Sharp pain in your side that comes in waves and a tinge of pink in the toilet bowl are common indications that there’s a problem with your kidneys. There are different causes of kidney disease, and one of the top causes is kidney stone.
Find out whether your symptoms are kidney stones showing itself to you or a sign of potential chronic kidney disease. This guide explains what the kidney stone warning signs feel like, which ones need a doctor today, and how the heat and diet here raise your risk.
What Are Kidney Stones?
A kidney stone, or renal calculus, is a solid bit of mineral that crystallizes inside the kidney when your urine carries more waste than the fluid can dilute. Each one can be as small as a grain of sand or, in rare cases, as large as a golf ball. As a stone travels through the urinary tract, it can scrape the lining and block the flow of urine. That pressure is when the kidney stone starts to hurt.
There are four main types of kidney stones:
- Calcium stones: These are the most common type in the Philippines, formed when calcium binds with oxalate.
- Uric acid stones: A diet heavy in red meat, seafood, and beer raises uric acid.
- Struvite stones: Repeated urinary infections trigger these, and they grow quickly.
- Cystine stones: They stem from a rare inherited condition and appear early in life.
Read this related article about kidney stone types
Common Symptoms of Kidney Stones
It is important to be aware that you have kidney stones. That way you can manage your kidney stones immediately, and prevent possible kidney damage. Here are the common signs that can indicate that you might have kidney stones.
- Back pain: It surges and fades, the pattern doctors call renal colic.
- Cloudy and bloody urine: Your pee may turn pink, red, or brown.
- Constant nausea: Many people vomit when the pain peaks.
Some warning signs are easy to brush off as gas or a muscle strain. Early on, you might feel only a dull ache low in your back or a faint sting when you pee. These quieter kidney stones symptoms are typically ignored until the pain turns sharp. A stone the size of a grain of sand can still scratch the urinary tract and tint your urine.
Catching them early keeps small stones from growing into a large stone that blocks the flow of urine completely.
Severe Symptoms of Kidney Stones
Pain is not the only clue your body gives. A stone irritates the whole urinary system, so other signs often appear alongside it. Here are the severe symptoms to watch out for that signals you might have a kidney stone:
Frequent and Painful Urination
If you constantly need to pee, and it feels painful or not being able to release your urine fully, it might mean that there’s a kidney stone blocking your urine stream.
Visit an emergency care if this happens constantly. The emergency care doctor can examine you and contact your urologist or nephrologist if you already have one. You’ll be recommended to take a urinalysis and other diagnostic test to help check why your suffering from these symptoms.
Blood in the Urine
Pink, red, or tea-colored urine means a stone is scraping your urinary tract. Sometimes the blood is invisible, caught only as microscopic hematuria on a urine test.
When you see blood, do not panic, but do not wait either. You can book an online consultation with your urologist if the blood is not that visible for immediate check up. However, if heavy bleeding comes, you can go straight to the emergency room.
Fever, Chills, and Infection
Fever on its own is not a typical kidney stone symptom. When it shows up with the pain, it usually means a trapped stone has caused an infection behind the blockage.
That combination is an emergency. High fever, chills, and flank pain together can point to a kidney infection spreading toward the blood, so head to the nearest hospital right away.
Immediate medical intervention is a must if you have severe symptoms of kidney stones. If you don’t have these severe symptoms yet, you can still help your urological health by following these 3 steps for kidney stone prevention from DOH.
Filipino Diet and Stone Risk
A number of factors raise your risk, and several of them sit on the typical Filipino plate. Common foods that can increase your risk to getting kidney stone:
- Salty processed food
- Sweet drinks:
- Protein-heavy meals (pork and seafood)
Cutting back on salt and drinking more water lowers your risk of kidney stones forming again. Patients develop kidney stone symptoms often trace back to years of low fluid intake and a high-salt diet, so small diet changes matter for the next painful episode.
Read this related article about changes in diet to avoid kidney condition like UTI, which also have overlapping symptoms with kidney stones.
How Doctors Diagnose Stones?
Doctors here rarely guess. They match your signs with a urine test and blood tests, then confirm the stone with an ultrasound, CT scan, urine test, etc. A urine test can reveal microscopic hematuria and signs of infection, while blood tests check your renal function and uric acid level. Once they know the size and spot, they explain your treatment options.
Small stones often pass with water and pain relief. For a large stone, a nephrologist or urologist may suggest shock-wave therapy, ureteroscopic stone removal, or percutaneous nephrolithotomy to break it into smaller pieces. These tests confirm the kidney stones symptoms Philippines patients describe before any procedure is chosen.
Book your stone treatment on NowServing
How to Book a Kidney Stone Consultation with a NowServing Doctor
You do not need to line up or call around to get checked. NowServing lets you find and book a doctor online in minutes.
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Open NowServing and search for Kidney Stone conditions page on the app or website.
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Browse the list of doctors and you can find specialists like urologists, nephrologist, and more.
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Pick a doctor, select a slot, confirm, and wait for the doctor to accept your booking.
To check your kidney health, your doctor may recommend you to undergo some diagnostic tests, like (creatinine test, urinalysis, and eGFR test). You can get all your tests done at a partner lab clinic of NowServing. Check out the NowServing Connected Care Program for the list of partner clinics.
NOTE: You can also visit this page for Filipino guide about kidney stone.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What kidney stone pain feels like?
The pain usually starts in your flank, the area between your ribs and hip, then radiates to the lower belly and groin as the stone moves down. Usually, it comes in waves, builds to a peak, then eases for a while. The severity of the pain depends on where the stone lodges, not on how big it looks on a scan.
Read this guide to know more about the back pain caused by kidney stones
Where is the pain located if I have kidney stone?
In most cases, the pain is located at the back, mid to lower part of your back. Although, the pain can still move depending on where the stones are.
Is it back pain or a stone?
Ordinary back pain stays in one spot and eases when you rest or shift position. Stone pain does the opposite. It rolls in as waves, ignores your position, and often brings nausea or blood in the urine.
Should your back pain travel toward your groin while no position feels comfortable, a stone is more likely than a pulled muscle.
Can I examine myself to check if I have a kidney stone?
Unlike other conditions that manifest physically, you cannot do the same if you have kidney stones. Experts can only verify that you have this urological condition, that’s why it is essential to get checked by a doctor. Book a urologist or nephrologist immediately if you suspect you have kidney stones.
Can a kidney stone go away on its own?
Yes. Small stones often pass on their own within a few weeks if you drink plenty of water. A stone larger than about 6 millimeters is less likely to pass and may need a procedure.
How long does it take to pass a stone?
It varies. Many small ones clear within one to two weeks, while larger ones can take longer or get stuck. See a doctor if the pain lasts more than a few days or comes with fever.
Are kidney stones dangerous if ignored?
They can be. A blocked stone left untreated can cause kidney damage, acute kidney injury, and over time chronic kidney disease or even kidney failure. Without changes, the recurrence of kidney stones is common too.
Conclusion
Knowing the kidney stones symptoms means you can act early, not from a hospital bed. Wave-like pain, bloody urine, and fever from infection are signals worth taking seriously.
Do not wait for your kidneys to be affected completely. Book a kidney stone doctor NowServing. Find specialists like urologists and nephrologists that fit your case today.
