Guidelines Push Liquids to Prevent Stones

The best thing people who have had a kidney stone can do to prevent more is to drink lots of water, new guidelines say. The guidelines come from the American College of Physicians. The group looked at evidence for treatments and diet changes that doctors sometimes recommend to reduce the risk of second kidney stones. They focused on clinical trials, in which similar patients are randomly assigned to treatments. But there were not many of these. The strongest evidence was for drinking more fluids, enough to produce 2 liters of urine each day. The evidence for this advice was described as moderate to low in quality. Taking thiazide diuretics (“water pills”) also may increase urine flow, the guidelines say. Flushing liquids through the body may make it harder for stones to form.