Name: What do kidney stones feel like?
Creator: Dr Karen Martin
Published: 2023-02-15T10:35:06.800Z

You are likely unable to concentrate on anything else with this type of pain, so call your doctor or get to the emergency department for an assessment and they may arrange a scan and do blood tests.

They will also consider other causes of pain like this, such as a urine or kidney infection, [appendicitis](https://www.healthwords.ai/us/condition/appendicitis), [pelvic pain](https://www.healthwords.ai/us/article/pelvic-pain) in women or prostatitis in men, or simple severe [lower back pain](https://www.healthwords.ai/us/treatment/lower-back-pain).

While you wait for an assessment, you can take [acetaminophen](https://www.healthwords.ai/us/treatment/acetaminophen) or [ibuprofen](https://www.healthwords.ai/us/treatment/ibuprofen) (if just for short-term relief). Your doctor can prescribe any stronger pain relief.

How seriously should I take this?

Blood in the urine is also known as hematuria. Blood that can be seen by the naked eye is called macroscopic hematuria, whereas blood that can’t be seen but is only found through a urine test is called microscopic hematuria. Although there are many harmless causes for it, both of these can indicate a cause for concern and require discussion with a doctor and possibly more investigations. 

Blood in the urine can occur alone with no other symptoms, but it can also occur with pain on peeing or the passage of clots. You may get other urine symptoms such as passing urine very frequently, needing to rush to the bathroom or the urine having a bad smell. The color can vary from rose-colored to Coca-Cola colored. 

Abdominal pain (also known as stomach ache) is very common and has many causes. The majority of causes are not anything worrisome and improve on their own or with simple over-the-counter treatment. The most common causes are trapped gas, [indigestion](https://www.healthwords.ai/us/article/indigestion-dyspepsia-symptoms-and-treatments) or stomach irritation, and then [constipation](https://www.healthwords.ai/us/condition/constipation-causes-symptoms-and-treatments-650) or conditions that cause [diarrhea](https://www.healthwords.ai/us/symptom/diarrhea) such as food poisoning or even [irritable bowel syndrome](https://www.healthwords.ai/us/article/ibs-triggers-and-treatments-to-ease-your-symptoms-644). Abdominal pain can also be a normal part of many women’s menstruation symptoms.

There are a number of ways you can feel abdominal pain. It may be generalized, where you feel it in more than half of your tummy, and this is the sort of abdominal pain often felt with a stomach virus, indigestion or gas. It may also be localized to one part of your abdomen such as your appendix or stomach, or may feel like cramps.

Crampy pain isn’t usually serious but is often due to gas and [bloating](https://www.healthwords.ai/us/symptom/bloating-72). You can also get pain that feels like colic – waves of sharp pain that can stop and start suddenly and common causes of this abdominal pain are [kidney stones](https://www.healthwords.ai/us/condition/kidney-stones-439) and gallstones.

Pelvic pain occurs in the lower abdomen and pelvis. The pain can originate from organs close by, such as any of the reproductive organs, the digestive or urinary systems, or from the surrounding muscles and ligaments.

It predominantly affects women, and may be acute, lasting a short time, such as in period cramps or a [urinary tract infection](https://www.healthwords.ai/us/condition/urinary-tract-infection-uti), or persisting as a chronic condition. Chronic pelvic pain is defined as intermittent or continuous pelvic pain that lasts for longer than 6 months and affects around 1 in 6 women.

Prostatitis is inflammation of the prostate gland. The prostate is a walnut-sized gland that lies between the penis and the bladder and produces a fluid that nourishes sperm to create semen. Prostatitis usually occurs in people between the ages of 30 and 50 years.  

It can be very painful but rest assured, it does get better with time and treatment if needed.  

Cystitis means inflammation of the bladder and is usually caused by a bacterial infection. Cystitis is often used interchangeably with the term urinary tract infection (UTI), although technically, cystitis is a subtype of the umbrella term UTI, which also includes infections in other parts of the kidney-bladder-urethra system. 

Common complaints are pain or burning on passing urine, needing to go more often, and yet little may be passed and racing to the bathroom with great urgency to pass urine. 

