symptom of kidney stones :History of kidney stones

History of kidney stones — Patients who have had a kidney stone in the past have the highest risk of future stone formation. It has been estimated that for patients who have already had a stone, the likelihood of forming a second stone is about 15 percent at one year, 35 to 40 percent at 5 years, and 80 percent at 10 years.

Family history of stones — Persons with a positive family history of kidney stones are at increased risk for developing stones.

Dietary habits — Regular ingestion of certain liquids appears to affect a person's risk for stone formation. An increased risk of stones may be associated with the intake of tea in some individuals. On the other hand, drinking large amounts of water or other liquids, particularly citrus juices, has been linked to a reduced risk of stone formation.

Interestingly, higher levels of dietary calcium intake appear to protect against rather than cause stone formation in some patients. This finding is probably due to the combination of some of the extra dietary calcium with dietary oxalate, which prevents oxalate entry into the blood and subsequent excretion. Stone formation falls because the percentage fall in oxalate excretion exceeds the percentage rise in calcium excretion. These changes are reversed and stone formation may be enhanced with a low calcium diet. However, certain individuals who absorb excess calcium from their diet may experience additional stone problems with a high calcium intake. The best recommendation regarding dietary calcium is to avoid excessive intake of calcium, as well as low calcium diets.

Other medical conditions — Some medical conditions can increase an individual's risk for stone formation, including conditions that increase the absorption of oxalate from the gastrointestinal tract (like short bowel syndrome, chronic diarrhea, or previous bowel surgery), or conditions that increase the chance of urinary tract infection. Patients with hyperparathyroidism and sarcoidosis may have an increased risk for stone formation. The risk of kidney stones is also increased in patients with gout or with high concentrations of uric acid in their urine. Cystinuria (increased levels of cystine in the urine) is caused by an inherited condition and increases the risk of cystine stone formation.

by Glenn M Preminger, MD