Symptoms of kidney stones

• gets stuck in your kidney
• starts to travel down the ureter (the tube that attaches each kidney to the bladder) – the ureter is narrow and kidney stones can cause pain as they try to pass through
• causes an infection

In these cases, the symptoms of kidney stones can include:

• a persistent ache in the lower back, which is sometimes also felt in the groin – men may have pain in their testicles and scrotum
• periods of intense pain in the back or side of your abdomen, or occasionally in your groin, which may last for minutes or hours
• feeling restless and unable to lie still
• nausea (feeling sick)
• needing to urinate more often than normal
• pain when you urinate (dysuria)
• blood in your urine (haematuria)– this may be caused by the stone scratching the kidney or ureter
• Blocked ureter and kidney infection

A kidney stone that blocks the ureter can lead to a kidney infection. This is because waste products are unable to pass the blockage, which may cause a build-up of bacteria.

The symptoms of a kidney infection are similar to symptoms of kidney stones, but may also include:

• a high temperature (fever) of 38C (100.4F) or over
• chills and shivering
• feeling very weak or tired
• diarrhoea
• cloudy and bad-smelling urine