{"id":747,"date":"2026-07-18T11:42:29","date_gmt":"2026-07-18T02:42:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wewellinfo.com\/us\/uncategorized\/urinary-stones-flank-pain-causes-prevention\/"},"modified":"2026-07-18T18:23:01","modified_gmt":"2026-07-18T09:23:01","slug":"urinary-stones-flank-pain-causes-prevention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wewellinfo.com\/us\/men-health\/urinary-stones-flank-pain-causes-prevention\/","title":{"rendered":"Kidney Stones and Flank Pain: Causes and Prevention"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kidney Stones and Flank Pain: What Causes Them and How to Prevent the Next One<\/h2>\n

I’ll be honest with you.<\/p>\n

For most of my life I assumed kidney stones were something that happened to other people. Then I started reading the numbers, and they stopped feeling so distant. Roughly 10.6% of US men<\/strong> report a lifetime history of kidney stones, compared with 7.1% of women. Men develop them at about twice the rate<\/strong> of women, though that gap is narrowing.<\/p>\n

So if you’re a man wondering whether this is worth paying attention to, the answer is probably yes.<\/p>\n

Here’s the short version, up front. Kidney stones are hard mineral deposits that can lodge in your urinary tract and cause severe, wave-like flank pain. The single most effective thing you can do to prevent them is drink enough fluid to produce about 2 to 2.5 liters of urine per day<\/strong>. And one warning I want to give you before anything else \u2014 a kidney stone with a fever is not something to wait out. That’s an emergency.<\/p>\n

Let’s walk through it slowly.<\/p>\n

\"Diagram<\/p>\n

What a Kidney Stone Actually Is<\/h2>\n

A kidney stone is a hard deposit of minerals and salts that forms inside the kidney. The medical terms are nephrolithiasis or urolithiasis, but the plain description is enough \u2014 crystals form when your urine holds more crystal-forming substances (calcium, oxalate, uric acid) than the fluid can dilute, or when it lacks the substances that stop crystals from sticking together, such as citrate.<\/p>\n

Low urine output and dehydration are common threads across almost every stone type.<\/p>\n

They’re more common than I expected, too. About 9.9% of US adults<\/strong> report having had one. And the rate has been climbing \u2014 from around 3.8% in the late 1970s (NHANES 1976\u201380) to 8.8% and higher in recent data.<\/p>\n

The four main types<\/h3>\n

Not all stones are the same, and this matters because prevention differs by what the stone is made of.<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Calcium oxalate \u2014 about 80% of all stones.<\/strong> By far the most common. They form when calcium binds oxalate in the urine.<\/li>\n
  • Uric acid \u2014 about 5\u201310%.<\/strong> These form in persistently acidic urine and show up more with gout and high-animal-protein diets.<\/li>\n
  • Struvite \u2014 about 10\u201315%.<\/strong> Linked to urinary tract infections; they grow fast in alkaline urine and can become large “staghorn” stones.<\/li>\n
  • Cystine \u2014 less than 1%.<\/strong> Rare and genetic (cystinuria), and they tend to come back.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Knowing your stone type is not a technicality. After you pass a stone, a 24-hour urine test<\/strong> can personalize your prevention plan, according to the National Kidney Foundation. It’s worth asking for.<\/p>\n

    Why the Flank Pain Gets So Bad<\/h2>\n

    If you’ve never had a stone, it’s hard to describe the pain to you. If you have, I probably don’t need to.<\/p>\n

    The classic symptom is severe, sharp flank pain<\/strong> \u2014 in the side and back, below the ribs \u2014 that comes in waves and rises and falls in intensity. As the stone moves, the pain can radiate down into the lower abdomen and groin<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    But it’s rarely just pain. Other signs the research points to:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • Pain or burning when you urinate<\/li>\n
    • Pink, red, or brown (bloody) urine<\/li>\n
    • Cloudy or foul-smelling urine<\/li>\n
    • Frequent urination, or urinating only small amounts<\/li>\n
    • A persistent urge to urinate<\/li>\n
    • Nausea and vomiting<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      One thing worth knowing \u2014 small stones can pass with no symptoms at all. Trouble usually starts when a stone moves into the ureter and blocks the flow of urine.<\/p>\n

