How To Keep Your Kidney Healthy & Functional
Maintaining Kidney health (keeping your kidney healthy) is important to your overall health and general wellbeing. By keeping your kidney healthy, your body will filter and expels waste properties thereby producing a hormone to help you.
Your kidneys are those fist-size organs located at the bottom of your rib cage on both sides of your spine
If your doctor thinks your kidney may not be working properly you may need a renal function test. You might also need this test done if you have other conditions such as diabetes or high blood pressure that can pose potential harm to your kidneys.
Functions of the Kidney
- Removes waste and extra fluid from your body.
- Helps main the healthy balance of water and minerals like sodium, calcium, potassium, etc.
- Produces hormones that regulate body functions like blood pressure, strengthening of bones, production of red blood cells, etc.
Symptoms of kidney problems
Renal problems can be evident in several ways. Some of these symptoms include:
- High blood pressure.
- Blood in the urine.
- Frequent urge to urinate (too frequent to be normal).
- Difficulty beginning urination.
- Painful urination.
- Swelling of the hands and feet due to building of fluid in the body.
From this above, we can see that the kidney is a very vital organ and its functionality is crucial to the normal working of the body as a whole. Therefore, it is important to take care of the kidney as much as possible and keep it healthy in the best ways possible.
Here are some tips to help keep your kidney healthy:
Stay active and fit:
Exercising regularly is good and can lower the risks of chronic kidney disease. It can also reduce your blood pressure and boost your overall health, which is important to preventing kidney damages. So, whether it is walking, running, or cycling, find a physical activity you love and stick to it. Remember that consistency and discipline are key.
Eat healthily:
Kidney problem is usually associated with other medical conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Therefore, following healthy eating habits to control weight and blood pressure, or prevent diabetes will keep your kidneys in good shape
Get a Renal function Test:
If you observe that you are at risk of having a kidney disease either because of hereditary history or lifestyle, then you have to consult with your doctor to get a regular renal function test done. Also, if you have diabetes, high blood pressure, or cardiovascular disease, you need to get regular renal function tests while managing those medical conditions as directed by your doctor.
Do not abuse over-the-counter drugs:
Common non-prescription pills like Ibuprofen and Naproxen (NSAIDs) can cause kidney damages if taken too regularly over a long period especially without the guidance of a medical professional. If you use these medicines for occasional pain, they probably don’t pose as much risk but if taken for chronic pain or arthritis, you should talk to your doctor about monitoring your renal function.
Quit smoking and limit your alcohol intake:
Smoking has been proven to slow down the blood flow to important organs like the kidney and can make kidney disease worse. Excessive intake of alcohol can also damage the kidney. The damage usually occurs slowly and can take years to show symptoms. There is an even greater risk of kidney problems for heavy drinkers who also smoke.
Monitor your blood pressure:
Research has shown that a great percentage of people who have high blood pressure don’t even know they have it. Therefore, it is important for you to regularly check your blood pressure. High blood pressure can greatly damage your kidney and interfere with its regular function in the body.
In Conclusion
The most important thing you can do to keep your kidneys safe is to take care of your body. Eat healthy, exercise regularly, control your weight and get a renal function test regularly.
Book an appointment with us – https://www.online.afriglobalmedicare.com/
A Healthy kidney gives rise to a healthy body!