Manage diabetes, hi-blood

Or get fatal kidney disease

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, June 22 (PIA) –Persons who have diabetes or high blood pressure have to take necessary lifestyle modifications to prevent the progress of the disease, which can lead to an even more undesirable complication: chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Dr. Donabelle C. Agbayani, a Department of Health Doctor to the Barrios Scholar and general practitioner bared this at the recent Kapihan sa PIA which tackled one of Bohol’s leading diseases.

Spurred by the daily stream of dialysis patients trying to finally get their slots in a government hospital queuing of over 500 patients, Kapihan sa PIA tried to get an somebody who can simplify the complex terms and understand the disease to start finding ways in preventing the disease.

Prevention is way much better than cure, especially for kidney diseases, said Dr. Agbayani during the radio forum and internet streamed forum on air broadcasting from the PIA Bohol studio.

Kidneys are the two fist-sized, bean shaped organs whose tasks involve removing the waste and extra water from the blood and throw them out as urine, or help keep chemicals such as sodium, potassium, and calcium balanced in the body.

More so, kidneys also make hormones that help control blood pressure and stimulate bone marrow to make red blood cells, simplified Dr Agbayani, who hails from Jagna but is now residing in Corella.

Kidneys, they filter all of the blood several times a day, and as this organ works round the clock, it is just good to know making their job easy helps a lot.

So what contributes to stressing the kidneys that they end up being damaged?

Research would show that taking in too much protein can.

While protein is essential to a healthy diet, eating too much of these can overtax the kidneys.

And then there is salt. Salt has this tendency to raise blood pressure, which speeds up kidney damage, and the painful kidney stones.

Smoking can worsen high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes, these are the two leading causes of kidney disease, as it can interfere with medicines used to treat them and slows blood flow to the kidneys and can cause further kidney problems in people who already have kidney disease.

Apart from smoking is alcohol. Heavy chronic drinkers increase their risk of chronic kidney disease, as a regular drinking session leads to strained kidneys, which can cause its disease.

And as kidneys filter the blood and remove extra liquids, taking in sodas, although the damage may not be immediate.

Still another contributing factor is dehydration. Kidneys need water to work properly and not getting enough, could be dangerous.

If you are not getting enough, like 2 liters a day, your pee should show that it is golden yellow-not light yellow, the young physician said.

Another dangerous practice is abuse of pain killers and food supplements. While these help one manage pain or add up to your body’s needed vitamins, more specifically those sold food supplements that do not bear the Food and Drugs Administration accreditation that adds.

Still another contributor to kidney damage is the use of illegal drugs and un-prescribed drugs which would be filtered by the kidneys and damage the organs fast.

Other than those intakes, overtraining and use of the athletic superpower in bodybuilding steroids help damage the kidneys.

Working out too hard for too long can cause rhabdomyolysis, a condition in which damaged muscle tissue breaks down very fast, dumping substances into the blood that can hurt the kidneys.

The use of proton pump inhibitors or antacids can cause kidney damage if you take them for a long time, and the unattended streptococcus infection in the throat orders the body to make proteins called antibodies to fight it, and some proteins can settle in the filtering parts of the kidneys inflaming them.

And since kidney disease, whether acute or chronic stage can be asymptomatic at first, physicians recommend early detection by urinalysis or laboratory analysis of the blood.

Manage your diabetes, most of those who have this disease get kidney problems, she stressed.

Beyond that, she also said people with high blood pressure should be very careful as this can also lead to kidney disease.

Make lifestyle modifications: stay as healthy as possible, control high blood pressure and high cholesterol, go for dialysis when the kidneys have failed, she said. (PIABohol)

MANAGE DIABETES, HIGH BLOOD. Disregarding diabetes or high blood pressure can lead to more fatal complications like chronic kidney disease, which can get to the fatal end-stage renal disease, says Dr Donabelle Agbayani at the recent Kapihan sa PIA. (PIABohol)