It remains unproven whether kidney stones and alcohol are directly related. Alcohol is however a diuretic (meaning that it can cause dehydration). Many have therefore claimed an indirect direct link between kidney stones and alcohol does however exist.
The theory here is that freuqent or heavy drinkers are prone to dehydration because of the repeated cycle of consumption, hangover and lack of sleep which leads to stress, therefore increasing the chance of developing a kidney stone not from the alcohol, but from the dehydration.
The same is of course also true of other most other diuretics. The best way to prevent kidney stones caused by dehydration is of course, simply to drink lots of water (almost always good advice on its own), espcially if alcohol is consumed.
Nephrolithiasis is the medical term for the process of forming a kidney stone.
For more details, see our section about How Kidney Stones Form.
Medication for kidney stones comes in two forms – firstly pain relief, and secondly to treat the stone itself by helping to pass the stone through the system as quickly as possible, or to disintegrate them.
All of the pain experienced from kidney stones is when they are stuck and are causing a blockage of urine in the urinary tract.
While the blockage continues, the pain will remain. There are however a number of things that can be done to encourage the process to be quicker. Check out the Treatments section to find out how.
If suffering a kidney stone during pregnancy, you should bear in mind that you should consult your doctor to discuss the best course of action. Some of the rememdies, natural or pharmaceutical may not be appropriate in this case.
Some women who have kidney stones during pregnancy are unable to pass them until after the baby is born, increasing the importance of taking measures to prevent them.
Check out our Prevention section for handy tips for preventing kidney stones.
Kidney stones generally don’t take so long to pass on their own. Most are gone within a couple of weeks.
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The kidney stone symptoms women suffer are despite some sources saying otherwise, not really different to those felt by men. It is more often said however that just the perception is different. Why? Well that’s because when suffering kidney stone symptoms, women have something to compare with: childbirth (well – women with children that is).
It is said by women who have both had children and kidney stones that the pain is of a very similar scale, with no clear winner likely to emerge in a contest of ‘which one hurts more’. Most men are not able to compare (if you know differently do go ahead and leave a comment!).
Also interesting is that women are far less likely to develop kidney stones in the first place, although it’s not completely uncommon, and reported cases are on the increase. The main reason for this stems from the generalisation that women lead healthier lifestyles than men, not only dietary but also excerise regimes.
Research done with urinary tract scans shows that men are more likely to experience kidney stone symptoms, women passing the stone unnoticed without pain in very many cases. The reason for this is not known, although it’s possible that they are generally smaller.
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