      \"Man
      \nPhoto: Towfiqu barbhuiya \/ Pexels<\/em><\/p>\n

      What Actually Causes Stones<\/h2>\n

      This is the part I wish someone had explained to me earlier, because most of it is about daily habits.<\/p>\n

      Not drinking enough<\/h3>\n

      Low fluid intake is the dominant modifiable risk. When you’re dehydrated, your urine gets concentrated, and concentrated urine is exactly where crystals form. Of everything on this list, this is the one that matters most (NIDDK, Mayo Clinic).<\/p>\n

      Too much salt<\/h3>\n

      A high-sodium diet increases the amount of calcium in your urine, which raises the risk of calcium stones (NIDDK, National Kidney Foundation).<\/p>\n

      Too much animal protein<\/h3>\n

      Beef, pork, poultry, and fish raise uric acid and lower urinary citrate. Both changes push you toward more stones (NIDDK).<\/p>\n

      The counterintuitive one \u2014 too little dietary calcium<\/h3>\n

      This surprised me. Cutting calcium from your food raises<\/em> your calcium-oxalate risk, because dietary calcium binds oxalate in your gut before it can reach your kidneys. The National Kidney Foundation states that a low-calcium diet can raise stone risk by about 50%<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

      So no \u2014 going low-calcium is not the move.<\/p>\n

      Everything else<\/h3>\n

      Metabolic factors matter too: high urine calcium (hypercalciuria), high oxalate (hyperoxaluria), and low urine citrate (hypocitraturia)<\/strong> are major drivers of calcium stones. Obesity, diabetes, and high sugar or sugary-drink intake all raise risk. So do gout and acidic urine (uric acid stones), recurrent UTIs (struvite), and family history (cystine).<\/p>\n

      And here’s the reason prevention is worth the effort. After a first stone, there’s roughly a 50% chance of another within 5 years<\/strong>. Some sources put lifetime recurrence at 50\u201375%. The figures vary by dataset and follow-up length \u2014 some report about 20% at 5 years, others up to 80\u201390% at 10 years \u2014 but they all agree on one thing.<\/p>\n

      Recurrence is common.<\/p>\n

      How to Prevent the Next One<\/h2>\n

      Here’s what the evidence actually supports. I’ll try not to just list numbers at you, but some of these numbers matter.<\/p>\n

      \"Overhead
      \nPhoto: Towfiqu barbhuiya \/ Pexels<\/em><\/p>\n

      1. Drink enough \u2014 this is the big one.<\/strong>
      \nAim to produce about 2 to 2.5 liters of urine per day<\/strong>. In practice that’s often described as roughly six to eight 8-ounce glasses<\/strong> of fluid daily, mostly water, and more when it’s hot or you’re exercising (NIDDK, National Kidney Foundation). One note on wording \u2014 the goal is really the urine output<\/em>, not a fixed intake. Dilute urine is the target.<\/p>\n

      2. Add citrate.<\/strong>
      \nCitrate stops crystals from clumping and slows calcium-stone growth. A common recommendation is about 4 fluid ounces of lemon juice daily<\/strong> (or equivalent lemon or lime), unsweetened. In studies, lemonade raised urinary citrate by around 203 mg\/day<\/strong> and urine volume by around 763 mL\/day<\/strong>. Keep it unsweetened, though \u2014 sugar raises stone risk.<\/p>\n

      3. Cut the salt.<\/strong>
      \nAim for under 2,300 mg of sodium per day<\/strong> (one teaspoon of table salt is about 2,325 mg). Less sodium means less calcium in your urine (NIDDK).<\/p>\n

      4. Ease off animal protein.<\/strong>
      \nReduce beef, pork, chicken, and fish, and consider plant proteins like beans and lentils (NIDDK).<\/p>\n

      5. Keep your dietary calcium up.<\/strong>
      \nGet 1,000\u20131,200 mg per day from food<\/strong> \u2014 roughly two to three dairy servings. Do not cut calcium (National Kidney Foundation).<\/p>\n

