruits, although they are acid in the stomach, leave an alkaline residue in the urine. Acid urine tends to precipitate uric acid stones.

Celery in the diet keeps stones from forming. Three stalks of celery pureed and taken daily should be adequate. A cucumber every day is also helpful in prevention.

The vegan vegetarian diet is the most favorable, with no between meals eating, no soft drinks, no fruit juices in greater quantities than four to five ounces at a meal and a diet low in free fats. We suggest generous quantities of pumpkin seeds in the diet as they have been found to inhibit crystal formation in the urine. Evidence has accumulated that a vegetarian diet with its type of protein is handled more efficiently by the kidneys than animal protein. Soybeans have a protein which is quite favorable for the prevention of kidney stones.

Other Factors Causing Kidney Stones

Because people lose fluid through sweating in hot weather, kidney stones are more common during summer. In winter, sitting in hot tubs or saunas causes excessive sweating. A long car ride or plane trip with inadequate water and the use of soft drinks (which can have an overall dehydrating effect) can start stone development or urinary tract infections. The overuse of magnesium-containing laxatives and antacids cause a similar problem.

Physical inactivity can lead to stone formation. Lying down, or even sitting down, alters calcium metabolism, and encourages excretion of calcium by the urine. Patients who remain constantly in bed are far more likely to form stones.

The use of aspirin and other painkillers has been shown to increase the risk of renal stones. Most drugs are potentially injurious to the kidneys, not to mention the liver which has the dangerous task of trying to detoxify these drugs.

Lithium can effectively dissolve uric acid stones; even though the lithium is used in very small doses, such as can be absorbed from mineral-rich water.

Magnesium is effective in preventing calcium oxalate kidney stones, especially effective when taken with meals rather on an empty stomach.

Stresses in the life can increase the risk of developing kidney stones.

Other causes of kidney stones include tumor of the parathyroid glands, too much vitamin-D, gout, and leukemia.

Stone formation is known to be associated with certain lifestyle factors, age, and heredity.

As a person gets older the probability of kidney stones gets greater. The risk of stone formation goes up from taking apple juice, or grapefruit juice between meals by 35 and 37 percent respectively. Take juices with meals.

Male marathon runners have a higher incidence of kidney stones than those who do not run marathons.

Antacids can increase one’s risk of getting kidney stones. Antacids are such drugs as Maalox, Tums, Mylanta, Di-Gel, Amphojel, etc.

SYMPTOMS

The early stage of kidney stone formation usually passes completely unnoticed. Once the stone starts to gain layers and attention, it can be mistaken for “something I ate,” “just a cramp,” a muscle spasm, or any of a host of other aches and pains of unknown origin. Discomfort usually begins on one side of the back and radiates to the abdomen or groin. Nausea and vomiting may occur and blood may appear in the urine. It is at this stage that the sufferer begins to realize that it is finally “happening to me.” Usually an x-ray or ultrasound is all that is needed to confirm the diagnosis.

Treatment For Kidney Stones.

With the onset of symptoms, the use of one glassful of water every ten minutes for an hour will often be curative. This water may be made into tea if one has on hand buchu tea, corn silk tea, burdock tea, dandelion, cleavers, or watermelon seed. A teaspoon per cup of boiling water is the recipe for the first five teas, but the last one is one tablespoon of ground watermelon seed stirred into a cup of boiling water. Each of the teas should be allowed to sit for 20 minutes before straining and drinking.

Strain all the urine produced through a funnel lined by gauze so that the stone can be retrieved and analyzed by a laboratory if the crystal forming the stone is to be determined.

Maintain as much as possible a sitting or especially standing position, as lying down (and too much sitting) slows the production and drainage of urine.

Very large, very hot fomentations over the kidney area are needed and should be applied quickly, while the heat is still almost unbearable (Do not blister the skin.) Maintain the hot application, keeping it hot for 45 minutes or more with hot water bottles or heating pad. Keep the head cool by cold compresses. See section on kidney stone pack.

