People cheat on their diets. People cheat on tests. People may cheat on their taxes. But would a kidney stone patient lie about their water consumption? Or, perhaps, just plain lose track of it? No, of course not. But…just in case…here is the high-tech fashionable Hidrate water bottle that can help you keep track of your water consumption:
When you fill it up it records the volume in the bottle and compiles the information in an app. And when it is empty and you refill it the amount you drank is recorded and the new water in the bottle is tracked as well. It seems like if you haven’t sipped in a while, the bottle lights up as a reminder.
Now why is water intake so important to prevent kidney stones? Well, that’s simple. Kidney stones form when elements in urine form crystals that then enlarge to form stones. If your urine is dilute enough, the crystals will likely not form. Other aspects of diet change may need to be specific to each patient’s own unique metabolism, and this can often be deciphered by doing a 24 hour urine test. Any urologist or health care provider can order this but it takes experience to interpret it. Dr. Newman, a Las Vegas Urologist, has the training and skill to help you manage your kidney stones.
But fluid intake is the simplest surefire way to try to prevent kidney stones. Is there is such a thing as too much? Sure, there is a limit to everything. It would be rare that more than 3 liters of water intake a day would be more helpful than 2-3 liters. And there is such a thing as too much as you can overload the body with water and lower the concentration of elements of the blood that can affect kidney function but this is not very common. So if a moderately expensive toy like Hidrate can help motivate you to drink enough fluids every day, it can save you a lot of pain and cost in the long run.