Kidney Stones: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment Guide

Medically reviewed by Dr. Baraa Alnahhal, MD · Last reviewed: September 2026

Source currency note: This guide is based on clinical reference material dated July 07, 2026. Always confirm current guidance with a healthcare provider.

TL;DR

A kidney stone is a hard object made of minerals and salts that forms inside the kidney when urine is too concentrated. Stones usually cause no symptoms until they move into a ureter, where they can trigger sudden, severe, wave-like pain in the side or back, plus vomiting, fever, or pink-to-brown urine. Most small stones pass on their own with water and pain medicine, sometimes helped by an alpha blocker. Large stones may require shock wave therapy (ESWL), a scope procedure, or surgery. Because stones often return, prevention — above all, drinking enough water every day — is a core part of treatment.

When to get urgent care: Seek a checkup right away if pain is so severe you cannot sit still or find a comfortable position, if pain comes with vomiting or with fever and chills, if there is blood in your urine, or if you have trouble passing urine.

Quick Answer

What is a kidney stone? A hard mass of minerals and salts that forms inside the kidney, often called renal calculi, nephrolithiasis, or urolithiasis.

What does the pain feel like? Sudden, sharp pain in the side and back below the ribs that comes in waves and may spread to the lower stomach or groin.

What causes stones? Urine that holds more crystal-forming substances (calcium oxalate, calcium phosphate, uric acid) than fluid can dilute — plus a lack of substances that stop crystals sticking together.

How are they treated? Small stones usually pass with water, pain relievers, and sometimes an alpha blocker; large stones may need ESWL, ureteroscopy, PCNL surgery, or parathyroid surgery.

How do I prevent another one? Drink enough water to pass about 2 quarts of urine a day, eat less sodium and animal protein, keep eating calcium-rich foods, and be careful with calcium supplements.

How is the stone type determined? By analyzing a passed stone caught through a strainer, blood tests, urine tests, and imaging — the type drives treatment and prevention.

Is it serious? Passing a stone can be very painful, but prompt treatment usually prevents lasting damage.

What Is a Kidney Stone?

A kidney stone is a hard object made of minerals and salts found in urine. These objects form inside the kidneys. You may hear healthcare professionals use the terms renal calculi, nephrolithiasis, or urolithiasis — all of which refer to the same condition.

Stones have many possible causes, including diet, extra body weight, certain health conditions, and some supplements and medicines. They can affect any part of the system that makes urine or removes it from the body, from the kidneys to the bladder.

The most common setting for stone formation is simple: urine with too little water in it. When urine is concentrated, minerals can form crystals, and those crystals can stick together.

How the urinary system works

Understanding where stones form helps explain why they hurt. The urinary system removes waste from the body through urine. It includes four parts:

Part	What It Does
Kidneys	Sit toward the back of the upper abdomen. They filter waste and fluid from the blood and make urine.
Ureters	Narrow tubes that carry urine from the kidneys to the bladder.
Bladder	Stores urine until it is time to urinate.
Urethra	A small tube through which urine leaves the body.

A stone that stays still in the kidney usually stays silent. Problems typically begin when the stone moves — either shifting around within the kidney or passing into one of the thin ureters that connect the kidney to the bladder.

If a stone gets stuck in a ureter, it can block the flow of urine. This may cause the kidney to swell and the ureter to spasm. That combination is what produces the intense pain people associate with kidney stones.

The good news: passing kidney stones can be quite painful, but prompt treatment usually helps prevent any lasting damage.

What Are the Symptoms of a Kidney Stone?

A kidney stone usually does not cause symptoms until it moves around within the kidney or passes into a ureter. Once it moves, symptoms can come on quickly and change as the stone travels through the urinary tract.

The main pain symptoms

The classic picture of a kidney stone episode involves several features occurring together:

Symptom	What It Looks Like
Severe side and back pain	Serious, sharp pain in the side and back, below the ribs.
Radiating pain	Pain that spreads to the lower stomach area and groin.
Waves of pain	Pain that comes in waves and varies in intensity.
Urinary pain	Pain or a burning feeling while urinating.

