- What do your kidneys do for you?
- What can you do for your kidneys?
- Here are 8 ways to prevent kidney disease and maintain kidney health
- Are you at risk for kidney disease?
- Did you know?
- Symptoms of kidney disease
- Detection of kidney disease
- Secondary Prevention – slowing disease progression
- What should you ask your doctor?
- Get your kidney function checked if you have one or more of the ‘high risk’ factors
- World Kidney Day is on 9 March 2023. The Theme for 2023 is
Kidney disease usually progresses silently, often destroying most of the kidney function before causing any symptoms. Take care of your kidney health!
The kidneys are complicated and amazing organs that do many essential tasks to keep us healthy.
The main job of your kidneys is to remove toxins and excess water from your blood. Kidneys also help to control your blood pressure, produce red blood cells, and keep your bones healthy.
Each roughly the size of your fist, kidneys are located deep in the abdomen, beneath the rib cage.
Your kidneys control bloodstream levels of many minerals and molecules including sodium and potassium and help to control blood acidity. Every day your kidneys carefully control the salt and water in your body so that your blood pressure remains the same.
What do your kidneys do for you?
Your Kidneys:
- Make urine
- Remove wastes and extra fluid from your blood
- Control your body’s chemical balance
- Help control your blood pressure
- Help keep your bones healthy
- Help you make red blood cells
What can you do for your kidneys?
Kidney diseases are silent killers, which will largely affect your quality of life. There are however several easy ways to reduce the risk of developing kidney disease.
Here are 8 ways to prevent kidney disease and maintain kidney health
1. Keep fit and active
Keeping fit helps to reduce your blood pressure and therefore reduces the risk of Chronic Kidney Disease.
2. Keep regular control of your blood sugar level
About half of the people who have diabetes develop kidney damage, so it is important for people with diabetes to have regular tests to check their kidney functions.
Kidney damage from diabetes can be reduced or prevented if detected early. It is important to keep control of blood sugar levels.
3. Monitor your blood pressure
Although many people may be aware that high blood pressure can lead to a stroke or heart attack, few know that it is also the most common cause of kidney damage.
The normal blood pressure level is 120/80. Between this level and 139/89, you are considered prehypertensive and should adopt lifestyle and dietary changes. At 140/90 and above, you should discuss the risks with your doctor and monitor your blood pressure level regularly. High blood pressure is especially likely to cause kidney damage when associated with other factors like diabetes, high cholesterol, and Cardio- Vascular Diseases.
4. Eat healthy and keep your weight in check
This can help prevent diabetes, heart disease, and other conditions associated with Chronic Kidney Disease.
5. Reduce your salt intake
The recommended sodium intake is 5-6 grams of salt per day (around a teaspoon). In order to reduce your salt intake, try and limit the amount of processed and restaurant food and do not add salt to food. It will be easier to control your intake if you prepare the food yourself with fresh ingredients.
6. Maintain a healthy fluid intake
Although clinical studies have not reached an agreement on the ideal quantity of water and other fluids we should consume daily to maintain good health, traditional wisdom has long suggested drinking 1.5 to 2 liters (3 to 4 pints) of water per day.
Consuming plenty of fluid helps the kidneys clear sodium, urea, and toxins from the body which, in turn, results in a “significantly lower risk” of developing chronic kidney disease, according to researchers in Australia and Canada. The findings, the researchers said, do not advocate “aggressive fluid loading”, which can cause side effects, but they do provide evidence that moderately increased water intake, around two liters daily, may reduce the risk of decline in kidney function.
It’s important to keep in mind that the right level of fluid intake for any individual depends on many factors including gender, exercise, climate, health conditions, pregnancy, and breastfeeding. In addition, people who have already had a kidney stone are advised to drink 2 to 3 liters of water daily to lessen the risk of forming a new stone.
7. Do not smoke
Smoking slows the flow of blood to the kidneys. When less blood reaches the kidneys, it impairs their ability to function properly. Smoking also increases the risk of kidney cancer by about 50 percent.
8. Do not take over-the-counter pills on a regular basis
Common drugs such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen are known to cause kidney damage and disease if taken regularly.
Such medications probably do not pose significant danger if your kidneys are relatively healthy and you use them for emergencies only, but if you are dealing with chronic pain, such as arthritis or back pain, work with your doctor to find a way to control your pain without putting your kidneys at risk.
Are you at risk for kidney disease?
- Do you have high blood pressure?
- Do you suffer from diabetes?
- Do you have a family history of kidney disease?
- Are you overweight?
- Do you smoke?
- Are you over 50 years?
