World Kidney Day is celebrated on the second Thursday of March every year, under the slogan "Bridge the knowledge gap for better kidney care".
The Steering Committee for World Kidney Day announced that 2022 is the year of "kidney health for all", according to a statement issued by Hamad Medical Corporation in Qatar to Al Jazeera Net.
Dr. Hassan Al-Malki, Head of the Nephrology Department at Hamad Medical Corporation, explained that kidney disease can affect all people, regardless of age, gender and ethnicity, and it is estimated that one in 10 people suffers from some form of kidney disease.
Kidney functions
Dr. Al-Malki said, "The kidneys perform many vital functions in the human body, the most prominent of which are:
Ridding the blood of waste products and excreting them out of the body through urine.
Get rid of water and excess fluid from the blood.
Control the chemical balance of salts, which are necessary for the functioning of the body.
When do symptoms of kidney disease appear?
Al-Maliki said that some symptoms may appear in the early stages of kidney disease;
However, these symptoms may not appear clearly until it is too late and the kidneys are exposed to a serious impairment in performance, indicating that the kidneys are among the organs of the body that are able to adapt well and compensate for the shortcomings in performance;
For this reason, the symptoms of nephropathy do not appear clearly until after the kidney damage has reached an irreversible extent.”
Dr. Al-Malki added, "It is necessary for members of society to know and be aware of how to protect the kidneys from diseases, and it must be noted that the symptoms and signs of kidney disease are not of a special nature, which means that many diseases and health disorders may have the same Symptoms or similar to them, so that it is sometimes difficult to differentiate between symptoms of kidney disease and other diseases.
Symptoms of kidney disease
Symptoms and signs of kidney disease include:
feeling sick
vomiting;
Loss of appetite.
Feeling of general tiredness.
Body weakness.
Sleep disorders.
Change in the level of urination.
Feeling of trembling and cramping in the muscles.
Swelling in the ankle and foot.
high blood pressure.
Kidney disease is the direct cause of the death of nearly 2.4 million people annually in various parts of the world;
These diseases are considered the sixth largest cause of death worldwide.
Kidney disease prevention
Al-Maliki noted that kidney disease is one of the silent or hidden diseases that have a significant impact on the quality of an individual's life, and that there are many ways through which an individual can reduce the risk of kidney disease, including:
Maintain activity and fitness.
Keep body weight within the correct normal limits.
Eat a healthy diet.
Regularly measuring blood sugar, as half of diabetics develop kidney disease and disease, but this can be prevented or reduced if blood sugar levels are kept under control.
Regularly measure blood pressure and keep blood pressure levels under control, given that high blood pressure leads to kidney damage and disease.
Ensure that you drink adequate amounts of fluids equivalent to 8 cups or about two liters of them per day, or more than that on summer days, or if you work in open areas.
Refrain from smoking, as tobacco smoking reduces blood flow to the kidneys, and when the level of blood flow to the kidneys decreases, this limits their ability to perform their functions normally.
Not taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) and pain relievers such as ibuprofen, which can harm the kidneys if taken regularly.
Kidney function tests, especially if you have a high risk of kidney disease, including diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity or being overweight, or a family history of kidney disease.