A blessing from God .. The kidneys filter a filter of 150 liters of blood per day

Dr.. Osama Abu Al-Rub

It says in the heritage books that Ibn al-Sammak entered the caliph Harun al-Rashid one day, while while he was with him when he drew water, he came with a little water, and he said to Ibn al-Sammak, preach me. From the Messenger of God, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, If this drink was banned, how much would you buy it? He said: With half of my ownership, he said: Drink, God bless you, and when he drank it, he said to him: I ask you for your closeness to the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him, if you are prevented from leaving your body, so why would you buy it? And urine is worth not compete in it! Harun al-Rashid cried.

The kidney is one of God’s greatest graces to man - and every grace is great - and it purifies human blood, removes wastes and excess water, and throws it out of the body through urine. How does it work? How do we keep it healthy and healthy?

A person has two kidneys, the kidney is shaped like a bean, and is the size of a fist. Located below the rib cage, each one is on the side of the spine. A healthy kidney filters about half a cup of blood every minute, removing wastes and excess water. Urine flows from the kidneys to the bladder through two thin tubes of muscle, each tube called the ureter, and the bladder stores urine.

The kidneys remove excess waste and fluid from the body, and maintain a healthy balance of water, salts and minerals, such as sodium, calcium, phosphorus, and potassium in the blood. Without this balance, the nerves, muscles, and other tissues in the body do not function normally.

The kidneys also make hormones that play a role in controlling blood pressure, producing red blood cells, and maintaining bone health by producing an active form of vitamin D that strengthens bone strength.

How does the kidneys work?
Each college consists of about a million filter units called "nephron", and each nephron contains a filter called "glomerulus", and a small tube. In the nephrons, the glomerulus filters the blood, and the tubes return the necessary substances to the blood, remove the waste, and these wastes with excess water become urine.

The blood flows to the kidneys through the renal artery, and the large blood vessels divide into smaller and smaller blood vessels until the blood reaches the nephrons.

Blood circulates through the kidneys several times a day. In one day, the kidneys filter about 150 liters of blood. Most of the water and other materials filtered through the glomeruli return to the blood by tubes, only 1 liter to 2 liters becomes urine.

Blood flows to the kidneys through the renal artery, exits through the renal vein, and the ureter carries urine from the kidneys to the bladder.

What are the causes of chronic kidney disease?
Chronic kidney disease is a disease that affects the kidneys. It occurs when you are exposed to damages. It is no longer able to purify the blood from toxins and excrete wastes as it should, causing toxins to accumulate in the body, and leads to complications on a person’s health. It may eventually lead to kidney failure, which requires a procedure. Dialysis or a new kidney transplant.

There are many causes of chronic kidney disease such as:

1- Diabetes.

2- High blood pressure disease.

3- Congenital problems in the kidneys.

4- The occurrence of glomerulonephritis.

5- Kidney stones.

6- Urinary tract infections, which occur when germs enter the urinary tract and cause symptoms such as pain and burning during urination and the frequent need to urinate. These infections often affect the bladder, but they sometimes spread to the kidneys, and may cause fever and back pain.

7- Medicines and toxins. For example, using large amounts of over-the-counter pain relievers for a long time may be harmful to the kidneys. Certain other medicines, toxins, pesticides, and drugs like heroin can also cause kidney damage.

kidney stones
Kidney stones are hard pieces that consist of substances in the urine, and are made of small crystals, and are small as a grain of sand, or large as a pearl, for example.

Most urinary stones pass with the urine without the help of a doctor, but sometimes the stone gets stuck and does not come down, as it may block the urethra, which leads to severe pain.

The main mechanism in the formation of stones is the decrease in the volume of urine, which leads to its concentration, and then the start of the deposition of crystals and their development into stones. This usually happens when you do not drink enough fluid.

It is said that the pain of kidney stones is the only pain equal to the pain of childbirth, due to the severity and the nature of the stones that press on the kidney tissue or the ureter directly, and in contrast, the kidney stones are more common in men than in women.

The most prominent species:
1- Calcium stones, which usually contain oxalate, phosphate or carbonate, and are the most common type of stone. The likelihood of infection is higher in men between the ages of twenty and thirty years.

2- Uric acid stones, which are more common in men, may occur with gout and chemotherapy.

3- Stovovate stones, which are more common in women with urinary tract infection, and may be large enough to block the kidneys, ureters or bladder.

4- Cystine stones, and affect people who have a genetic disease that leads to the kidneys secreting a large amount of this amino acid.

Among the risk factors are:

1- Drought, that is, lack of sufficient water.

2- Abundant sweating. People who live in a hot environment or whose sweaty bodies are more prone to dehydration, and thus have a higher risk of stones.

3- Family pathology, as heredity plays a role in preparing for the disease.

4- Eat a food that contains a large amount of sodium, protein or sugar.

5- Obesity.

Prevention of kidney stones
1- Drinking enough water, especially for people who have a high risk of illness, as you should drink at least two liters of water per day. Doctors recommend that the amount of urine be equivalent to 2.5 liters, which makes the urine light and decentralized.

2- Reducing sodium intake.

3- Eat less animal proteins.

4- The doctor may recommend that the person adjust his diet and not eat some foods containing oxalate, such as spinach and beetroot, according to the type of gravel that is at risk of infection.

5- Not using calcium supplements without consulting a doctor, as it may increase the risk of stones.

General advice to maintain kidney health

1- Stay away from alcohol and smoking.

2- Not to use medications - including pain relievers - before consulting a doctor, even over-the-counter painkillers may lead - if the permissible dose is exceeded - to damage the kidneys.

3- Maintaining a healthy weight.

4- Control of blood sugar levels If a person suffers from diabetes, high blood sugar damages the nephrons.

5- Control of blood pressure If a person suffers from high blood pressure, it is also harmful to nephrons.

6- Reducing sodium consumption.

7- Doing sports most days of the week.

8- Reviewing the doctor regularly and performing the necessary kidney tests according to his recommendations.