Why you need to look after your kidneys
Dr Marius Jansen van Rensburg, a Specialist Physician at Lenmed Randfontein Private Hospital spoke about kidney health.
Did you know that your kidneys have a number of essential functions in your body?
The Herald spoke to Dr Marius Jansen van Rensburg, a Specialist Physician at Lenmed Randfontein Private Hospital about kidney awareness in light of World Kidney Day that was observed last Thursday, 11 March.
Dr Jansen van Rensburg explained that kidneys are responsible for maintaining the body’s fluid balance, removing toxins, and balancing the levels of salts and other substances in the blood.
Kidneys help maintain blood pressure and have a number of effects on the body’s hormone regulation.”
He said kidney failure or acute kidney injury or failure can develop within a few days, and chronic kidney disease can take months or years to develop before it becomes a clinically apparent problem.
By testing urine samples regularly it can be detected before blood tests of kidney function become abnormal. According to Dr Jansen van Rensburg, the most common cause for chronic kidney disease is type 1 and 2 diabetes, followed by hypertension and HIV.
“It is particularly common in people whose hypertension and diabetes are not well controlled. HIV is another common cause due to the disease and its treatment.”
He added that people who are on chronic pain and anti-inflammatory treatment like Brufen, Voltaren and Arthrexin are also at risk of developing kidney failure, and explained that one way to look after one’s kidneys is to be aware and manage chronic medical problems. There are a lot of treatments available. With milder cases you need to treat the cause of the problem, and more severe cases may require medication and dialysis.
During dialysis your blood is pumped out a few millilitres at a time and then put through a special filter to remove toxins before it is returned to your circulation.”
He explained that patients have dialysis up to three times a week and may qualify for a kidney transplant.
“This disease is silent and can develop to an advanced stage before you notice any signs.”
He warned that some signs include swelling of the legs, shortness of breath, difficulty passing urine, passing less urine that normal, changes in urine colour, burning when passing urine, pain in the flanks and under the ribs. It is advised to get your kidneys checked once a year if you suffer from diabetes or hypertension.
If you don’t have these conditions then following a healthy diet with exercise to prevent obesity is advised. Drinking sufficient fluids to ensure your kidneys are able to do their job adequately is also very important.
Kidney failure does not affect a certain age, as anyone from newborns to advanced old age can be affected, although women are affected more often. The older one gets and the longer one has chronic medical conditions, for example if you’ve had hypertension or diabetes for more than 10 years, the higher your risk of kidney disease and should be evaluated.”
Your doctor will perform a physical examination and will take both blood and urine samples to diagnose kidney failure and determine the best treatment.
