Kidney Tips #1

Happy Wednesday Kidney Warriors! Today I would like to talk about some healthy kidney tips. 

1. Stay active and keep fit ~ keeping fit helps to reduce blood pressure which is one of leading causes of Chronic Kidney Disease. Doing at least 30 minutes of exercise three times a week is important to keeping fit.

2. Keep your blood sugar under control ~ Over half the patients who have diabetes develop kidney damage. Therefore it's vital that people with diabetes have regular tests to check kidney function. Diabetes is a leading cause of Chronic Kidney Disease. 

3. Monitor your blood pressure ~ Tracking your blood pressure and bringing the results to your doctor is just one way of determining if your blood pressure medications are working. Keeping your blood pressure to 120/70 is critical to maintaining healthy kidneys. High blood pressure is also a leading cause of Chronic Kidney Disease. 

4. Eat healthy ~ Reduce your salt intake, keeping it to about 5-6 grams a day is recommended. Avoiding processed food, not eating out often, and not adding salt to meals are all ways to reduce the sodium in your diet.  Maintaining a healthy diet helps prevent heart disease, diabetes, and other conditions associated with Chronic Kidney Disease. 

5. Maintain a healthy fluid intake ~ Drinking at least 2 liters of fluid per day helps the kidneys clear excess sodium, urea, and toxins from the body. This helps reduce the risks of Chronic Kidney Disease.

6. DO NOT SMOKE ~ Smoking increases the risk of Kidney Disease and Cancer by 50%. It also slows the blood flow to the kidneys and this lessons their ability to function correctly. 

7  Regular kidney checks ~ Its important to have your kidney function checked regularly especially if you have a family history of kidney healthy issues, have high blood pressure, diabetes, or obesity.

I would also like to share some tips about living life on dialysis, some things that many doctors don't  tell with us about. 

1. Lactose Intolerance ~ This means the body cannot easily digest lactose which is the natural sugar in milk and other dairy products. Symptoms include gas, belly pain and bloating. This becomes common in dialysis patient because many patients avoid dairy products due to its high phosphorus content. Over time the body has more and more trouble digesting dairy and the patient becomes lactose intolerant. This is something I have dealt this but it took me awhile to figure out. That's why i wanted to share this tip with you. 

2. Itchy skin ~  This is very common among dialysis patients and can drive you insane if you're dealing with it. Some tips I have used to deal with it are: find a healing lotion and use it every day twice a day. Take shorter, cooler showers and don't wear tight fitting, irritating clothing. It usually gets worse during the winter so lower the heat and use a humidifier to put moister in the air. 

3. Anemia and fatigue ~ Chronic anemia and fatigue is the biggest challenge I have faced living with  dialysis. The most common symptoms include: looking pale, shortness of breath, trouble sleeping, and dizziness. The fatigue can be debilitating and it can take you by surprise. The best tips for living with chronic anemia is the take all doses of the ESA medications prescribed by your doctor, have regular blood work done to monitor your hematocrit and hemoglobin levels For more information about chronic anemia and fatigue see blog post "Anemia and Fatigue in CKD.".  

I hope you find these tips useful and they help you lead a healthier life with your kidneys .And I also hope these tips also makes your life easier living with dialysis. Thanks for joining me for Kidney Tips #1. I look forward to your comments, questions, or concerns. 

Keep on fighting, you Kidney Warriors! 

~Kidney Blogger