Many dialysis units across the country have more patients than they can treat<\/a>. Some patients wait on average two to three years<\/a> for a kidney transplant.<\/p>\n So my colleagues and I are increasingly working in a healthcare system at capacity caring for people with kidney disease.<\/p>\n Clearly, it would be better for patients and the health system if we detected kidney disease early and treated it before it progressed.<\/p>\n Kidney Health Australia\u2019s action plan<\/a> provides a practical blueprint of how to get there.<\/p>\n The cost of kidney disease<\/p>\n An estimated one in seven<\/a> Australian adults have indicators of chronic kidney disease, the vast majority not knowing it.<\/p>\n About three out of four<\/a> Australian adults have at least one factor that increases their risk of chronic kidney disease. This includes diabetes or high blood pressure.<\/p>\n Chronic kidney disease is associated with a higher risk<\/a> of heart attack, stroke and premature death.<\/p>\n It also has a significant public health impact, costing Australia $9.9 billion<\/a> a year.<\/p>\n Remind me, what do your kidneys actually do?<\/p>\n The kidneys are two fist-sized organs that sit at the back of the abdomen and perform some of the body\u2019s most essential tasks.<\/p>\n They\u2019re best-known to filter waste and excess fluid from the bloodstream to produce urine.<\/p>\n They produce hormones that help support red blood cell production and bone health. They also regulate blood pressure by maintaining the balance of salts and minerals in the body.<\/p>\n But kidney disease can start and progress for a variety of reasons.<\/p>\n For instance, high blood glucose (sugar) levels and high blood pressure can damage kidney blood vessels and nephrons (filtering units). This affects the kidneys\u2019 ability to filter blood.<\/p>\n Kidney disease is often \u2018silent\u2019<\/p>\n Kidney disease is often described as \u201csilent\u201d. That\u2019s because kidneys can lose up to 90% of their function<\/a> before development of symptoms including:<\/p>\n fatigueswelling in the legs and anklespersistent high blood pressureshortness of breathneeding to urinate more often, especially at nightfoamy urine.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, kidney damage is often irreversible by this stage. So we need to focus on preventing kidney damage in the first place.<\/p>\n What you can do now<\/p>\n Not all causes of chronic kidney disease are easily preventable. However, there are ways to reduce the chance of kidney disease:<\/p>\n Check in with your GP to make sure you are<\/a>:<\/p>\n controlling your blood pressuremanaging your diabetes wellmaintaining a healthy weighteating a healthy diet with minimal salt intakenot smokingexercising regularlydrinking enough wateravoiding excessive use, over long periods, of NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), such as ibuprofen.How do we catch kidney disease early?<\/p>\n Kidney Health Australia proposes GPs perform a \u201ckidney health check<\/a>\u201d on people at higher risk every one to two years. This would include:<\/p>\n people with diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, or who are obeseFirst Nations peoplepeople who smoke or vape (or who have done so in the past)people with a family history of kidney diseasethose aged over 60.<\/p>\n This check would include a blood pressure reading, blood test for kidney function and urine test checking protein levels.<\/p>\n It\u2019s been estimated<\/a> early detection and treatment of kidney disease could prevent more than 38,000 premature deaths, generate 165,000 extra years of healthy life, and deliver a saving of $45 for every $1 invested over the next 20 years.<\/p>\n The best dialysis is the one you never need<\/p>\n By the time many patients reach specialists like me, the damage to their kidneys is advanced and irreversible.<\/p>\n Many causes of kidney disease, however, such as high blood pressure and diabetes, are largely preventable.<\/p>\n Greater awareness of how to look after your kidneys, simple screening and early intervention could stop many Australians progressing to kidney failure.<\/p>\n This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This article was first published on Monash Lens<\/a>. Read the original<\/p>\n
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