23 Home Remedies of Kidney Stones

Kidney stones are deposits of salts and other minerals that form and gather inside your kidney and become hard. Kidney stones have a couple different causes.  When you’re dehydrated and your urine becomes a dark yellow, and the lack of water allows the minerals to get fused together and crystallize.

Kidney stones can lead to serious problems. While you will be able to pass some on your own, these stones can vary in size. There have been cases where the stone has been as large as a golf ball. Sometimes, you might need medical attention to get rid of the stones.

Talk to your doctor if you have blood in your urine or are unable to produce it, feel pain bad enough that you cannot sit comfortably, if the pain comes with fevers or chills or vomiting.  In any of these cases, see a doctor– do not rely on home remedies.

 

Risk Factors

There are a number of factors that make it easier for kidney stones to form. Dehydration is the main one. Diets that are high in protein, sugar, and salt and low in fruits and vegetables can also be a leading cause.

Having a family history of kidney stones, being obese or overweight, and being on certain medications can also raise the changes that you will get kidney stones.

Conditions such as cystinuria, renal tubular acidosis, c hyperparathyroidism, IBS (inflammatory bowel disease), and chronic diarrhea can also raise the chances of being diagnosed with kidney stones.

 

Home Remedies for Kidney Stones

1. Stay Hydrated

Drinking enough water is the best way to stop kidney stones from forming or to help pass them if you already have them.  A good way to make sure you are drinking enough water is to pay attention to the color of your urine. If it is a dark shade or sometimes almost neon, you are not getting enough. You want your urine to be almost clear.

2. Lemon Juice

Lemon juice has citrate and this stops calcium from building up and leading to a kidney stone. Adding lemon juice to your water or tea can help to prevent and treat kidney stones. Drink a tablespoon or two of lemon juice every day to get the best results.

 

3. Basil

This herb is a natural pain reliever because of the acetic acid it contains. The acetic acid also helps to break up the stones, lessen inflammation, and help with digestion.

You can make tea using dried basil leaves or infuse water with fresh leaves ripped in half. You can also just add it to your food as a seasoning.

While basil is great for helping you with a number of things, it is best to use it sparingly (no more than six times a week) because too much can cause other problems like low blood pressure and sugar and increased bleeding.

 

4. Celery

Celery is used to flush the body clean of toxins that cause kidney stones to form. If you already have a stone, celery can help you to break it up and pass it. Eat a serving of celery daily, about two celery sticks, until you no longer have kidney stones.

 

5. Apple Cider Vinegar

Apple cider vinegar, like basil, also contains acetic acid that can help to not only break up the kidney stone, but to dissolve it. You should stirr two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar into glasses of six to eight ounces of water and sup slowly throughout the day. If you cannot stand the taste, then try adding it to salad dressing or using it as one.

 

6. Pomegranate

Pomegranates are full of antioxidants that lower urine acidity levels, break up stones, improve the health of your kidneys, and flush toxins out of your system. You can eat the fruit itself or drink pomegranate juice daily to get the best results.

7. Wheatgrass

Wheatgrass has antioxidants and components that make you produce urine more often. The antioxidants get rid of the sodium and other minerals that can build up in your kidneys and crystallize into the  stones. Drinking eight ounces of wheatgrass juice twice a day should both help to rid your body of kidney stones and stop them from forming.

 

8. Kidney Beans

Kidney beans are packed full of magnesium that helps to get rid of kidney stones and lessen their symptoms. You can make tea from kidney beans. Slowly boil the bean pods in water for five or six minutes, strain the liquid that has yet to evaporate, and drink. You can drink it cold or warm. Drink this a couple times a day to  get the best results.

 

9. Lose Weight

Another major cause of kidney stones is being overweight, so losing weight might be one of the best things you can so as a prevention. Eat more foods with fiber. Avoid carbonated drinks, alcohol, caffeine, bad fats and sugars, and salt.

