What Does a Kidney Stone Look Like?

If you’ve been dealing with kidney stones, you know how bothersome and painful it can be. What you may be wondering is what a kidney stone looks like. Why can it cause so much pain? How can you understand this health condition better? Here’s what you need to know.

Basically, a kidney stone can look like a small hard pebble. It can be either brownish or yellowish. Some can have some white mixed throughout the stone. Some people have described the stones looking like a popcorn kernel that has not fully popped in the microwave.

Kidney stones vary in sizes but are often fairly small. Many kidney stones end up being less than 6 mm in size and pass naturally through your urinary tract. Often these stones that are less than 6mm will pass through your system without any major issues or pain. The problem usually starts when the kidney stones grow to be larger than 6mm because  they can become very painful as they make their way through the urinary tract or sometimes they even block urine from passing. This is when things can start to be very painful.

Even though the kidney stones can be small, you have to understand that the tubules they are supposed to pass through are also very small and narrow. This is often what causes the pain. Your muscles severely contract trying to pass the kidney stone. You can start feeling just a dull pain but it can easily turn into a very sharp pain when the kidney stone is trying to pass through your urinary tract.

Another factor with kidney stones that can affect your symptoms is the shape of the kidney stone(s). Kidney stones can vary greatly in size and shape.  Some kidney stones can be very sharp and jagged while others are rounder and smoother. Obviously, the kidney stones that have sharp and jagged shapes will have a harder time passing through your system.

Kidney stones can also look different depending on the type of kidney stone. For example, cystine stones can be quite round. Uric acid stones can often be very jagged. Calcium oxalate stones can be more rounded and compact than uric acid stones but can still have some jagged characteristics.

What’s important is that you take the steps to prevent the kidney stones from getting bigger. You will need to control your diet according to the type of stone you have. That’s why you’ll want to go see your doctor to get a proper diagnosis about your kidney stone.

If you have calcium oxalate stones, you will have to limit foods with high oxalate content. If you have uric acid stones, you will have to limit the consumption of animal proteins. These dietary changes can be hard to implement but if you don’t follow through, the kidney stones will continue to grow and get more painful.

Once your kidney stones become too big to pass on their own, you will have to go in for a procedure to get them removed. This is a scenario you want to avoid because the procedures are invasive and you will have to deal with significant healthcare costs.

There are many things you can do in addition to changing your diet. One simple thing you can do is to drink more water with citric acid added like a lemon. Drinking more water will help you flush out your system of tiny kidney stones and the flushing will also help prevent kidney stones from forming in the first place. The citric acid can also help change the pH of your urine making an environment not as suitable for kidney stones to form and grow. Citric acid is also thought to possibly help dissolve kidney stones. 

You can also take supplements that prevent the formation and continued growth of stones as well as to potentially help break them down. A product you see advertised is chanca piedra but for safety reasons, medical professionals do not recommend chanca piedra be used for more than three months.

Another great product that is newer to the market is Kidney C.O.P (Calcium Oxalate Protector). It has shown in laboratory tests to inhibit the rate of calcium oxalate crystal growth by 99%.  The makers of Kidney C.O.P. also tested the Kidney C.O.P. formula against a 5:1 chanca piedra extract and Kidney C.O.P. was found to be five times stronger at inhibiting the rate of calcium oxalate crystal growth than the 5:1 chanca piedra extract. Kidney C.O.P. also has safe ingredients that can be taken on-going for as long as you need. Kidney C.O.P. Calcium Oxalate Protector is the optimal product if you are prone to developing calcium oxalate crystal kidney stones and want a safe way to help prevent recurrence.