How to Take Care of Your Kidneys

Your kidneys,the renal organs, are the master chemists of the body.

They monitor the quality of the blood,

separating out harmful substances

from beneficial ones.

Acting not only as waste disposal units but also act like sophisticated sieves that retrieve useful substances that slip through the holes.

The kidneys maintain the internal environment essential for life - whatever the diet or the climate.

Although we tend to take our kidneys for granted, these important organs deserve a little consideration now and then.

Often, we don't pay much attention to them until there is a problem. When a kidney malfunctions, you will definitely know it.

We've all heard tales of excruciating kidney stones or a painful kidney infection, which, if left untreated, can turn into sepsis that pervades the body and cause substantial harm.

To keep your kidneys functioning as they should, include a few management tips in your health routine.

It won't take much time or effort to add these tips to your lifestyle, and the payoff may help to keep you off dialysis in preventing kidney failure later in life.

Kidney disease is a growing problem in India. It is a problem that affects adults of all ages and races.

People with diabetes, high blood pressure, or having a family history of kidney failure are more likely to develop kidney disease.

Healthy kidneys filter your blood. They remove waste and excess water.

They help control the amount of certain chemicals in your blood like sodium, phosphorus, and potassium.

The right balance of these chemicals helps your body work well.

Healthy kidneys help keep this balance.

As with all aspects of keeping fit, the basic rule is to be kind to your body maintain a sensible, balanced diet and do not smoke, take drugs or drink too much alcohol.

Drink one and a half to two litres of water a day and drink only moderate amounts of tea, coffee and cola because they contain caffeine. This, like alcohol, is a diuretic - which means that it dehydrates the body.

Stick to a diet high in carbohydrates and low in protein (the main source of waste products) as this reduces the kidneys' workload.

If you have high blood pressure, follow good lifestyle advice about weight, exercise and stress, take prescribed medication and have your blood pressure checked regularly.

Uncontrolled hypertension can speed up the natural course of any underlying kidney disease.

If you have diabetes, make sure that your blood sugar is kept under control.

Like the rest of our amazing body, the kidneys are designed to last a life-time.

They do a wonderful job of maintaining our internal environment

They should continue to do so as long as we look after them by drinking plenty of water and eating a balanced healthy diet.

Here are the 10 simple ways to protect your kidneys.  

1. Limit your salt intake.

Too much salt is not only bad for your blood pressure, it’s also bad for your kidneys. It doesn’t matter if you dilute your soup with lots of water. As long as you drink all the soup, you’ll still get all the salt in it. Hence, if you like eating instant noodles, just use half of the seasoning and add half of the water only.

1. Limit your salt intake.

The problem with salt is that it encourages the body to retain water, and can increase your blood pressure (which damages the kidneys). Learn to read nutritional labels and limit eating salty foods.

2. Don’t load up on high-protein foods.

Did you know that eating too much protein, such as pork and beef, can overwork your kidneys? Too much protein makes the kidneys work twice as hard. If the kidney’s usual activity level is similar to a person walking, then taking in too much protein can force the kidneys to be “running” on high gear. 

2. Don’t load up on high-protein foods.

Pretty soon, your kidneys could get tired and some of the weaker kidney cells can die. A friendly reminder to people on a high-protein Diet: Don’t overwork your kidneys. The time-tested doctor’s advice of moderation in everything will serve you well. Eat a balanced diet of rice, vegetables, fish, and fruits and you can’t go wrong.

3. Keep your blood pressure at 130/80 or lower.

 If your blood pressure is above 140 over 90, this can cause kidney damage within five years. The kidneys are said to be “happiest” with a blood pressure of 130/80 or lower.

3. Keep your blood pressure at 130/80 or lower.

•  To help control your blood pressure, you should limit your salt intake, reduce weight, and take medicines for high blood pressure, if needed.

4. Keep your blood sugar below 120 mg/dl.

 Diabetes and high blood pressure are the two leading causes of kidney failure. Diabetes affects almost all organs of the body. A person with uncontrolled diabetes for five to 10 years may develop significant kidney damage

4. Keep your blood sugar below 120 mg/dl.

• Consult your doctor and keep your blood sugar under control with diet, exercise, and maintenance medicines. Our two goals are to have 1) a fasting blood sugar of 120 mg/dl or less, and 2) a hemoglobin A1C test (three-month average blood sugar test) of six percent or less.

