Also known as urinary track calculi, these are hard deposits of salts that collect in the kidney ducts or pass into the ureter, the tube leading down in to the bladder. Stones that remain in the kidney may give mild pain in the back above the waist on one side. Stones that become stuck in the ureter produce excruciating and unmistakable pains that cause you to double up and render you helpless. Mild cases of this condition can be helped by the recommendation of the below, though it is advisable to consult a health professional.

Treatment

Dietary

• Drink at least 3 litres of water daily.

• Reduce the intake of animal protein; increase the of vegetables and wholegrain cereals.

• Kidney stones are generally an accumulation of excess deposits of calcium phosphate or calcium oxalate. To prevent stones occurring, reduce the intake of calcium-rich foods (milk, cheese, butter, and other dairy products); reduce the intake of oxalate-rich foods (chocolate, celery, grapes, green peppers, beans, parsley, spinach, strawberries, blueberries, beetroot, tea).

• Increase the intake of vitamin A, essential to health of the lining of the urinary system. Vitamin A- rich foods are: liver, kidney, egg yolk, fortified margarine, cod liver oil, dark green, yellow and orange vegetables (broccoli, carrots, sweet potatoes).

• Daily supplements of vitamin B6 (10mg a day) and magnesium (not magnesium carbonate) (300mg a day ) has been shown to prevent recurrence of kidney stones.

• Use 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil daily in cooking or salad dressings.

• Increase the intake of magnesium rich foods (nuts, cooked dried beans and peas, wholegrain breads and cereals, soya beans, dark green leafy vegetables, milk and seafood).

• Herbal

• Some herbal remedies are thought to help ease stones out of the system. Herbalist David Hoffman recommends a combination of stone root, parsely piert, gravel root, and pellitory-of-the-wall. Put a teaspoon of each herb in to a cup of water, simmer for 15 minutes and drink 3 times daily.

• Decoction of stone root alone is also affective. Put 3 teaspoon of the dried root in a cup of water and simmer for 15 minutes and drink 3 times daily.

• Aloe vera juice helps reduce the size of stones.

Exercise

• Physical activity helps move calcium to the bones that need it. Inactivity tends to keep it in the kidney where it forms stones. Regular walking, swimming, running or cycling will prevent kidney stones.

Orthodox

• Although small gravely stones may pass through the system on their, larger stones in the ureter or bladder is generally broken up using shock wave treatment or a telescopic tube (ultrasonic lithotripsy)