Did you know that summer can also damage the health of our kidneys? That’s why health experts say to follow these tips to keep kidneys healthy during summer.
First Published Mar 9, 2023, 11:36 AM IST
The sun is burning. This causes many diseases. Do not go out especially at noon. Experts say that this season also affects the health of the kidneys. Especially in the afternoon. This season is more dangerous for children, the elderly, people with chronic diseases such as chronic kidney disease (CKD), heart disease, liver disease. Special care should be taken to avoid kidney diseases in summer. Even people without kidney disease need to pay more attention to their kidneys.
How does summer affect your kidneys?
Many people suffer from dehydration during summer. Especially because of the heat. But dehydration can lead to many health problems. Some of the common problems that can affect you in summer include acute kidney failure, kidney stones, and urinary tract infections (UTIs). Also, intense exercise without proper water content in the body can lead to muscle injury or rhabdomyolysis. This leads to muscle protein leakage into the blood. The result can lead to acute kidney failure. Now let’s know what precautions should be taken in this season to avoid all this.
Stay indoors when it’s too hot.
Do not stay in the sun for a long time between 12 noon and 4 pm.
Use a broad-spectrum sunscreen with at least SPF 3 or higher.
Wear cotton, light weight clothing.
Signs of dehydration such as dry mouth, throat, decreased urination or dark colored urine, increased fatigue, muscle cramps, dizziness, irregular or fast heartbeat. So drink more water this season.
Urine color also indicates hydration level. Lemon colored urine indicates adequate hydration level. Orange or any dark colored urine indicates dehydration.
People without chronic health problems should drink between 7 and 2 liters of water per day.
People with chronic diseases such as chronic kidney disease and heart disease should ask their doctors how much water to drink per day.
Staying hydrated is very important in summer. But patients with kidney disease should be very careful about fluid intake.
Exercisers should drink 9 ml of water before exercise. Drink water every 30 minutes.
Those who do intense, prolonged exercise should drink sports drinks like Gatorade along with water.
People working outdoors in summer should drink 250 ml of water every 11 minutes to maintain adequate hydration.
Fruits and vegetables with high water content like watermelon, peaches, strawberry, cherries, cucumber, lettuce should be consumed more.
Carbonated drinks with high caffeine and sugar content should be avoided. Because they cause dehydration even in liquid form.
Do not drink too much alcohol. Because it leads to dehydration. Increases risk of kidney disease.
Processed foods like chips and ready-to-eat are high in salt. These increase the chances of dehydration.
