There has been no findings yet as what exactly causes kidney stone formation. However, doctors suspect that heredity, environment, age, sex, urinary infection, diet, and metabolic diseases to be some of the possible causes of stone formation. Here are some possible causes why stone for in the kidney.
Certain food may cause stones to form, especially in people who are more susceptible to kidney stones formation due, for example, to family history and personal history of kidney stones formation. The kind of stones formed usually depends on the food eaten. For example, eggs, milk, cheese, calcium fortified juices, foods rich in saturated fat such as bacon and whole nuts, cakes and chocolates may be the culprit for kidney stones formation. On the other hand, purine-rich food including internal organs of animals such as kidneys, pancreas and intestines, animal brain, gravy, sardines and anchovies may cause uric acid stones.
Inadequate urinary drainage and urinary tract infection may also cause kidney stones. When substances such as uric acid, phospates and calcium oxalates are not properly flushed out from the body through urination, these substances may crystallize and lump together to form kidney stones.
Dehydration and lack of sufficient fluid ingestion can also cause kidney stones formation. Kidneys, to maintain the water balance and the level of chemical substance in the body may either dilute or concentrate urine. When there is little water intake, the kidneys concentrate urine to expel more wastes and keep more water in the body. The act of concentrating urine compared to diluting it takes more effort for the kidneys thus exhausting it and make it function less effectively.
Certain metabolic diseases also cause the formation of stone s in the kidney. Many of these metabolic diseases are hereditary. For example, cystinuria and hyperoxaluria are two of the most common hereditary diseases that cause kidney stones to form. Other kidney stones-causing diseases are hyperparathyroidism, gout, intestinal dysfunction, renal tubular acidosis, hyperuricosuria and chronic inflammation of the bowel.
People who had intestinal bypass operations or ostomy surgery also have a high risk of developing kidney stones. The same is true with people who only have one kidney left after the other one has been removed through surgery.
There also are medications that cause kidney stones. Examples of these medications are diuretics that increase the levels of uric acid, water pills, protease inhibitor indinavir, a drug used to treat HIV infection, calcium-based antacids for calcium stones and excessive intake of vitamin D.