Kidney stones: drink enough in summer!
All content is checked by medical journalists.MunichIn the summer months, the hospital emergency departments treat a particularly large number of people with kidney stones and painful kidney colic. The reason: the high temperatures.
An American and an Italian study recently found independently that there is a link between climate and severe kidney disease. This is how Dr. Benjamin Katz from Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City and colleagues recorded the emergency room data from January 2007 to December 2012. A total of 3647 patients with renal colic had to be treated during this time. When the scientists compared their data with the weather records for the same period, they discovered a clear correlation with temperature and humidity: most patients developed kidney problems in hot August, least of them in February.
High temperatures, more kidney stones
An Italian study by the biometerologist Vincenzo Condemi comes to a similar conclusion. She also found a link between temperature and hospital admissions for renal colic and kidney stones. Most of the patients came to the emergency room in July, and fewest in December. However, the Italians could not determine any influence of the air humidity.
Water or tea
The reason why kidney problems are dependent on the climate: Those who sweat heavily and drink too little become dehydrated. Then less urine is produced for the excretion of salts, the urine becomes more concentrated and this promotes the formation of stones in the kidneys. If these get stuck in the ureters on the way to the bladder, colic develops, which is usually associated with severe pain.
"It is unrealistic to assume that new stones will form within a few weeks, but perhaps existing stones will continue to grow due to the lack of fluids and contribute to the increased number of cases," suspects Condemi. It is therefore important to drink enough, especially in summer, recommends the German Society for Urology. Tap water or unsweetened tea is particularly suitable because of its minimal salt content. The formation of kidney stones can also be prevented by a healthy diet with little animal protein, sufficient exercise and a normal body weight.
Crystals in the urine
In Germany, five percent of the population are affected by kidney stones at least once in their life, in the USA even up to 15 percent - and the trend is rising. The reason for this is the widespread prevalence of obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes - all risk factors for stone disease. Kidney stones are crystallized components of the urine that can form in the kidneys, in the renal pelvis and in the urinary tract. Only when they migrate into the ureter do kidney stones cause pain - severe cramps (colic) in the flanks, accompanied by nausea and vomiting. (away)
Sources: German Society for Urology e.V .: "Extreme heat promotes stone formation: urologists warn of the summer sickness urinary stones", 22. July 2014
Sirohi M, et al: Monthly Variations in Urolithiasis Presentations and Their Association with Meteorologic Factors in New York City, Journal of Endourology 2014; 28: 599-604, doi: 10.1089 / end.2013.0680
Condemi V, et al: Association with meteo-climatological factors and daily emergency visits for renal colic and urinary calculi in Cuneo, Italy. A retrospective observational study, 2007-2010, Int J Biometeorol (online), June 27, 2014, doi: 10.1007 / s00484-014-0861-1
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