Along with diet and exercise, drinking water helps round out the foundation of optimum health and wellness practices. Staying hydrated is essential for maintaining proper function for various systems within the body, including the genitourinary system. Drinking water helps balance salts and sugars within the body and flush out toxins and wastes through the urinary system. Not only is hydration key to staying healthy, but dehydration can worsen certain urologic conditions. We want to take some time to focus on how staying hydrated can benefit your urologic health and explain how dehydration can take its toll on various urologic conditions.
Staying Hydrated is Crucial for the Following Conditions:
Bladder Inflammation
Your urinary system is made up of your kidneys, ureters, bladder, and urethra. Each part of this system helps to remove waste from your body. When you are dehydrated, the buildup of minerals can irritate the lining of your bladder. This concentration of wastes can lead to frequent and urgent urination or pelvic pain. Drinking the recommended amount of water can help prevent the buildup of minerals and help flush out toxins from the body.
UTIs
In many cases, bladder inflammation can lead to the formation of urinary tract infections (UTIs). When bacteria in the bladder is not flushed out correctly, it can lead to an infection in the urinary tract. While UTIs are common and treatable, they can lead to further infection in the kidneys if left untreated.
Kidney Stones
When you are dehydrated, your body cannot create enough urine to effectively rid your system of excess toxins, wastes, and minerals. Over time, these minerals and salts can start to form into kidney stones. While kidney stones are typically caused by some medical conditions, excess body weight, or certain medications, they can worsen with dehydration.
Kidney Failure
Dehydration also affects the metabolic system. One of the main components of the metabolic system is the kidneys. When you are dehydrated, your body’s metabolism slows down, which can, in turn, weaken and break down the kidney’s muscle tissues. While it’s essential to stay hydrated for many reasons, hydration becomes even more important when you are experiencing problems with the kidneys.
Hydration Tips
To keep your body and genitourinary system functioning properly, it’s important to know the ins and outs of proper hydration, starting with the recommended amount of water to drink per day. There are many different suggested quantities for water intake, but based on your size, the standard eight glasses per day is probably not enough. As a general rule of thumb, take your weight and divide it by two, and that’s the number of ounces of water you should drink per day. So if you weigh 160 lbs, you should try and drink at least 80 ounces of water throughout the day. When choosing beverages to drink, try to limit the amount of alcohol you consume, as alcoholic drinks are considered a diuretic and expedite the dehydration process. It’s also important to check your prescriptions for any side effects that may interfere with the body’s ability to remain hydrated or respond to heat. If you are in a hotter temperature, make sure you’re drinking even more water than usual to replace what your body loses in sweat.
Make an Appointment
If you are experiencing any urologic problems or have any questions about urologic conditions, schedule an appointment with one of our providers. Our team has years of experience treating issues relating to the urinary tract, male infertility, pelvic floor dysfunction, and more. You can call Alliance Urology Specialists in Greensboro at (336) 274-1114.