      6. Eat your fruits and vegetables.<\/strong>
      \nAt least five servings a day. DASH and Mediterranean-style diets are both associated with fewer stones (National Kidney Foundation).<\/p>\n

      7. Manage oxalate if you’re a calcium-oxalate former.<\/strong>
      \nGo easy on high-oxalate foods like spinach, rhubarb, nuts, and wheat bran \u2014 and pair them with calcium-containing foods so the oxalate binds in your gut (NIDDK).<\/p>\n

      8. Personalize it.<\/strong>
      \nAfter a stone, that 24-hour urine test guides targeted prevention. For documented low urinary citrate, potassium citrate<\/strong> is the first-line prescription therapy, and it helps with uric-acid, cystine, and calcium-oxalate stones. Lemon juice is a helpful add-on \u2014 but it’s not a replacement for a prescribed treatment your doctor recommends.<\/p>\n

      When It’s an Emergency \u2014 Please Don’t Wait This One Out<\/h2>\n

      I want to be very direct here, because this is the part that can actually save a life.<\/p>\n

      A kidney stone that blocks the flow of urine while an infection is present can rapidly progress to a kidney infection and then to sepsis<\/strong>. Sepsis from bilateral obstructing ureteral stones carries a reported mortality of around 7%<\/strong>. Prompt treatment is critical.<\/p>\n

      Go to the ER or call emergency services if kidney stone symptoms come with any of these:<\/strong><\/p>\n

        \n
      • Fever and\/or chills<\/strong> \u2014 a fever above 101.5\u00b0F (38.6\u00b0C) suggests infection spreading into the blood (Sepsis Alliance)<\/li>\n
      • Rapid heartbeat, rapid breathing, low blood pressure, or confusion<\/li>\n
      • Pain so severe you can’t sit still or get comfortable<\/li>\n
      • Unrelenting nausea or vomiting<\/li>\n
      • Blood in your urine, or an inability to urinate at all<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        A stone plus a fever is not a “wait until morning” situation. It’s an emergency.<\/p>\n

        A Few Honest Closing Words<\/h2>\n

        I won’t pretend any of this is a guarantee. Prevention has to be individualized by your stone type, and general advice \u2014 including everything in this article \u2014 is not a substitute for a urologist’s or nephrologist’s evaluation and a proper 24-hour urine test.<\/p>\n

        But most of what moves the needle is quietly ordinary. Drink more water. Salt your food a little less. Don’t be afraid of dietary calcium. Squeeze some lemon into that water while you’re at it.<\/p>\n

        If you’ve already had one stone, the odds of a second are real enough to take seriously. And if a stone ever shows up alongside a fever, you already know what to do now.<\/p>\n

        That knowledge is the whole point.<\/p>\n

        \n

        This article is educational information, not medical advice. If you suspect a kidney stone, consult a physician (a urologist or nephrologist) for diagnosis and treatment. Seek emergency care for the red-flag symptoms described above.<\/em><\/p>\n

        References<\/h3>\n

        Drawn from NIDDK, the National Kidney Foundation, the American Urological Association, Mayo Clinic, NYU Langone, the University of Chicago Kidney Stone Program, NHANES \/ Journal of Urology analyses, the Sepsis Alliance, and RACGP HANDI citrate guidance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Kidney stones cause severe flank pain. Learn the real causes\u2014low fluids, high sodium, excess protein\u2014and evidence-based prevention, plus emergency red flags.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1195,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[172],"tags":[319,320,318,314,321],"class_list":["post-747","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-men-health","tag-flank-pain","tag-kidney-stone-prevention","tag-kidney-stones","tag-mens-health-2","tag-urinary-stones"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wewellinfo.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/747","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wewellinfo.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wewellinfo.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wewellinfo.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wewellinfo.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=747"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wewellinfo.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/747\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1196,"href":"https:\/\/wewellinfo.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/747\/revisions\/1196"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wewellinfo.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wewellinfo.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wewellinfo.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wewellinfo.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}