Question

kidney stones can be very painful. what prevention method can you use to keep from developing them? drink a lot of milk which is full of calcium, drink plenty of water which flushes out your system, eat plenty of protein rich foods like fish and chicken, take antibiotics as prescribed for the infection

Answer 1

Drink plenty of water — this is the single most important prevention method. High fluid intake dilutes urine and helps flush out minerals before they can crystallize; aim to produce about 2–2.5 liters of urine per day (roughly 2–3 liters of fluid intake, depending on activity/heat).

Notes about the other items you listed:
- Drink a lot of milk/full of calcium: not a good reason to load up on calcium supplements. Normal dietary calcium (from foods like dairy) actually helps prevent calcium‑oxalate stones by binding oxalate in the gut. Excessive calcium supplements, however, can raise stone risk — follow your doctor’s advice.
- Eat plenty of protein (fish, chicken): high animal‑protein diets can increase stone risk (raise urine calcium and uric acid, lower citrate). Don’t overdo animal protein if you’re prone to stones.
- Take antibiotics for infection: antibiotics treat urinary infections but are not a general method to prevent most kidney stones. (Some infection stones — struvite — are related to chronic UTIs, so treating infections is important in those cases.)

Other useful preventive measures: reduce salt intake, limit high‑oxalate foods if you form oxalate stones (e.g., spinach, nuts, beets), avoid excessive vitamin C supplements, maintain a healthy weight, and follow any specific dietary or medication advice from your doctor based on stone type and past stone analysis. If you have recurrent stones, get evaluated to tailor prevention.