Fasting precautions for kidney patients

DOHA: People suffering from kidney stone related diseases or having urinary tract infections and fasting during the holy month of Ramadan should not eat red meat and should take a lot of fluids and follow other dietary precautions.

“Patients with kidney stones should follow the same course of diets in the month of Ramadan prescribed by their respective doctors for other months. For example, patients who are predisposed to form stones or having high urea content in their urine must reduce the intake of red meat as well as should take a lot of water and other fluids,” said  Dr Khalid Al Rumaihi, Student Consultant and Head of Urology Department at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) told an Arabic daily.

He said that patients with kidney stones should avoid the consumption of spinach, tomatoes, cocoa, nuts, tea and coffee and there should be an intake of a lot of fluids and water as well as natural lemon juice, especially after breakfast.

Due to the advent of the holy month of Ramadan this year in mid-summer, the patients with kidney and urinary tract problems are wondering about the effect of fasting on their health especially patients with kidney stones, as doctors often advise them to take large amounts of liquid diet, especially in the summer.

There is no doubt that fasting causes toxins out from the intestine and the blood which come out through urine, the rate is high at first resulting in headaches and fatigue during the first days of fasting, but gradually with time it occurs less dramatically.

Doctors suggest that these patients can fast by drinking liquids with compensation, especially water in sufficient quantities in the evening and opt for delay suhoor to the pre-dawn and avoid exposure to heat  during the day.

Dr Rumaihi said that patients with kidney diseases must maintain the stability of blood components  and percentage of salts and other chemical compounds in the body.

For patients with urinary tract infections, the consultant confirms that if the situation becomes severe and requires access to the hospital, then they should be given antibiotics intravenously and they can fast with taking antibiotics during the breakfast, which is taken usually once or twice a day.

Source: The Peninsula