Just Passed A Kidney Stone? 3 Tips To Help You Avoid A Repeat Encounter
If you've recently passed a kidney stone, you know how excruciating it is. The last thing you want is go through that again. Unfortunately, once you've had kidney stones once, it's likely that you'll have them again. Luckily, there are some steps you can take to reduce the risk of repeat. Here are a few suggestions that will help you avoid a repeat encounter with kidney stones.
Increase Your Fluids
You may be drinking plenty of water during the day. However, if you're not drinking water during the appropriate times, you may be setting yourself up for kidney stones. Drinking water throughout the day does keep you properly hydrated under normal conditions. Unfortunately, if you're not increasing your water intake while you're sweating, you're depleting your fluids faster than your body can replaced them, which leads to a quicker development of kidney stones. You can protect yourself against them by drinking water while you're sweating. For instance, increase your water intake during workouts. If you're going to relax in a sauna, or hot tub, bring a bottle of water with you. This will ensure that you don't lose vital fluids through your sweat.
Limit the Red Meats
If you've had kidney stones before, and red meat is a normal part of your diet, you need to rethink your diet. Red meat contains purines, which increases your body's production of uric acid. Your kidneys have a hard time processing uric acid, which causes the development of kidney stones. Reducing your intake of red meat while increasing your intake of fresh fruits and vegetables will reduce the amount of uric acid in your system and help prevent the formation of kidney stones. While you're increasing your intake of fruits and vegetables, don't forget to add some cranberry juice – it's good for your kidneys.
See Your Doctor
Now that you've had your first encounter with kidney stones, you should be seeing your doctor on a regular basis. Your doctor will be able to provide you with additional methods to help prevent a repeat visit. Not only that, but seeing your doctor on a regular basis will allow them to catch any returning kidney stones while they're still small, which will make passing them much easier – and less painful.
Kidney stones are no laughing matter. If you've suffered through them before, follow the tips provided here to prevent a return. If you begin to feel the pangs of kidney stones again, get to a doctor like Bollinger James R, M.P. as soon as possible.