 

10. Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

Try drinking a five ounce glass of extra-virgin olive oil first thing when you wake up and one around dinner time to help ease pain and the passing of the kidney stone. Because of how rich and slick extra-virgin olive oil is, it can help to lubricate the urinary tract and ease the stone out with less pain.

 

11. Baking Soda

Baking soda lowers the acid level in your urine which allows the stone to pass more easily. Stir a tablespoon of baking soda in a class of room temperature water and drink this three times a day.

12. Hydrangea

This pretty flower herb help you to urinate more which will help to force the kidney stone out. Boil a cup of water and place the hydrangea leaves in it for a few minutes. Drain the tea, let it cool a little, and then drink it. You should try to drink this three times a day.

 

13. Coconut Water

The high potassium content in coconut water will help to lower the acid levels of your urine while the coconut water helps to flush out the stone as the potassium breaks the stone up. You should drink this a few times a day for about a week.

 

14. Barley Tea

Drinking barley tea can put pressure on the kidney and help to squeeze the stone out as well as prevent the forming of stones because of its ability to lower pH levels. To make the tea, you you cook a fourth of a cup of barely in three cups of water and let it boil until you have about half of the starting amount of water left. Strain the barley out. Let the water cool and add lemon juice to add some flavor. You can drink several glasses of this drink throughout the day.

 

15. Grapes and Watermelon

Grapes and watermelon have lots of potassium and water in them, both vital things for fighting and warding away kidney stones. Add these foods to your diet to both prevent and treat kidney stones.

 

16. Waste Not, Want Not

Watermelon is good you when you are fighting kidney stones, but so are its seeds. You can make a drink with water and the watermelon seeds that will help you to digest things, they will detoxify your body, and flush more harmful things than just the kidney stones.

To make the drink you need eight cups of water and four tablespoon of watermelon seeds. You should boil the water while you grind the seeds down, then put the seeds in the water and let it steep for ten to fifteen minutes. After the ten to fifteen minutes, drain the seeds and drink the eight cups over the next two days.

17. Horsetail

The equisetin, magnesium, ascorbic acid, and potassium all increase the amount of urine your body puts out and they are all found in horsetail. To put this herb to use, you drink two to three cups of horsetail tea a day.  Making the tea is fairly easy to do. You boil a cup of water and let two to three teaspoons of the horsetail in the cup; let it lie for five to minutes before straining the herb out and drinking.

 

18. Cornsilk

Cornsilk has diuretic powers which help the body to remove the kidney stone. The steps for this one are few and simple. You buy an over the counter tea, follow the instructions on how to brew, and drink the tea twice a day: once in the morning and once at night.

 

19. Cold and Slow

When trying to rehydrate your body, it is good to introduce water slowly. So suck on ice, enjoy some popsicles, or just drink water in slow sips.

 

20. Loose Clothing

Dehydration can be caused by excess sweating. It is going to be hot in your area, avoir tight and constricting, and do not wear more layers than you have to.

 

21. Spray

Spraying your skin with water (think mist bottle) can help to both cool your body and to rehydrate it. Water can enter your skin cells through aquaporins and if the water cool or cold, it discourages sweating.

 

22. Not Too Cold

Cool is good but too cold can do just as much damage as too hot can. When trying to keep your body cool, you do not want to use a mass of ice or near ice water as being too cold can increase your body’s temperature and lead into sweating.

 

23. Avoid Triggers

There are a handful of foods that can lead to the formation of kidney stones. Some of those foods are high oxalic foods (berries, citrus fruits, some squashes, parsley, rhubarb, and cocoa), processed red meats, caffeine, and food high in calcium.  

Which of these home remedies will you use to prevent or treat kidney stones? Comment below!

References

https://www.emedicinehealth.com/dehydration_in_adults/article_em.htm#dehydration_in_adults_home_remedies

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/319418.php

https://www.stylecraze.com/articles/effective-home-remedies-to-flush-out-kidney-stones/

https://www.healthline.com/health/kidney-health/home-remedies-for-kidney-stones#water

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/kidney-stones/symptoms-causes/syc-20355755

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154193.php