Dissolve Kidney Stones

It Is Possible To Dissolve Kidney Stones Without Medication, But Larger Stones Require Medical Treatment.

While the experience might be painful, there are many methods to dissolve kidney stones that do not require invasive medical treatment. Depending on the size of the stone, your doctor will most likely send you home and advise you to follow a special diet that will dissolve kidney stones so that they can be passed. These usually involve drinking diluted lemon juice. Lemon juice is highly acidic, which breaks up the calcium-based kidney stones. There are also herbal teas and various over the counter medications that will help dissolve kidney stones. It is also necessary to drink plenty of water to keep the urinary system functioning, to keep kidney stones from getting larger, and to flush the pieces out of the body.

There are also more aggressive prescription medicines, such as alpha-blockers, that can be used if traditional remedies do not dissolve kidney stones. For kidney stones that are uric acid-based, cystine-based, or struvite-based, the medications may either dissolve kidney stones or prevent them from forming altogether. Its best to visit your doctor to determine what type of stone you have. Cystine and struvite stones may be symptoms of a more serious underlying medical condition. For stones that are too large to pass, a doctor can dissolve kidney stones through the use of shock wave therapy, an outpatient procedure called Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy (ESWL).

This process uses ultrasound to dissolve kidney stones into smaller pieces. While the procedure itself is painless, passing the pieces of the stone can be painful as they travel through the urinary tract. You will probably be prescribed a mild pain medication; however, many people pass the small pieces without any further discomfort. In very rare cases, or for kidney stones that are composed of cystine rather than calcium, surgery may be the only option. ESWL cannot dissolve kidney stones that are cystine-based.