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Alternative medicine

By Mayo Clinic staff

For centuries, some people have tried to use herbs to treat and prevent stones that form in the kidneys and bladder. Traditional herbs for bladder stones include gravel root (also called kidney root, queen of the meadow and Joe Pye), stone root (also called citronella and colinsonia) and hydrangea (wild or mountain hydrangea).

These herbs are used alone or in various combinations and drunk as tea or taken in tincture form. Some herbal formulas add marshmallow (the plant, not the confection), which is said to coat the fragments so that they can be eliminated painlessly. No studies, however, have confirmed that herbs can break up bladder stones, which are extremely hard and usually require a laser, ultrasound or other procedure for removal.

For prevention, parsley leaf is reported to have a diuretic effect and may be helpful for preventing bladder stones.

Always check with your doctor before taking any alternative medicine therapy to be sure it's safe, and that it won't adversely interact with other medications you're taking.

Prevention Treatments and drugs
References
  1. Stoller ML. Urinary stone disease. In: Tanagho EA, et al. Smith's General Urology. 17th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Medical; 2008. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=3127288. Accessed Dec. 18, 2010.
  2. Urinary calculi. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/sec17/ch230/ch230a.html. Accessed Dec. 18, 2010.
  3. Ban KM, et al. Selected urologic problems. In: Marx JA, et al. Rosen's Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 7th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2010. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/about.do?about=true&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-323-05472-0..X0001-1--TOP&isbn=978-0-323-05472-0&uniqId=230100505-57. Accessed Dec. 19, 2010.
  4. Manthey DE, et al. Urologic stone disease. In: Tintinalli JE, et al. Tintinalli's Emergency Medicine: A Comprehensive Study Guide. 7th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Medical; 2011. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=6362783. Accessed Dec. 18, 2010.
  5. Pearle MS, et al. Urologic diseases in America: Urolithiasis. National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse. http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/statistics/uda/Urolithiasis-Chapter08.pdf. Accessed Dec. 18, 2010.
  6. Nicoletta JA. Medical evaluation and treatment of urolithiasis. Pediatric Clinics of North America. 2006;53:479.
  7. Gravel root. Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database. http://www.naturaldatabase.com. Accessed Dec. 18, 2010.
  8. Stone root. Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database. http://www.naturaldatabase.com. Accessed Dec. 18, 2010.
  9. Hydrangea. Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database. http://www.naturaldatabase.com. Accessed Dec. 18, 2010.
  10. Watkins RW. Urolithiasis (kidney and bladder stones). In: Rakel D. Integrative Medicine. 2nd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/page.do?eid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-2954-0..50063-6&isbn=978-1-4160-2954-0&type=bookPage&sectionEid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-2954-0..50063-6&uniqId=230284724-3#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-2954-0..50063-6. Accessed Dec. 18, 2010.
  11. Castle EP (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale/Phoenix, Ariz. Dec. 28, 2010.
DS00904 Jan. 15, 2011

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