Our kidneys are vital organs responsible for filtering our blood! We have two kidneys (a right and a left) which sit beneath our ribcage deep in our abdomen.
Around 8-10% of adults have kidney damage, however, if symptoms are recognised early, treatment can prevent or slow down the development of further damage.
What do our kidneys do?
They filter our blood in order to remove any wastes and excess water from our body – this is how our urine is made! Anything that the kidneys do not deem necessary to hold on to is added to our urine – this travels to our bladder and is then excreted from the body through the urethra.
This process has many other functions as well, such as:
- Maintaining our blood pressure (by retaining or excreting more fluid)
- Controlling the amount of nutrients in our blood – such as sodium and glucose
- Producing red blood cells
What are the signs to look out for?
When our kidneys aren’t functioning effectively it can cause a variety of symptoms that are warning signs that something isn’t right! However, often we may not notice any symptoms at all.
These include:
- Lower back pain
- Changes in your urination habits
- Needing to pee frequently
- Pain or difficulty urinating
- Blood in our urine
- Foamy urine
- Swelling in our legs and ankles
- Fatigue
- Difficulty concentrating
- Decreased appetite
- Metallic taste in your mouth
- Feeling itchy
How can we keep our kidneys healthy?
We can reduce our likelihood of developing kidney disease or injury by:
- Staying active – this reduces our blood pressure and helps to maintain a healthy body weight.
- Reduce you salt intake – high levels of salt in our diet can increase our blood pressure which increases the workload for our kidneys and heart.
- Monitor your blood sugar and blood pressure levels.
- Stay hydrated! Aim for around 2 litres of water per day – this amount increases on hot days and while exercising , and may decrease if you have other pre-existing conditions (such as heart or kidney disease) which impacts how much water your body can process.
- Avoid regular use of anti-inflammatory or pain relief medications (such as ibuprofen) – overuse can be harmful to your liver and kidneys as they try to process the medications.
- Visit your GP or relevant specialists regularly to monitor your risk factors and to discuss any symptoms you’re experiencing.
Find more of our health tips here.
Book an appointment with us here or call us on 9651 5559.
Sources:
Better Health Channel. Kidney Disease. https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/kidney-disease
World Kidney Day. Your amazing kidneys. https://www.worldkidneyday.org/about-kidney-health/