Health and Lifestyle
Treatment and Prevention of Kidney Stones
The first step in any method of treatment for kidney stones is to drink lots and lots of water. Most doctors recommend as much as 2 or 3 quarts per day. This will help to flush the stones out. Drinking a lot of water will also help prevent the stones from coming back.
The key word in the last paragraph was WATER. It won’t help much if you drink a lot of coffee, tea or alcoholic beverages. Those types of drinks actually dry out the kidneys even more. You should also avoid excessive amounts of soft drinks. If the kidney stones don’t pass after drinking lots of water or the x-rays show that the kidney stone is blocking the kidneys, then the doctor will move to the next step of treatment. There are 3 main methods of treatment for Kidney Stones:
Extracorporeal Shockwave Lithotripsy (ESWL) – This is the most frequently used option. Shock waves are used to break up the kidney stones to make them easier to pass. The most common way to use ESWL is to be partially submerged in a tub of water while the shock waves are used. You will be partially sedated as the shock waves are mildly painful.
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