- Are you of African, Hispanic, Aboriginal, or Asian origin?
If you have answered yes to one or more of these questions, you should discuss it with your doctor, you may need testing for kidney disease! Early chronic kidney disease has no signs or symptoms. You can help delay or prevent kidney failure by treating kidney disease early.
Did you know?
A person can lose up to 90% of their kidney function before experiencing any symptoms.
Symptoms of kidney disease
Most people have no symptoms until CKD is advanced. Signs of advancing CKD include swollen ankles, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, decreased appetite, blood in the urine, and foamy urine.
Detection of kidney disease
The majority of individuals with early stages of CKD go undiagnosed. On WKD we are calling on everyone to check if they are at risk for kidney disease and encouraging people with any risk factors to take a simple kidney function test.
Kidney disease usually progresses silently, often destroying most of the kidney function before causing any symptoms. The early detection of failing kidney function is crucial because it allows suitable treatment before irreversible kidney damage or deterioration manifests itself through other complications.
Simple laboratory tests are done on small samples of blood (to measure creatinine content and estimate GFR) and on urine (to measure creatinine and albumin excretion).
Your doctor uses the results of your Serum Creatinine measured in the blood to estimate your overall kidney function, or Glomerular Filtration Rate (GFR), and your blood sugar to be sure you do not have diabetes. A simple “dipstick” test may be used to detect excess protein in the urine.
- Serum Creatinine: Creatinine is a waste product in your blood that comes from muscle activity. It is normally removed from your blood by your kidneys, but when kidney function is reduced, the creatinine level rises. Your doctor can use the results of your serum creatinine test to calculate your GFR, which reflects how well your kidney is functioning.
- Glomerular Filtration Rate (GFR): Your GFR tells how much total kidney function you have. It may be estimated from your blood level of creatinine. Normal is about 100 ml/min, so lower values indicate the percentage of normal kidney function which you have. If your GFR falls below 60 ml/min you will usually need to see a kidney disease specialist (called a nephrologist), If the treatment you receive from the nephrologist does not prevent a further reduction in GFR, your nephrologist will speak to you about treatments for kidney failure you might need later like dialysis or kidney transplant. A GFR below 15 indicates that you may need to start one of these treatments soon.
- Urine albumin. The presence of excess protein in the urine is also a marker of CKD and is a better indicator of the risk for progression and for premature heart attacks and strokes than GFR alone. Excess protein in the urine can be screened for by placing a small plastic strip embedded with chemicals that change color when protein is present (urine dipstick) into a fresh urine specimen or can be measured more accurately with a laboratory test on the urine.
- Urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio. A urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) on a spot urine specimen is a laboratory test to measure and monitor urine albumin. UACR is a ratio between two measured substances – albumin and creatinine – in the urine. UACR is usually expressed as mg albumin/g creatinine and estimates 24-hour urine albumin excretion. UACR is unaffected by variations in urine concentration and is, therefore, more accurate than a dipstick. Albuminuria is diagnosed when UACR is greater than 30 mg/g and is a sign of CKD. (Source: http://nkdep.nih.gov/lab-evaluation/faqs.shtml)
Kidney diseases are silent killers, which will largely affect your quality of life. There are however several easy ways to reduce the risk of developing kidney disease.
Secondary Prevention – slowing disease progression
Key preventive measures have been defined and proven successful in those with early stages of CKD as secondary prevention measures, which help slow disease progression and protect against both kidney and cardiovascular disease.
Treatment: Clinical research over the last two decades has shown the potential benefit of blockade of the renin-angiotensin system by medicines known as ACE inhibitors and ARBs. This can significantly delay the progression of CKD, especially in people with diabetes and hypertension at a relatively low cost.
What should you ask your doctor?
Here are some key questions that you can ask your doctor:
- What is my GFR?
- What is my urine albumin result?
- What is my blood pressure?
- What is my blood glucose (for people with diabetes)?
Other important questions:
- What happens if I have kidney disease?
- What should I do to keep my kidneys healthy?
- Do I need to be taking different medicines?
- Should I be more physically active?
- What kind of physical activity can I do?
- What can I eat?
- Do I need to talk with a dietitian to get help with meal planning?
- Should I be taking ACE inhibitors or ARBs for my kidneys?
- How often should I get my kidneys checked?
Get your kidney function checked if you have one or more of the ‘high risk’ factors
- you have diabetes
- you have hypertension
- you are obese
- you have a family history of kidney diseas
World Kidney Day is on 9 March 2023. The Theme for 2023 is
Kidney Health for All – Preparing for the unexpected, supporting the vulnerable
