Stone Prevention

Once a stone has been treated it is important to try and prevent the development of further stones. All patients should have some basic tests to see why they made a kidney stone should be performed including a blood calcium level and blood urate level. For low risk patients general dietary, lifestyle and fluid intake advice is adequate.

In a select group of patients a more thorough check of their blood and urine “biochemistry” or make-up is advised, to diagnose the cause of stone formation. This will usually involve 24 hour urine collections. It is very important that all the urine that you pass is collected, and that you collect the urine for a full 24 hour period. You will be given detailed advice on how to perform this test if required.