Many patients feel more comfortable in a hot bath. The bath should be maintained between 105° and 110°, trying to keep the mouth temperature no hotter than 102°. Keep the face cool with ice-cold compresses and a small electric fan aimed on the face. If the patient wants to remain in the bath for hours, keep the bath water at 100-102 degrees Fahrenheit.

One patient told us of having kidney colic and taking three tablespoons of lemon juice and two tablespoons of olive oil which caused the stone to pass into the bladder, and in four or five hours the stone had passed from the bladder. The lemon/oil treatment had been preceded by hot and cold baths, and drinking plenty of water.

One tablespoon of lemon juice daily helps to prevent or dissolve kidney stones. Lemons are rich in citrate, an acidic compound known to hamper the formation of calcium based kidney stones, the second most common type.

After two months of treatments with herbal remedies for a kidney stone, in one day give one gallon of water in the morning and the second gallon in the afternoon. Give a large dose of magnesium sulfate at around 2:00 in the afternoon, about a tablespoon of Epsom salts in water. Follow it by a second glass of water. The magnesium sulfate is for the purpose of relaxing and dilating the ureter so that it can more easily carry the stone.

For a kidney stone attack, into two quarts of water, measure two tablespoons of gravel root, two tablespoons of stone root, and three tablespoons of marshmallow root. Boil vigorously for 25 minutes; then set off the burner and add a handful of corn silk or burdock. Allow to set for 25 minutes. Strain and drink. If the patient is having an acute attack, the two quarts of tea should be drunk in about two hours for best results. For treatment of a stone lodged in the ureter and not giving much trouble, drink two quarts of this same tea a day until the stone passes.

For stones that are difficult to pass, prepare one glass of grapefruit juice with four tablespoons of apple cider vinegar. Take one glassful per day at the beginning of the meal for four days. This will usually soften the stone. Rinse the mouth after taking the vinegar to protect the teeth from softening. And please note that here we are suggesting vinegar as a therapeutic agent; it should not be used for food.

Types of Herbs For Treating Kidney Stones

There are three types of herbs, which should be used for kidney stones with kidney colic.

• Demulcent herbs. These sooth and comfort the patient with urinary tract pain: marshmallow root and parsley mot fall in this category. Twenty drops of kava kava tincture in a glass of water can be helpful for pain. Castor oil packs over the area of pain, with or without fomentations, can help with pain.
• Lithotriptic herbs. These soften and help dissolve stones, as well as smooth off rough edges. This would include stone root and gravel root.
• Obstruent herbs. These tend to clear the ureters of mucus, and to increase peristaltic activity. As mucus travels down the urinary tract it tends to carry stones with it. Increased peristaltic activity helps with the extrusion of the stone. Use lobelia tea for this purpose. Virgin olive oil is also obstruent. Take two tablespoonfuls every night at bedtime just before lying down.

A good stone tea is one part stone root, one part marshmallow root, one part parsley root, one part gravel root, one-quarter part lobelia, one-quarter part ginger root. Of this mixture take two ounces and simmer for 20 minutes in one quart of distilled water. Take one cup four times a day. Lobelia may make the heart beat stronger and faster. This tea causes the ureter to contract. It encourages mucus formation by mucus membranes of the urinary tract.

A special routine with the tea is as follows: At the same time the tea is being taken, the person should fast except for taking orange juice for three to four days. At the end of the fast, four ounces of lemon juice and four ounces of olive oil are taken first thing in the morning. As bowel action increases in the intestinal tract, it reflexively increases action in the ureters, as well as the gall bladder. This action encourages the passing of a stone

The following list of herbs used for kidney stone treatment comes from:

Medicines from the Earth: Protocols for Botanical Healing

Official Proceedings, June 1-3,1996, Blue Ridge Assembly, Black Mountain, NC.

David Hoffman Herbal Therapies for Kidney Stones and Bladder Infections, page 81.

There are a number of plants that have traditionally been used in Europe for kidney stones for hundreds of years. Examples are:

Hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens)

Parsley (Aphanes spp.)