Less common symptoms include stomach pain, blood in the urine or smelly urine. Cystitis is usually caused by certain bacteria, many of which occur naturally on your skin and in your gut. Owing to the close proximity of your waterworks to the bowel system, bacteria that are usually harmless in the feces or on your skin can contaminate the urinary system and cause a bladder infection. 

A urinary tract infection (UTI) is characterized by burning on passing urine, the urge to pass urine frequently and pain. Such infections occur when the normally sterile urine becomes infected with bacteria or other microorganisms. The most common bacteria causing a UTI is called E. coli, though other conditions such as Staphylococcus and [Chlamydia](https://www.healthwords.ai/us/article/chlamydia) can also cause infection.

Such bacteria or organisms enter the urethra – the tiny tube that links from the vulva to the bladder – and cause irritation (urethritis). The infection can then spread back to the bladder causing [cystitis](https://www.healthwords.ai/us/article/cystitis) (inflammation of the bladder).

If a UTI is left untreated the infection can track even further back to the kidneys, via two small tubes called the ureters (one connects between each kidney and the bladder). This kidney infection is called pyelonephritis and can be a serious health problem.

With correct treatment, a urinary tract infection can be cleared quickly – in just one or two days. Even if symptoms are quickly alleviated, always finish any antibiotic course ordered by the doctor to ensure bacteria do not recur in a stronger or different form.

UTIs are much more common in women than men because their urethra is very close to the vagina and anus so bacteria can spread easily. Women also have a shorter urethra than men which means bacteria can travel to the bladder more quickly. Sexual intercourse can also irritate the urethra in a woman and increase the incidence of a UTI, and after menopause UTIs can also become more common in women because of changes in the urethra, bladder and vagina due to hormonal fluctuations.

In men, UTIs can be indicative of prostate problems, kidney stones or a sexually transmitted disease, and in the elderly UTIs can cause confusion and falls.

## What are the signs and symptoms of a UTI?

- burning and pain on urination
- an urge to pass urine regularly
- even when you have just passed urine, a feeling you need to urinate again
- passing only small amounts of urine
- tiredness
- the urine may be cloudy and strong smelling, and can have blood in it 

If the infection ascends higher up the urinary tract towards the kidneys (known as pyelonephritis) you may get pain in one side of your lower back or loin, depending on which ureter or kidney is affected. You will likely feel quite unwell, with fever, chills and possibly vomiting.

Kidney stones are crystals formed from the naturally occurring salts in urine that bulk together to form a solid lump. Waste products in the blood can occasionally form crystals that collect inside the kidneys. Stones can develop in one or both kidneys. The medical name for stones in the kidneys is nephrolithiasis, and if the stones cause severe pain, this is known as renal colic. About 2% of adults have a kidney stone at any one time and it usually affects people aged 30–60 years of age. Renal colic affects about 10–20% of men and 3–5% of women. There is often no obvious reason why stones occur. 

Symptoms vary widely and people often have kidney stones without realizing it, suffering no symptoms. Stones may cause pain when they are stationary in the kidney itself, but the real problems occur if they move out from the kidney and into the pipe connecting the kidney and bladder (the ureter). If this happens, along with causing severe pain, they can block the pipe, leading to potential infection and difficulty passing urine. This may prevent the kidneys from working effectively, with immediate or long term consequences. Pain may be felt in the side of the abdomen and down into the groin area, severe enough to cause vomiting, sweating and profound agitation. There may be [blood in the urine](https://www.healthwords.ai/us/symptom/blood-in-urine-544) and a need to urinate frequently, and symptoms can last from minutes to days. The size of the stone passed need not match the symptoms felt since a tiny stone the size of a grain of sand can be enough to trigger severe pain.

If you have classical-sounding pain, along with blood in your urine, your doctor may arrange a scan to see whether there is any evidence of kidney stones.

Renal calculi, commonly known as [kidney stones](https://www.healthwords.ai/us/condition/kidney-stones-439), are crystals formed from the naturally occurring salts in urine that clump together to form a solid lump or 'stone'. They are common and affect around 1 in 10 people - but slightly more men than women.

