On this world kidney day, let us take a pledge to take care of our kidneys before they need to be taken care of.
Each one of us has two of these organs located in the abdominal cavity, performing the very essential role of excretion of waste material from our body, maintaining our water and mineral levels and blood pressure and lastly production of red blood cells by secretion of hormone called erythropoietin. Apart from this, they also set Vitamin D in motion for building up a healthy skeleton. With all these tasks to its credit, one cannot take the risk of messing up with these vital bean shaped members of our body .
Now let us see what goes wrong if our kidneys fail to do what they were supposed to. Because the waste excretion stops, toxins start getting accumulated in our body and cause itching, weakness, fatigue, muscle cramps and seizures. As water balance is disturbed, swelling of feet and ankles occur and blood pressure levels go for a toss. Red blood cell production is arrested resulting in anemia and an inactive vitamin D makes the bones weak. Eventually, the patient succumbs to cardiovascular attack, stroke, coma and death. The only solution one is left with after the kidneys fail, is getting a new one because the body cannot survive without at least 1 functional kidney.
This raises a very important question in our minds. WHAT DID I DO FOR MY KIDNEYSTO BEHAVE LIKE THIS??? Well, you had the ball in your court the entire time but you woke up only when the opponent grew way stronger than you. High blood pressure, Sugar and cholesterol, obesity and infections gradually decrease and finally destroy our kidneys. Apart from these common causes, autoimmune diseases, kidney stones and illegal drug abuse also prove fatal for the kidneys.
Any treatment for failing kidneys can only postpone but not save our body from the impending doom. So, take care of your kidney every single day, like you do for your skin, hair or car! Maintain a healthy lifestyle, exercise regularly and eat a balanced diet. Keep your weight and blood pressure under control. Keep yourself hydrated and finally, get these 4 tests done routinely to know the health of your kidneys-Serum protein, Urea, Creatinine and electrolytes. These 4 tests , together known as kidney function tests give us a report card of the performance of our kidneys. So get yourself checked regularly, and keep your grades high to live happy and longer!!