...will bring more kidney stones.
More Americans may develop kidney stones as global warming raises the risk of dehydration, according to a study in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Warmer temperatures predicted by climate scientists may lead to a 30 percent increase in kidney stone cases in some U.S. regions, researchers at the University of Texas wrote in the study published today. That would result in a $1 billion increase in annual treatment costs by 2050, they said.
Dehydration is linked to the condition, which can develop when people don't drink enough water to flush stone-forming salts from the body. Higher temperatures may lead to more dehydration and expand the ``kidney stone belt,'' an area of the Southeast U.S. where men are twice as likely to develop the disease compared with the Northeast, according to the study.
In 1983, when I was stationed at Homestead AFB, south of Miami I passed a kidney stone. I was telling my boss my Mom's phone # because I thought I was going to die. The pain was so bad that surely I would have given up government secrets if I had any to give up.
The Air Force doctor gave me a wire strainer and sent me back to duty, telling me to bring it back when it comes out. I remember when that stone passed as sure as I remember my high school graduation. I don't want to say it was big, but it had "Titleist" written on it.
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