When it comes to your body and how it functions, there is never a guarantee of what may happen over time. For some people, their bodies might stay perfectly fine all of their life (lucky them). For others, that may not be the case. Sometimes sickness happens internally, sometimes accidents happen externally. Regardless of what illness or harm can come to the internal or physical part of your temple, things do happen and develop because that’s how life works. Even with that in mind, it’s important to remember that you do have some type of control over what your body goes through. For example, when it comes to having a flatter stomach, you have the control of healthy dieting and exercising. Or even when it comes to preventing kidney damage, you have a lot more control over that than you may think.
Why Kidneys Are Such An Important Part Of Your Body
Just about every part of your body has a level of significance that you should know about, but your kidneys are extremely essential.
Your kidneys are the one or two functions that cleanse your body.
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They remove waste, fluids and acidic toxins from your body that the body’s cells produce. Think of your kidneys as your body’s cleanser.
They also help with what goes in your blood. Your kidneys balance out the amount of sodium(salts), water and minerals in your bloodstream.
Your body needs this because if your kidneys don’t balance out what flows through your bloodstream, it can affect how other parts of your body function such as your muscles, nerves, tissues and more.
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Your kidneys also make the hormones that help to make red blood cells, the hormones to help keep your bones strong and the hormones that help control your blood pressure.
RELATED: 5 Ways to Catch Kidney Damage Early
Can Kidney Disease Be Prevented?
Since the kidneys do so much for the body, it’s only right to think that they’re basically one of the superheroes living inside of every human's temple right? Well, it’s easy to think that way but every superhero has a weakness. Superman had kryptonite, your kidneys have kidney disease. Chronic kidney failure (or disease) is when your kidneys no longer function how they need to. Kidney failure happens when the waste in your body that your kidneys are supposed to filter out through your urine, starts to build up in your body instead. There are some symptoms you can point out to detect if your kidneys are failing such as hypertension (high blood pressure), which is harder to control. High blood pressure is one of the causes of chronic kidney disease, so it’s crucial to pay attention to the signs. Can kidney disease be prevented? Well, the answer to that is yes, yes it can.
How To Protect Your Kidneys And Prevent Damage
There are a few ways to prevent kidney disease, the first way is of course maintaining a healthy diet and weight. Being active and making sure you keep a healthy diet can help you prevent kidney disease.
Another way to prevent this is to make sure you take over-the-counter medication properly. Painkillers and ibuprofens such as Tylenol and Advil need to be taken as prescribed or they can lead to kidney damage over time if you continue to take them incorrectly. Always follow the instructions given on the packaging.
Ending the habit of smoking and managing other medical conditions with your doctor is also key to preventing kidney disease. Smoking is bad for your lungs and kidneys and it can exploit any damages that your kidneys may already have. Managing your medical conditions with your doctor will help you control any sicknesses you have that can lead to kidney disease.
RELATED: 7 Ways Low Blood Pressure Prevents Kidney Disease
Signs Your Kidneys Are Failing
So how do you notice if your kidneys are no longer functioning like they need to? Look for the clues but in this case, the clues are your symptoms.
Besides uncontrollable hypertension, if you notice you’re urinating way more or way less than you used to (without other types of medications involved), swelling in your feet and ankles, muscles cramps, nausea, vomiting, you’re feeling weak and fatigued quite often or having sleep problems, you may be suffering from failing kidneys.
Chest pains and fluid building up in your lungs or around your heart as well as dry itchy skin are also symptoms of kidney failure.
It’s also important to be mindful of these symptoms if you're living with type 1 or type 2 diabetes, prone to kidney infections and again, live with high blood pressure since these can cause kidney failure. Your kidneys are a vital part of your physical being and they need you, so make sure you take proper care of them.