Pellitory of the Wall (Parietaria oficinalis)

Couch Grass (Agropyron repens)

Nettles (Urtica dioica)

To these can be added the following North American plants:

Gravel Root (Eupatorium purpureum)

Corn Silk (Zea mays)

Golden Rod (Solidago virgaurea)

One possible prescription:

Agropyron repens

Eupatorium purpureum

Zea mays

Dioscorea villosa

Viburnum prunifolium

Equal parts of tincture to five milliliters taken three times a day.

One cup of an infusion of Urtica dioica to be drunk three times a day

This combination supplies the following actions: diuretic (Collinsonia canadensis, Eupatorium purpureum, Zea mays), demulcent (Zea mays); anti-lithic (Collinsonia canadensis, Eupatorium purpureum); antispasmodic (Dioscorea villosa, Viburnum prunifolium, Zea mays).

Case Histories of Kidney Stone patients Treated Naturally

A close relative of the authors had a kidney stone so large that the urologist said it could not pass. When first observed by x-ray, it was close to the kidney. The urologist said it would gradually pass along the ureter until it got down to the small part of the ureter just at the brim of the pelvis. He was correct. The stone lodged right there for ten months and did not move. Several painful attacks let the man know the stone was still there. Sitting in a bathtub of hot water for 20 to 30 minutes would give relief enough to allow him to sleep. Sometimes he slept in the bathtub since it was the only place he could get easy enough to rest.

He occasionally had serious attacks of kidney colic during which he paced the floor, sat in hot water for hours, and eventually would drift off into a short sleep, only to awaken with the same intolerable pain. It had been perhaps five months since he had had one of those severe attacks, indicating that he was constantly getting urine past the place where the stone had lodged near the bladder.

The cost of standard treatment began at $8,000.00 and went upward to $21,000.00 or more, depending on how much treatment was necessary before the stone could be broken up into small enough portions to pass. After earnest prayer, the following routine was decided upon:

For fluids he had from one-half to one and one-half gallons of pure water daily. He also took copious amounts of herbs - cramp bark (urinary antispasmodic), mistletoe (diuretic and antispasmodic), black haw (antispasmodic), fringe tree (antispasmodic), burdock (powerful herbal diuretic), dandelion leaf (the most powerful herbal diuretic), cold pressed castor oil (a peristalsis stimulator) for the ureter, and a liniment made of DMSO, comfrey, and white willow bark, rubbed on the skin over the location of the stone and up and down the entire ureter. For three months he took Cystone from the Metagenics Company.

He employed other measures also. He jumped on a trampoline and off steps in an attempt to jar the stone loose He used a powerful hand held electrical vibrator over the lower back and abdominal area in an attempt to shake it loose. He even wore magnets at 3600 gauss taped over the location of the stone for four months hoping they would reduce the size of the stone or relax the ureter enough to allow the stone to tumble on through.

At one point an attempt was made to induce the stone to pass by giving two liters of fluid IV’s within two hours with as much herb tea as he could drink by mouth, nearly a gallon in two hours. He took a tablespoon of Epsom salts at the beginning. Herbal DMSO liniment was rubbed over the kidney and ureter area every 30 minutes. This routine was ineffectual in moving the stone.

The condition was treated for eleven months. For ten months it had not moved from the position at the brim of the pelvis. The urologist continued to tell him it would never pass, that it was too large and too angular, being one centimeter in its greatest diameter. On New Year’s Day the man assumed an upside down position with his feet almost straight up for a few seconds. Within five minutes he felt a strange feeling in his flank and lower pelvic region, and upon passing urine, passed the kidney stone with a clink against the ceramic stool. He quickly retrieved it as a trophy.

You can imagine the rejoicing his family has had and the seasons of praise and thanksgiving to the Lord for His goodness in hearing our prayers that he would pass the stone. Our Father is a merciful God and hears the prayers of His penitent children!

The stone was 11 millimeters in its greatest diameter. It was taken to the urologist (a friend of the family) and they told him of the blessing of the Lord in answered prayer. He is a Christian man, and I believe he recognized this as divine intervention.