Kidney disease is one of the costliest
illnesses in the world and managing kidney disease is very
expensive.
Each year, lots of people die of kidney disease all over the
world, and the number of people suffering from chronic renal failure, and need
dialysis or kidney transplantation to stay alive keep
increasing.
Statistics have it that, worldwide, more than millions
patients are waiting for kidney transplants, but only a few thousands will
receive transplants because of shortage of suitable organ
donors.
Patients usually felt surprised when they are diagnosed of
Kidney Failure.
Experts have found the explanation from your daily life
habits.
Here are the top habits which lead to your kidney
failure:
1. Not emptying your bladder
early:
Maintaining a full bladder for a long time is a quick way of
causing bladder damage. That the urine stays in the bladder for a long time
can cause the bacteria breeding in urine to multiply quickly. Once the urine
refluxes back to ureter and kidneys, the bacteria can result in kidney
infections, then urinary tract infection, and then nephritis, even
Uremia.
So, no matter how busy you are, remember to drink a lot of
water and urinate regularly. Once you form the habit of holding back urine, it
will ultimately damage your kidneys.
2. Not drinking enough
water:
The main functions of the kidneys are to regulate erythrocyte
balances and eliminate metabolic wastes in urine. If we do not drink enough
water, the blood will be concentrated and the blood flow to the kidney will
not be adequate, thus the function of eliminating toxins in from blood will be
impaired.
3. Taking too much salt:
95% sodium we
consume through food is metabolized by the kidneys. Exceeding the salt intake
will make the kidneys work harder to excrete the excess salt and can lead to
decreased kidney function. This excess sodium will cause water retention,
causing edema. Edema usually elevates blood pressure and increases the risk of
developing kidney disease. The daily salt intake should be controlled within
6g per day.
4. Not treating common infections quickly and
properly:
Common infections, such as pharyngitis, tonsillitis, common
cold etc, usually triggers or aggravates kidney damage. They do this by
causing an acute attack of acute glomerulonephritis or chronic nephritis. So,
you will see that people who get kidney disease for the first time or whose
illness condition becomes worse usually present in hospitals with a history of
cold or sore throat.
If after having cold, symptoms like blood in
urine, swelling, headache, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, poor appetite appear,
you should consult your doctor immediately, to assess your kidney functions,
and start treatment if compromised.
5. Eating too much
meat:
Eating too much meat and protein can increase the metabolic load
of the kidney. For those suffering from proteinuria, meat consumption too may
aggravate protein leakage, worsening renal pathological lesion.
It is
suggested that protein intake should be 0.8g/kg per day. This means that a
person with 50 kg should consume 40g of protein per day. Meat consumption per
day should be limited within 300g.
6. Not eating
enough:
This is equally as dangerous as eating too much, both of them
will lead damages to your digestive organs where is full of mucosal tissues.
Mucosal tissues relates closely to your immune system. This is why many kidney
failure patients are diagnosed with “autoimmune kidney
damages”.
7. Painkiller abuse:
The use of analgesics
for a prolonged duration may reduce the flow blood and greatly affect kidney
function. In addition, patients with analgesic-induced renal failure are more
likely to suffer from bladder cancer.
Use analgesics only when it’s
absolutely necessary, learn to rest instead of taking to the bottles. If you
have been on pain killers for a long term, it’s about time you had a test to
access you renal function done.
8. Missing your
drugs:
Hypertension and diabetes have been shown to precipitate or
accelerate kidney damage, so if you are diagnosed as having any of these
disease don’t live your life in denial, USE YOUR DRUGS.
This will
ultimately help control your condition while also helping to preserve your
kidneys.
9. Drinking too much alcohol:
Drinking alcohol
without limitation may cause the deposition of uric acid in renal tubules,
causing tubular obstruction and increasing risks of kidney
failure.
10. Not resting enough:
In our society, hypertension
as a severe threat to life is largely due to stress. A common symptom of
stress is insomnia. Blood pressure may increase by an average of 2-5mg/Hg
because of insomnia. Chronically elevated blood pressure can cause damage to
kidney capillaries giving rise to kidney problems. Thus, we need to develop a
good attitude to life and strike a good balance between work and rest to
protect your kidneys and live a healthy life.
At the early stage of
kidney diseases, there are usually no the special symptoms, so lots of
patients are not diagnosed until the acute attack appears or the illness
condition develops into the late stage. So you should endeavor to do kidney
function test from time to time to assess how healthy your kidneys
are.
Never ignore the soreness of waist, swelling of the feet,
changes in urine color or volume, increase in night urination, palor, high
blood pressure and other such symptoms. Once found, you should go and see your
doctor immediately.