A 23-year-old Taichung man vowed to drink more water after his heavy consumption of sugary tea landed him in hospital with a kidney infection and sepsis.
The man, surnamed Lin (林), used to drink two cups of half-sugar oolong tea while working at a food stall, where he often had to wait a long time before urinating.
Lin developed kidney stones and noticed blood in his urine, but ignored the issue after taking medication for three days.
Photo: Hung Su-ching, Taipei Times
A month later, he went to the emergency room after experiencing a recurring fever and was diagnosed with a kidney infection that led to sepsis, landing him in an intensive care unit.
After making a full recovery, he vowed to stay hydrated.
“I got my life back. I am going to be better about drinking water from now on,” he said.
Huang Pin-jui (黃品叡), a doctor in the urology department of Dajia Lee’s General Hospital, said that an examination of Lin following his emergency room visit revealed two 1mm kidney stones in his right kidney, which had swollen to twice the size of the left one.
He was immediately hospitalized for treatment as his inflammation had surged to 27 milligrams per deciliter, which is 90 times the normal level, Huang said.
Lin was admitted to the intensive care unit after his blood pressure dropped suddenly and he lost consciousness, he said.
The inflammation subsided after treatment, but Lin’s liver was damaged and showed signs of jaundice, he said, adding that Lin recovered after further treatment.
Lin was diagnosed with acute pyelonephritis, a type of inflammation caused by bacterial infection of the kidneys and renal pelvis, Huang said.
The condition was likely caused by Lin holding his urine for long periods and drinking sugary beverages instead of water, which led to kidney stones, and the condition worsened as he ignored his symptoms, the doctor said.
As the weather gets hotter, people should drink more water and fewer sugary drinks, he said.
As he worked 12-hour shifts at a hot food stall, Lin said he would bring two cups of half-sugar oolong tea to drink when he was thirsty, and did not drink much water.
Even on his days off he would drink sugary beverages, consuming about 60 per month, he said.
“It is really embarrassing,” Lin said. “I never thought that not drinking water would make me sick and even put my life in danger.”
He said he learned a lesson from the experience and advised others to drink plenty of water to stay hydrated, drink fewer sugary drinks and avoid waiting to urinate for long periods.
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