March 14, 2023 — Resources
Our kidneys are so vital for our body to function properly that they have an entire month dedicated to them. You guessed right – this month is National Kidney Month.
The entire staff at Physicians Premier would like to raise awareness of having a healthy lifestyle for optimal kidney health. Below are some of the ways you can shield yourself from developing kidney-related disorders like chronic kidney disease and kidney stones.
Our kidneys serve as our body’s natural chemical factory, removing excess fluid and waste products from the body through urine.
They perform the following functions:
From the list above, you can tell that our kidneys are very busy organs and perform life-sustaining jobs, so if they are damaged, it inevitably affects the body’s other organs. Below are some of the health problems that are caused by kidney disease.
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is characterized by having some kind of abnormality in the kidney or having decreased kidney function for a period of 3 months or more.
Here are some leading risk factors or causes of chronic kidney disease:
Other risk factors are:
This is the most common kidney disease treated in an emergency room since sufferers experience extreme pain.
Kidney stones are crystalized calcium deposits that sometimes contain amino acids or uric acids.
They can be caused by a number of factors, including:
A typical patient who is diagnosed with kidney stones manifests the following symptoms:
Even if your symptoms may indicate that you have a kidney stone, physicians may require you to have additional tests done to determine the location and size of the stone, like ultrasounds, x-rays, and in some cases, a CT scan.
The treatment for kidney stones will largely depend on the size, severity, and location of the stones. Small stones are normally treated with observation and pain medication since they will more likely pass through the urine on their own. Bigger stones may need surgery.
If you have a high risk of developing kidney disease, remember that prevention is key. Have urine and blood tests done at least once per year and get checked on a regular basis.
Show your kidneys some love by eating a healthy, balanced diet, drinking lots of fluids, exercising regularly, and having an overall healthy lifestyle.
This national kidney month, educate yourself more about good kidney health. The more you know about the disease, the more you will feel confident and in control about making decisions about your lifestyle and overall health.
Sources:
“How Your Kidneys Work,” National Kidney Foundation, https://www.kidney.org/kidneydisease/howkidneyswrk
“CKD Risk Factors and Prevention,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, https://www.cdc.gov/kidneydisease/publications-resources/annual-report/ckd-risk-prevention.html
“Kidney Stones,” National Kidney Foundation, https://www.kidney.org/atoz/content/kidneystones
“Kidney Stones,” Mayo Clinic, https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/kidney-stones/symptoms-causes/syc-20355755