5. Drink eight glasses of water a day. 

Doctors usually advise people to take in eight glasses of water a day, but this really depends on your age and condition. If you’re sweating a lot and work outdoors, you may need to drink more than eight glasses a day.

5. Drink eight glasses of water a day. 

However, if you are above 65 years of age, you may do well with just six glasses a day. Drinking enough water also prevents the formation of kidney stones, a painful condition which, if left untreated, can also lead to kidney failure.

6. Watch your intake of pain relievers and other drugs. 

• Taking pain relievers like mefenamic acid, ibuprofen, and the coxibs (like celecoxib) for a prolonged period of time may cause kidney damage. Because of this, we should limit taking these medicines to only a week, or just take them as needed.

6. Watch your intake of pain relievers and other drugs. 

After taking these pain relievers, we need to let our kidneys rest first (from all its running and puffing) before taking the medicines again.

6. Watch your intake of pain relievers and other drugs. 

For those with chronic arthritis, try to look for other ways to relieve the pain such as using a hot water bag, pain reliever ointments, or the safer paracetamol tablet. Certain antibiotics can also cause kidney damage. Check with your doctor first.

7. Be careful with tests and procedures using contrast dyes. 

Some tests, like CT acans and MRIs, use a contrast dye which helps doctors delineate the organs better. Many procedures, such as heart angioplasties and some cancer treatments, also use ample amounts of contrast dyes.

7. Be careful with tests and procedures using contrast dyes. 

The problem with such dyes is that they can cause kidney damage, especially in the elderly and those with previous kidney disease. There are studies, which support the use of fluid loading (200-300 ml orally or through the vein), before such a procedure.

7. Be careful with tests and procedures using contrast dyes. 

Another promising kidney-protecting technique is to take a medicine called Fluimucil (containing N-acetylcysteine) two days before and up to two days after the procedure. Should be taken as directed by the Nephrologist.

8. Don’t take too much vitamin C.

• Some patients are fond of taking high doses of vitamin C, such as in the 2,000 mg range. Too much vitamin C (ascorbic acid) can lead to the formation of kidney stones in predisposed individuals. If you need to take vitamin C, a dose of 500mg or less is safer.

9. Don’t rely on food supplements to protect your kidneys. 

There is still no food supplement that has been scientifically proven to protect the kidneys. The above tips are so far the best tips to care for the kidneys.

10. Get a kidney check-up. 

Simple tests, such as a complete blood count, BUN, creatinine, and a urinalysis are the first screening tests for the kidneys.

Finding a trace of protein in the urine can alert the doctor of possible kidney disease.

10. Get a kidney check-up. 

Patients with diabetes and high blood pressure should also be checked for early kidney disease.

Kidney diseases are expensive and difficult to treat. Let’s take the necessary steps to protect our kidneys today.

• Dr. Willem Kolff, a Dutch physician, constructed the first working dialyzer in 1943 during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. Due to the scarcity of available resources, Kolff had to improvise and build the initial machine using sausage casings, beverage cans, a washing machine, and various other items that were available at the time. Over the following two years, Kolff used his machine to treat 16 patients suffering from acute kidney failure, but the results were unsuccessful. Then, in 1945, a 67-year-old comatose woman regained consciousness following 11 hours of hemodialysis with the dialyzer, and lived for another seven years before dying of an unrelated condition. She was the first-ever patient successfully treated with dialysis.

• Dialysis works on the principles of the diffusion of solutes and ultrafiltration of fluid across a semi-permeable membrane Diffusion describes a property of substances in water. Substances in water tend to move from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration.  Blood flows by one side of a semi-permeable membrane, and a dialysate, or special dialysis fluid, flows by the opposite side. A semipermeable membrane is a thin layer of material that contains holes of various sizes, or pores. Smaller solutes and fluid pass through the membrane, but the membrane blocks the passage of larger substances (for example, red blood cells, large proteins). This replicates the filtering process that takes place in the kidneys, when the blood enters the kidneys and the larger substances are separated from the smaller ones in the glomerulus.

Dialysis Machine

How a dialysis machine works?

Arm of patient receiving dialysis

Peritoneal Dialysis

Thank You Ln. Dr. M. R. Ravi,

Manakkulangara Club,Thrissur

9249582664