Other symptoms

Beyond pain, a kidney stone can also cause:

Symptom	Details
Blood in the urine	Urine that appears pink, red, or brown.
Cloudy or foul-smelling urine	A sign that urine is not normal.
Urinary urgency	A constant need to urinate, urinating more often than usual, or urinating in small amounts.
Nausea	Upset stomach and vomiting.
Infection signs	Fever and chills if an infection is present.

As the stone moves through the urinary tract, the pain may shift to a different part of the body or become more intense. This shifting quality is one reason kidney stone pain can be confusing to interpret at first.

When to See a Doctor

Make an appointment with your healthcare professional if you have any symptoms that worry you. Some situations call for care right away:

Seek Urgent Care If You Have	Why It Matters
Pain so severe you cannot sit still or find a comfortable position	Suggests a stone is blocking the urinary tract.
Pain along with upset stomach and vomiting	Common with stones; needs evaluation to confirm the cause.
Pain along with fever and chills	Can signal an infection, which raises the stakes.
Blood in your urine	A classic kidney stone sign that needs a proper diagnosis.
Trouble passing urine	May indicate a blockage that should not be ignored.

What Causes Kidney Stones?

Kidney stones often have no definite, single cause, and many factors may raise your risk. But the underlying mechanism is consistent.

Stones develop when the urine contains more crystal-forming substances than the fluid in the urine can dilute. These substances include calcium oxalate, calcium phosphate, and uric acid. At the same time, the urine may lack the substances that normally prevent crystals from sticking together. Together, these two conditions create an ideal setting for kidney stones to form.

The four types of kidney stones

Knowing the type of kidney stone you have helps your healthcare professional figure out its cause and the right treatment. That information also gives clues about how to prevent more stones.

Stone Type	How It Forms	Key Notes
Calcium stones	Most kidney stones are calcium stones, usually made of calcium oxalate — a compound formed from oxalate (made daily by the liver or absorbed from diet) and calcium.	High-oxalate foods include many fruits and vegetables, nuts, and chocolate. Dietary factors, high doses of vitamin D, intestinal bypass surgery, and many metabolic conditions can concentrate calcium or oxalate in urine.
Calcium phosphate stones	A second form of calcium stone.	More common in metabolic conditions such as renal tubular acidosis. May be linked with some migraine or seizure medicines such as topiramate (Topamax, Trokendi XR, others).
Uric acid stones	Form when the body cannot manage uric acid well.	Seen in people who lose too much fluid from ongoing diarrhea, those who have trouble absorbing nutrients, people who eat a high-protein diet or lots of organ meats or shellfish, and those with diabetes mellitus or metabolic syndrome. Some genetic factors also raise risk.
Struvite stones	Form in response to a urinary tract infection.	These stones can grow quickly and become quite large, sometimes with few symptoms or little warning.
Cystine stones	Form in people with cystinuria, a rare genetic condition that causes the kidneys to leak too much cystine, a protein building block.	Managed with diet, fluids, and specific medicines.

Practical tip: If you pass a stone, try to save it and bring it to your healthcare professional. A lab can check what type it is — and that single piece of information can reshape your treatment and prevention plan.

Risk factors

Seven major factors raise the risk of kidney stones:

Risk Factor	How It Works
Family or personal history	A family history of stones raises your risk. If you have already had one or more stones, you are at higher risk of getting another.
Dehydration	Not drinking enough water each day raises stone risk. People in warm, dry climates and those who sweat a lot face higher risk.
Some diets	Diets high in oxalate, protein, sodium, and sugar raise risk for some stone types. A high-sodium diet is especially harmful: too much sodium raises the amount of calcium the kidneys must filter, greatly raising stone risk.
Obesity	Having too much body fat has been linked with a higher risk of kidney stones.
Digestive diseases and surgery	Gastric bypass surgery, inflammatory bowel disease, or ongoing diarrhea change how the body absorbs calcium and water, increasing stone-forming substances in the urine.
Other health conditions	Renal tubular acidosis, cystinuria, hyperparathyroidism, and repeated urinary tract infections raise risk. The rare genetic condition primary hyperoxaluria raises the risk of calcium oxalate stones.
Some supplements and medicines	Vitamin C, dietary supplements, overuse of laxatives, calcium-based antacids, and some medicines for migraines or depression can raise risk.

