Kidney diseases are gradually becoming common and each year, lots of people die of kidney disease all over the world. Many a people suffer from chronic renal failure and are forced to spend their life fortunes in renal transplants and expensive drugs.
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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. However, you don’t have to wait to come down with a kidney disease before you know that there are some fatal habits that damage your kidneys. As we know prevention is better than cure, here are the top habits which lead to your kidney failure.
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1. Not drinking enough water
The main functions of kidneys are to regulate erythrocyte balance 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 from blood will be impaired.
2. Not eating enough
This is equally as dangerous as eating too much, both of them will lead to damage to your digestive organs that are full of mucosal tissues. Mucosal tissues relate closely to your immune system. This is why many kidney failure patients are diagnosed with “autoimmune kidney damages”.
3. Taking too much salt
A 95% of sodium intake through our 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 6 g 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 attack of acute glomerulonephritis or chronic nephritis. So, you will see that people who get kidney disease for the first time or whose illness 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.
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5. Eating too much meat
Eating too much meat and protein can increase the metabolic load of kidneys. For those suffering from proteinuria, meat consumption too may aggravate protein leakage, worsening renal pathological lesion.
It is suggested that protein intake should be 0.8 g/kg per day. This means that a person with 50 kg should consume 40 g of protein per day. Meat consumption per day should be limited within 300 g.
6. Not emptying your bladder early
Maintaining a full bladder for a long time is a quick way of causing bladder damage. Urine staying in 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.
7. Painkiller abuse
The use of analgesics for a prolonged duration may reduce the blood flow and greatly affects kidney function. In addition, patients with analgesic-induced renal failure are more likely to suffer from bladder cancer.
Use analgesics only when it is absolutely necessary; learn to rest instead of taking to the bottles. If you have been on painkillers for a long term, it is about time you had a renal function test 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 diseases, don’t live your life in denial, USE YOUR DRUGS.
This will ultimately help control your condition while 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 risk of kidney failure.
10. Not resting enough
In our society, hypertension is a severe threat to life and it is largely due to stress. A common symptom of stress is insomnia. Blood pressure may increase by an average of 2-5 mg/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, usually there are no special symptoms. So a lot of patients are not diagnosed until the acute attack appears or the illness condition develops into the late stage. So you should make an effort to do kidney function test from time to time to assess how healthy your kidneys are.
Symptoms You Should Never Ignore
Soreness of waist, swelling of feet, changes in urine color or volume, increase in nocturnal urination, palor, and high blood pressure. Once you suspect presence of these symptoms, you should go and see a doctor immediately.
As discussed before, many of us are unaware of the harmful consequences of our own behavior and habits, presenting a critical gap in knowledge. EHC attempts to address this effectively to narrow the knowledge gap and encourage positive lifestyle modifications. Let’s keep our kids and kidneys safe and healthy!
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Image courtesy: anabolicminds.com , arizonatransplant.com
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