When you don’t drink enough fluids, your body can’t make enough urine to dissolve salts and flush minerals from your kidneys.

Too much salt (sodium) in your diet can interfere with calcium absorption, leading to calcium stones. The amount of calcium you have in your diet doesn’t cause calcium stones.

Males are almost twice as likely to develop kidney stones as females.

Excess weight or obesity can change acid levels in your urine, causing stones to form.

Kidney stones often run in families. Your risk is higher if a parent or sibling has had kidney stones.

Certain kidney diseases, thyroid disorders and digestive disorders can increase your risk.

Diuretics, antacids and medications for seizures (epilepsy) and HIV can cause stones to form. You’re also more at risk if you’ve had gastrointestinal surgery.

For small stones, your provider may recommend pain medication and drinking more fluids to help pass the stone. You may use a special container to catch the stone. A lab examines it to determine the mineral type.

Your provider sends a series of high-energy shock waves through your skin. The shock waves break large stones into smaller pieces, which are easier to pass when you urinate.

Your provider inserts a long, thin scope through your urethra (the tube that carries urine out of your body) and into your bladder and ureter. They remove the stone or use a laser to break it into smaller pieces. You receive anesthesia and are asleep during the procedure.

Your provider makes a small incision in your back to insert a scope directly into your kidney. They may remove kidney stones or use a laser to break them into smaller pieces. This procedure takes place while you’re under anesthesia.

Drinking plenty of nonalcoholic fluids is one of the best ways to help your kidneys flush out the minerals that form stones. Most experts recommend drinking six to eight 8-ounce glasses of fluids a day unless you have kidney disease.

Antibiotics can prevent struvite stones. Your provider may recommend taking potassium citrate to prevent calcium and uric acid stones.

Depending on the type of kidney stone, you may need to cut back on sodium, shellfish and certain meats. You may also need to eat less nuts, spinach and other foods that contain a compound called oxalate. Your provider can recommend specific diet advice for you.