How Are Kidney Stones Diagnosed?

Diagnosis involves the steps your healthcare professional takes to confirm kidney stones and find their cause and chemical makeup. It starts with a physical exam, then typically involves several tests:

Test	What It Shows
Blood tests	May reveal too much calcium or uric acid in your blood. Results help track kidney health and may lead to checking for other health conditions.
Urine testing	A 24-hour urine collection may show that your body releases too many stone-forming minerals or too few stone-preventing substances. Following collection instructions closely is key to adjusting your prevention plan.
Imaging	CT scans can show stones in the urinary tract. An advanced high-speed or dual-energy CT may find tiny uric acid stones. Ultrasound is another option. Simple abdominal X-rays are used less often because they can miss small stones.
Analysis of passed stones	You may urinate through a strainer to catch passed stones. A lab then checks the chemical makeup, which guides both the cause-finding and the prevention plan.
Genetic testing	Some rare inherited conditions raise stone risk — cystinuria raises the risk of cystine stones, and primary hyperoxaluria raises the risk of calcium oxalate stones. Genetic testing can confirm these.

How Are Kidney Stones Treated?

Treatment for kidney stones varies. It depends on the type of stone and the cause — and especially on size.

Small stones with few symptoms

Most small kidney stones do not require invasive treatment such as surgery. Three measures are usually enough:

Measure	What You Do
Drinking water	Drink as much as 2 to 3 quarts (1.9 to 2.8 liters) a day. This keeps your urine dilute and may prevent stones from forming. Aim mainly for water, and enough to produce clear or nearly clear urine — unless your healthcare professional tells you otherwise.
Pain relievers	Passing a small stone can cause mild to serious discomfort. For mild pain, your healthcare professional may recommend ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) or naproxen sodium (Aleve). Serious pain may need emergency room treatment.
Alpha blockers	A medicine that relaxes the muscles in your ureter, helping you pass the kidney stone more quickly and with less pain. Examples include tamsulosin (Flomax) and the combination dutasteride-tamsulosin (Jalyn).

Large stones and stones that cause symptoms

Stones that are too large to pass on their own — or stones that cause bleeding, kidney damage, or ongoing urinary tract infections — may need more-extensive treatment:

Treatment	How It Works	What to Expect
Shock wave therapy (ESWL)	Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy uses sound waves to create strong vibrations that break stones into tiny pieces, which pass in the urine. Used depending on stone size and location.	Lasts about 45 to 60 minutes. Pain-relieving or relaxing medicines may be given. Can cause blood in the urine, bruising on the back or stomach, bleeding around the kidney and nearby organs, and discomfort as fragments pass.
Percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL)	Surgery that removes a very large kidney stone using small telescopes and tools inserted through a small cut in the back or side.	Done under general anesthesia, which prevents pain and puts you in a sleep-like state. You will likely recover in the hospital for 1 to 3 days. Often recommended if ESWL does not help enough.
Ureteroscopy	A thin lighted tube called a ureteroscope, equipped with a camera, is placed through the urethra and bladder to the ureter to reach a smaller stone in the ureter or kidney.	Special tools snare the stone or break it into pieces that will pass in the urine. The surgeon may place a small tube called a stent in the ureter to relieve swelling and support healing. General or local anesthesia may be used.
Parathyroid gland surgery	Some calcium phosphate stones are caused by overactive parathyroid glands — four tiny glands behind the thyroid that make parathyroid hormone, which controls calcium and phosphorus levels. When they make too much (hyperparathyroidism), calcium levels can rise and stones may form.	Overactivity sometimes happens when a small non-cancerous tumor forms in one parathyroid gland. Removing the tumor stops stones from forming. Alternatively, the underlying condition may be treated.

