Summer, Kidney Stone Season
Summer in a tropical country should be full of outdoor activities such as swimming, wakeboarding, kiteboarding, surfing, cycling and many more. There should be lots of fun with these activities. Summer is also considered as kidney stone season when people have the highest risk of obtaining a kidney stone during this season.
Kidney stones are made of salts and minerals in the urine that stick together to form small “pebbles.” They can be as small as grains of sand or as large as golf balls. Sounds simple but the “profound degree of pain” can radiate down the side and belly and can be accompanied by excessive sweating, nausea and vomiting. The pain will stop and starts again, its a cycle of pain. Normally, when you felt these symptoms, you have no choice but to rush to a nearby hospital. The pain is unbearable and can be compared to labor pains.
Its summer, studies showed that summer is kidney stone season. Here are the tips I want to share, I will update this if I remember additional tips.
- Dehydration is the primary culprit during this hot weather. This is the time of the year that we have to drink more than we usually have. Drinking 8 glasses of water daily is fine but if you are engaged in outdoor activity or any activity that will make you sweat, the more water you drink, the better. I drink 3 liters of water daily.
- Filipino loves patis (fish sauce), toyo (soy sauce), bagoong and other salty food, if not eaten with moderation will give us health problems. Actually, there’s no food to avoid but always eat a proper diet and always in moderation.
- Don’t drink supplements such as calcium unless prescribed by your doctor especially if you are a “stone former”. Drink milk in moderation as natural source of calcium. Calcium nutrient is also present to other food we eat.
- A large percentage of people have kidney stone in their kidneys they never know about. Patients who already have kidney stone history tend to get it again. Prevention is the key, a regular annual check-up of your kidney will help.
Its okay to have fun during summer but don’t forget your water!
This post has 3 comments
April 8th, 2008
I had kidney stones for the first time earlier this year - kidney stone diet - and can confirm it is excruciatingly painful if it coincides with renal colic (and it did). That said, there’s no real evidence that supports dehydration or diet as being a cause of the build-up of stones. One study will say it does and the next will say it doesn’t; wait long enough and a study will come along that supports your personal view but you can’t trust their results. Ultimately, as with most things, it could all be down to pot luck. Just as you could smoke every day and never get cancer while someone nearby inhales once and is struck down, so some people will be more likely to have the stones form than others with no mitigating circumstances.
April 8th, 2008
Hi, Mark. Thanks on commenting to this issue. I had three cases of kidney stone, almost yearly. I’ll be making a follow up article to this post, details of my case. I don’t rely on articles posted in the web but they are based on my experience. My doctor is earning big sum money during summer.
April 14th, 2008
Never would have thought about kidney stones as a summer danger. You think about sunburn, sun stroke, dehydration, but you never think about kidney stones as a consequence. Thank you for this post.
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