Kidney stone formation is a common urinary system disorder that can form in any individual. However, men, and overweight people are at a higher risk of developing them. A family history of kidney stones also makes you more likely to get them yourself.

Symptoms of kidney stones may not show up until the stone moves around the kidney or down into the urinary tract.

Symptoms may include:

• Severe pain below the ribs, back, sides, lower abdomen, groin and during urination
• Pain that fluctuates in intensity
• Frequent urge to urinate
• Pink, brown or red urine that is cloudy or foul smelling

You should call your doctor if you find it difficult to pass urine, or the pain increases and is accompanied with fever, chills, vomiting and nausea

When kidney stones are suspected, your doctor may order blood, urine and imaging tests (X-ray, ultrasound, CT scans) to diagnose the condition, CT scans being most commonly used these days.

You may also be asked to urinate through a sieve to collect and test the kidney stones that pass in the lab.

The results will help your doctor to determine the cause and formulate an appropriate plan for treatment.

Treatment depends on the type of stone and its underlying cause.

Small kidney stones may be flushed out by drinking plenty of water every day, possibly helped by medications to relax the urinary tube muscles, or, occasionally, through medication to dissolve the stones.

Additionally, your doctor may prescribe medication to relieve pain.

If the stone does not progress, pain cannot be controlled, temperature or infection develops, or there is some other complication, surgical treatment will be required.

Dr. Love will recommend procedures based on the location and size of the kidney stones.

A non-invasive procedure called Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy (ESWL) may be recommended to break down large stones. Under an anaesthetic, and after the location of the stones is determined with the help of ultrasound or X-rays, using a machine called a lithotripter, high energy sound waves are passed into the area to be treated, from outside the body.

The shock waves will vibrate and break the stones up. without harming the rest of the body. The stone fragments can then pass out through the urine.

Sometimes, Dr. Love may use insert a stent or tube before or after the procedure, through the bladder into the kidney, to hold the urinary tube open, preventing the pieces from blocking the tube.

Another alternative procedure your doctor may suggest is ureteroscopy. This can be used for stones in the urinary tract closer to the bladder. A thin lighted endoscope tube, called an ureteroscope, is inserted through your urinary tract opening, so no incisions are needed for the procedure. Once the stone is located, tiny forceps or a basket shaped instrument at the end of the scope grabs and removes the stones. Larger stones are first broken down with a Holmium laser before removal.

Sometimes, a more invasive procedure called percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) may be performed. Dr. Love will make a small incision in your back under anaesthesia. A hollow tube with a telescope and probe is inserted into the incision, and into the kidney directly. Dr. Love can either remove the stones directly or break them into fragments before removing them.

Kidney stones can be prevented by making some lifestyle changes, like drinking more water and reducing the intake of excess salt and animal proteins.

Some patients require lifelong medications to help prevent more stones.