Holistic Kidney Stone Removal

Kidney stones (renal calculi) are a common health issue for many. Kidney stones form when crystals in the urine--generally calcium or uric acid--bind together to form a hard mass. In order to get rid of a kidney stone, a person must either pass the stone through the urinary system and out through the bladder or seek medical assistance to potentially destroy or dissolve the stone.

Contemporary Treatments

• Mainstream medical treatments of kidney stones range from simply providing pain relief while a stone passes to medicine that dissolves a stone and on further to high-tech soundwave treatments (lithotripsy) that destroy a kidney stone within the body. Concern regarding these mainstream treatments involves worries with regard to the side effects of medications--all three processes involve one or more drugs--and the possibility of damage to delicate urinary tract tissues by either the passage of a stone or the shockwaves of the lithotripsy process.

Holistic Treatments

• Patients with kidney stones who are concerned about the potential negative effects of contemporary treatments may choose to use a holistic medical approach instead. Holistic treatments for kidney stones generally involve the ingestion of one or more natural substances designed to dissolve the stone and flush the crystals away.

  The most popular alternative medicine recommendation for getting rid of kidney stones is apple cider vinegar. According to its proponents, apple cider vinegar may help dissolve kidney stones, helps with the passage of smaller kidney stones and aids in the prevention of future kidney stones. Recommended doses vary, but most proponents recommend an ounce or so of vinegar mixed with several ounces of warm water. Others also add lemon juice--a natural diuretic--to speed up the vinegar's therapeutic effects.

  Other natural products that are reported to help kidney stones either dissolve or pass painlessly contain a variety of herbs. These herbal preparations can be found at health food stores and through alternative medical sources online. One of the most common of the herbal ingredients is gravel root. Other common herbal ingredients are corn silk, uva ursi, cramp bark and hydrangea.

  One readily available drugstore product that is also recommended by alternative health practitioners for kidney stones is magnesium citrate. According to its supporters, the citrate--an acid--in magnesium citrate works on the stones, whose composition is usually alkaline, to dissolve them and help to flush the kidneys. A word of caution is necessary when using magnesium citrate, however, as it is a powerful laxative and patients who choose to use it need to be prepared to spend many hours in the bathroom.