If you have a kidney stone that is very small, it is unlikely to cause many symptoms. It may even go undetected and pass out painlessly when you urinate.
Symptoms usually occur if the kidney stone:
- gets stuck in your kidney
- starts to travel down the ureter (tube that attaches each kidney to the bladder) - the ureter is a narrow tube and the kidney stone causes pain as it tries to pass through
- causes an infection
Common symptoms of kidney stones include:
- intense pain in the back or side of your abdomen or occasionally in your groin, which may last for minutes or hours, with intervals inbetween when there is no pain
- feeling restless and unable to lie still
- nausea (feeling sick)
- blood in your urine, which is often caused by the stone scratching the ureter
- cloudy or smelly urine
- a burning sensation when you urinate
- a high temperature (fever) of 38°C (100.4°F) or over
- feeling like you need to urinate more often, even if you do not need to
- pain when you urinate
Blocked ureter and kidney infection
If a kidney stone causes a blocked ureter, this can lead to a kidney infection. This is because waste products cannot pass, which may cause a build-up of bacteria. Symptoms of an infected kidney include:
- pain in the lower side of your back
- a high temperature (fever) of 38°C (100.4°F) or over
- shivering
- nausea and vomiting
- diarrhoea
- cloudy and bad smelling urine
- needing to urinate more often than normal
- pain when you urinate
Read the Health A-Z pages about Kidney infection for more information.
