There are several chronic organ diseases with different dos and don’ts on how one should live in order not to be defeated by an illness. One of these organ ailments is kidney disease. It has too many demands for healthy living.
Being diagnosed with kidney disease can be devastating. Its diagnosis and management, particularly in advanced stages of kidney disease, impacts severely on not the patient alone but also the family members and sometimes friends.
It hampers the ability to participate in everyday activities like work, travel and socialize. There are numerous problematic side effects. The popular management of kidney disease has been ‘disease centric where healthcare providers are committed to save and substitute kidneys to prolong life span.
So, as World Kidney Day is marked today, March 11, 2021 with the theme, ‘To live well with kidney disease’, Dr Stella Alagbe, a Nephrologist, appearing on Your View, a TVC programme on Tuesday, March 9, 2021, explained symptoms of the disease and how to live with it.
On how to detect kidney disease early, Alagbe said that taking a basic simple test like; Urine test evidence of urinary tract infection which can be detected from the urine test is the way to go.
“Blood test can also be done to check the status of the kidney if it is working well or jeopardise. However, it’s also important to pay attention to simple clinical things. One thing you’re going to notice when a patient is going to have acute kidney shutdown is that their urine output is going to reduce and in some cases, the person might not urinate at all in a day and when patient urine drops, you need to keep an eye on that.
“Swelling of the feet and around the face or eyes especially when you wake up in the morning if you noticed that, it’s a good time to visit your doctor for some basic test. Also, recurrent vomiting, feeling unwell. Are signs. Sometimes, if you go to an average doctor for a checkup those symptoms can be attributed to malaria,” she said.
Talking of how people who leave a healthy lifestyle and eating right sometimes get infected with kidney disease, Alagbe said kidney disease is really not for drunks or people with bad lifestyle but one also needs to pay attention to risk factors like smoking one should leave a no-no attitude towards smoking to avoid cardiovascular disease.
“Most common factor of kidney disease in our society is hypertension and diabetes, hypertension is another leading cause of kidney disease, however, hypertension is something that does not present any symptoms until it really advance and diabetes on the other hand also does not show signs until one starts seeing complications,” Alagbe explained.
The Nephrologist also encourage annual checks, regular check on yourself and basic lab checkup that is not expensive, maybe once a year to access kidney health.
She also talked about acute kidney disease and its causes, saying that it is caused by viral infections like urinary tract infections, which can happen to anyone. “Severe malaria can also affect the kidney. So, when you are sick, go for a proper checkup rather than self-medicating,” she advised.
As World Kidney Day is marked today, Dr Stella encouraged people to take care of their kidney by doing all it takes to protect it and that if one discovers symptoms of it, should do well to see a Nephrologist. “It may be expensive but it is worth it. Also, always do basic health checks,” she added.
Meanwhile, the World Kidney Day Steering Committee has declared 2021 the year of “Living Well with Kidney Disease”. This has been done in order to both increase education and awareness about effective symptom management and patient empowerment, with the ultimate goal of encouraging life participation.
Whilst effective measures to prevent kidney disease and its progression is important, patients with kidney disease – including those who depend on dialysis and transplantation and their care-partners should also feel supported, especially during pandemics and other challenging periods, by the concerted efforts of kidney care communities.