PREVENTION
ESRD is a major medical problem and particularly so in our country. First of all, the treatment options for ESRD are limited. Secondly, the options are available at only a few major centers in the country. Finally, the most important fact is that the cost of treatment is prohibitive for most of the people. Therefore, every possible effort should be made to prevent CRF; if CRF develops, aggressive efforts should be made at an early stage to prevent or delay its progression to ESRD.
How To Prevent KidneyFailure ? :
All unnecessary drugs should be avoided. It would be incorrect to think that there are no side-effects of non- allopathic drugs. Every drug will have some side-effects whether it is allopathic or nonallopathic.
If one has diabetes or high blood pressure, these should be well controlled. There may not be any symptoms, but in the long run both these diseases when poorly controlled, can damage the kidneys.
If one has kidney stones or any condition causing obstruction to the flow of urine and back pressure damage to the kidneys, it should be immediately corrected. An early correction of obstruction can prevent irreversible damage to the kidneys
For those with hereditary kidney disease, a proper genetic counseling should be sought in order to avoid the disease in subsequent generations.
How to Detect Kidney Failure at an Early Stage ? :
In order to detect kidney disease at an early stage it is important to know the symptoms of kidney disease and not ignore any symptom when it is present.
Many people feel that swelling of the legs is common after prolonged sitting and quite often ignore it. Normally, swelling of the legs should not occur on prolonged sitting or standing. If anyone does develop swelling of the legs, it should be investigated. The swelling may not necessarily be due to kidney disease; it could be due to other causes like liver disease or heart problem. In any case, swelling of the legs is not normal and requires proper evaluation. Similarly, swelling around the eyes is quite often mistaken for allergy when in reality it is often due to kidney disease.
Some people, when they develop weakness, attribute it to hard work which they may have been doing. There is no reason why one should feel weak with the work he/she was`doing all along. In such a situation, some people take leave and go to their native place for rest to realise that their weakness persists. When investigated, they are found to have severe anemia which is the cause of weakness. Anemia and increasing weakness could be the first manifestation of kidney disease and one must keep that possibility in mind,
Bone pain may also be the first manifestation of kidney disease. Weak bones and rickets in children warrant investigations for kidney disease.
High blood pressure at a young age (below 35 years) is uncommon. Further, amongst known causes of high BP, kidney disease is the commonest cause. Therefore, every case of high BP requires investigations for kidney disease.
Source : Narmada Kidney Foundation : Link : http://www.narmadakidney.org/INDEX.ASP?PAGE=PREVENTION