Kidney stones often do not tend to cause many symptoms if they are stationary in the kidney itself, but the real problems occur if they move out from the kidney and travel into the ureter – the tube connecting a kidney to the bladder. If this happens, along with causing severe pain, they can block the ureter, leading to potential infection and difficulty passing urine. They can also carry the risk of preventing the kidneys from working effectively, either in the short term or with more long-term consequences.

[What do kidney stones feel like](https://www.healthwords.ai/us/symptom/what-do-kidney-stones-feel-like)? The typical pain associated with kidney stones is felt from the loin to the groin. This is from the side of the back, radiating around to the front lower part of the abdomen. People sometimes feel the pain travelling into the vagina, testicle or tip of the penis, and they may also see blood in their urine.

Most people report the pain of kidney stones to be excruciating, coming in waves and spasms to double them over until it passes after a few seconds or minutes before returning again and is often so severe it makes them [vomit](https://www.healthwords.ai/us/symptom/nausea-and-vomiting-352). The waves of pain happen when your ureter is blocked, but this muscular tube tries to force the stone along it by squeezing.

If you have classical-sounding pain, along with blood in your urine, your doctor may arrange a scan to see whether there is any evidence of kidney stones.

Polycystic kidney disease (PKD) is a genetic disease that causes multiple small cysts, or fluid-filled sacs, to develop in the kidneys. This usually causes no problems until the age of 30 to 50, when they have grown large enough to affect the functioning of the kidneys, causing symptoms or changes in blood tests. This is so-called adult PKD, as although children are born with it, symptoms don't appear until adulthood. It’s also known as autosomal dominant PKD, according to how it is inherited. Each parent has a 1 in 2 chance of passing it on to their child.

More rarely, symptoms may be seen in babies or children, called infantile PKD or autosomal recessive PKD. It’s more serious as the kidneys are under strain from an early age, and cysts can also appear on the liver. It’s inherited only if both parents carry the faulty gene.

Around a quarter of PKD cases have no known family history. It either occurs spontaneously or was never diagnosed in relatives. They can pass the condition on to their children.

Kidney cancer is one of the 10 most common cancers in the US. Known medically as renal cancer, it is more common in men than women, and it’s rare in people under the age of 50.

There are several different types of kidney cancer but the commonest type is known as renal cell cancer. Others include transitional cell cancer, Wilm’s tumors, and clear cell sarcomas that only occur in children.

You have two kidneys, one on either side of your tummy (your flanks) and one slightly to the back. Their job is critical in keeping us alive - they balance up the salts (sodium, potassium, and chloride) in our blood and excrete out any excess in urine. They filter out toxins in the urine and balance out fluids by making the urine more concentrated or more watery, depending on what we need.

Signs that might alert you to a kidney problem are blood in the urine or a lump in one of your flanks. It’s confirmed with blood tests, urine tests, and scans.

Dr Karen Martin

Pharmacist and Head of US Content

You will likely know if you have a [kidney stone](https://www.healthwords.ai/us/condition/kidney-stones-439). The stones are solid lumps, often with a high calcium content (think limescale clumps). They cause no problems when small or sitting in the kidney. But they cause excruciating pain if they get stuck moving from one of your kidneys, down a tube called the ureter, to your bladder.

Most people describe the pain as sharp or cramping waves, causing them to double over until the spasm passes after a few seconds or minutes. This is when your ureter is blocked, but this muscular tube is trying to force the stone down by squeezing.

You'll feel this from one side of your lower back, round to the front lower part of the abdomen. It sometimes radiates to the vagina, testicle, or tip of the penis. This is called loin-to-groin pain.

Stones then have to move from the bladder via another tube, the urethra, and out in your urine. This may correspond to more painful spasms as the urethra contracts.

What do kidney stones feel like?

Doctor’s advice

How seriously should I take this?

Related topics

Blood in urine

Abdominal pain

Pelvic pain

Prostatitis

Cystitis

Urinary tract infection (UTI)

Kidney stones

Renal calculi

Polycystic kidney disease

Kidney cancer