Researchers continue to study new treatments, interventions, and tests to prevent, detect, treat, and manage kidney stones, so it is reasonable to ask your healthcare professional whether a clinical trial is appropriate for you.

Prevention: How Do You Stop Kidney Stones From Coming Back?

If you have had more than one kidney stone, your healthcare professional can show you ways to prevent more. Prevention typically involves a mix of lifestyle changes and medicines — tailored to the type of stone you form.

Lifestyle changes

Change	Why It Helps
Drink water throughout the day	The most important lifestyle change you can make. If you have had stones before, you may be told to drink enough to pass about 2.1 quarts (2 liters) of urine a day or more — sometimes with urine output measured to confirm. In hot, dry climates or with frequent exercise, you may need even more. Light, clear urine is a good sign you are drinking enough.
Eat fewer oxalate-rich foods	If you form calcium oxalate stones, limiting high-oxalate foods may help: rhubarb, beets, okra, spinach, Swiss chard, sweet potatoes, nuts, tea, chocolate, black pepper, sesame or tahini products, and soy products. A dietitian with kidney stone expertise is usually helpful here.
Choose a diet low in sodium and animal protein	Lower your sodium. Choose protein sources that are not meat or fish, such as legumes. Consider a salt substitute for flavor.
Keep eating calcium-rich foods; be careful with calcium supplements	Calcium in food does not affect your stone risk — keep eating calcium-rich foods unless told otherwise. Calcium supplements have been linked with higher stone risk; taking them with meals may lower the risk. Notably, diets low in calcium can make stones more likely in some people.

Ask your healthcare professional to refer you to a dietitian, who can help you build an eating plan that lowers your risk of kidney stones.

Prevention medicines

Medicines can control the amount of minerals and salts in the urine and may help people who form certain kinds of stones. The prescribed medicine depends on your stone type:

Stone Type	Preventive Medicine
Calcium stones	A thiazide diuretic, or a phosphate-containing agent, may be prescribed to help prevent stones from forming.
Uric acid stones	Allopurinol (Zyloprim, Aloprim, others) lowers uric acid levels in blood and urine. Potassium citrate may also be prescribed. Sometimes these medicines may dissolve existing uric acid stones.
Struvite stones	The goal is keeping urine free of the bacteria that cause infection — for instance, by urinating more often and drinking fluids to keep urine flow good. Rarely, long-term use of antibiotics in small or occasional doses may help, such as before and for a while after surgery. Acetohydroxamic acid may also help prevent struvite stones.
Cystine stones	A diet lower in sodium and protein helps. Drinking more fluids so you urinate more also helps. If those changes are not enough, thiol drugs or newer medicines such as lumasiran (Oxlumo) or nedosiran (Rivfloza) may be prescribed to make crystals less likely to form.

Preparing for Your Appointment

Small kidney stones that do not block your kidney or cause other problems can usually be treated by your primary healthcare professional. If you have a large kidney stone with serious pain or kidney trouble, you may be referred to a specialist — a doctor called a urologist or a nephrologist, who treats conditions of the urinary tract.

What you can do

Preparation Step	Why It Matters
Ask if anything is needed before your appointment	For example, you may be told to limit your diet.
Write down your symptoms	Include any that do not seem related to kidney stones.
Keep track of fluids and urination	Record how much you drink and urinate during a 24-hour period.
Make a list of all medicines	Include every medicine, vitamin, and supplement you take.
Take a family member or friend along	If possible, so someone can help remember the discussion.
Write down questions to ask	Come prepared with your priority questions.

