Tips to keep your kidney healthy

Kidney disease is quite common today because of our unhealthy lifestyle habits. It contributes to almost 850,000 deaths per year.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a progressive loss in kidney function over a period of months or years. Several lifestyle habits damage the kidneys and reduce their ability to filter waste from the blood. More than 50% of CKD cases in India are a result of obesity. Today, diabetes and hypertension account for 40-60% of CKD cases. The recent Indian Council of Medical Research data states diabetes in Indian adult population has risen to 7.1%.

Symptoms

CKD is dangerous as it is asymptomatic and progresses silently in the early stages. The condition progresses to an advanced stage by the time the patients develop any of the following symptoms:

• Weakness and fatigue
• Pain while urinating
• Swelling
• Frequent urination
• Lower back pain
• Lack of appetite
• Vomiting and nausea
• Itching and skin rashes

The problem occurs while delaying regular health check-ups. Poor lifestyle practices increase the incidence of diabetes and high blood pressure.

Prevention

We cannot do much about factors like an external injury to the kidneys or ageing, but a lot of other major risk factors leading to kidney disease can be prevented. Here are three tips to keep your kidneys healthy:

• People with high blood pressure should keep it in control
• Diabetics should control the sugar levels with proper diet and exercise
• Avoid excess salt intake

(The author is a chief consultant — Nephrology and Renal Transplant)