Jagger not among these stones

            WAXAHACHIE , TX - Think summer and you might think cookouts and baseball, Newswise stated. You probably don’t think about kidney stones, but you should. They’re more prevalent in the summer since they’re tied to water intake, and people don’t always drink enough to compensate for summer heat. Dr. Andrew Sambell, a urologist at Baylor Medical Center , says there are steps to reduce your risk of kidney stones: at least 4-8 glasses of water a day, and double that in hot weather. He recommends eating a vegetarian diet two days a week or cutting your meat intake by 30%. If you’re eating fast food more than twice a week, you’re getting a lot of salt in your diet. If you drink mostly colas, coffee, or iced tea, try to switch to decaf at least some of the time. Caffeine is a diuretic which can leave you dehydrated. Lemons are high in citrate, which acts as a stone inhibitor. Slice them up and put them in your water or tea. This may make your water more palatable. There are uncontrollable factors that can increase your odds of kidney stones, including recurrent urinary tract infections, certain medical conditions, and a family history. There are genetic risk factors that can increase your likelihood of kidney stones. If you get a kidney stone, it will probably pass on its own. “Most stones of 4 millimeters or less will pass,” Dr. Sambell says. “Anything larger than 6 millimeters won’t pass on its own.” A large stone no longer necessarily means surgery. There’s a treatment that’s been around for 20 years, called extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy that uses sound waves to crush the stone into small particles that can pass on their own. There are minimally invasive surgical techniques that doctors can use to remove kidney stones. Dr. Sambell says that open surgery is now necessary only in 1-2% of people with kidney stones. People with recurrent kidney stones should have their risk factors evaluated by a doctor, since multiple stones could lead to a complication.