Questions worth asking: Do I have a kidney stone — and if so, what size and type is it, and where in my urinary tract is it? Will I need medicine? Will I need surgery or another procedure? What is the chance I develop another stone, and how can I prevent more? I have other health conditions — how can I best manage them together? Should I see a specialist, and does insurance typically cover that? Do you have educational material or recommended websites?

What to expect from your doctor

Expected Question	Purpose
When did your symptoms start?	Establishes the timeline of the episode.
Have your symptoms been constant or occasional?	Helps distinguish a moving stone from other causes.
How bad are your symptoms?	Gauges severity and urgency.
What makes your symptoms better or worse?	Reveals patterns tied to fluids, movement, and position.
Has anyone else in your family had kidney stones?	Screens for family-history risk.

Conclusion

Kidney stones are a common and often frightening experience — the pain is real and can be severe. But the medical picture is reassuring: stones usually do not cause lasting damage when treated promptly, most small stones pass with water, pain medicine, and sometimes an alpha blocker, and there is a well-established menu of options for larger stones, from shock wave therapy to minimally invasive surgery.

Most importantly, a kidney stone is a condition you can often prevent from returning. Knowing your stone type, drinking enough water every day, moderating sodium and animal protein, and working with your healthcare team on the right diet and medicine plan puts you in control.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do kidney stones go away on their own?

Many do. Most small kidney stones do not require surgery and can pass on their own with plenty of water, pain relievers such as ibuprofen or naproxen, and sometimes an alpha blocker medicine that relaxes the ureter. Larger stones, or stones causing bleeding, kidney damage, or ongoing infections, usually need a procedure.

What does kidney stone pain feel like?

It is typically a serious, sharp pain in the side and back below the ribs that spreads to the lower stomach and groin, comes in waves, and varies in intensity. It may be accompanied by burning with urination, pink or brown urine, cloudy or foul-smelling urine, nausea and vomiting, or fever and chills.

Can kidney stones cause fever?

Fever and chills can appear if a urinary infection is present alongside a stone. Because an infection with a blockage can become serious, pain with fever should prompt a healthcare checkup right away.

What foods should I avoid to prevent kidney stones?

It depends on your stone type. For calcium oxalate stones, limit oxalate-rich foods such as rhubarb, beets, okra, spinach, Swiss chard, sweet potatoes, nuts, tea, chocolate, black pepper, sesame products, and soy products. For all stone types, lower sodium and animal protein help. Keep eating calcium-rich foods — dietary calcium does not raise stone risk.

Does calcium cause kidney stones?

Dietary calcium does not affect your risk — calcium-rich foods are fine unless your healthcare professional says otherwise. Calcium supplements, however, have been linked with higher stone risk. Taking supplements with meals may lower that risk, and very low-calcium diets can actually make stones more likely in some people.

How much water should I drink to prevent kidney stones?

The key target is urine output: about 2.1 quarts (2 liters) of urine a day or more if you have had stones before, which typically means drinking 2 to 3 quarts (1.9 to 2.8 liters) of fluid daily — mainly water. Light, clear urine is a practical sign you are drinking enough. Hot, dry climates and heavy sweating raise the amount you need.

How long does shock wave therapy take?

Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) lasts about 45 to 60 minutes. Sound waves break the stone into tiny pieces that pass in the urine. It may cause blood in the urine, bruising, bleeding around the kidney, and discomfort as fragments pass.

Can kidney stones come back?

Yes — having one or more stones raises your risk of another, and family history also raises risk. That is why prevention matters: knowing your stone type, drinking enough water, adjusting your diet, and using preventive medicines when appropriate all reduce the chance of recurrence.

References

Kidney stones — Symptoms and causes (Mayo Clinic, published July 07, 2026)

Kidney stones — Diagnosis and treatment (Mayo Clinic, published July 07, 2026)

Rinnit.com provides general health information for educational purposes. This content does not replace professional medical advice — always consult a qualified healthcare provider for diagnosis and treatment.

Health information, not medical advice. This article is for general education and is not a substitute for professional diagnosis or treatment. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider about your own health, and seek emergency care for urgent symptoms.