Why is important to know if I have healthy kidneys?
Your kidneys remove waste from the body via the urine. The kidneys also produce hormones that affect the function of other vital organs.
If your kidneys are not functioning as they should, this can lead to chronic kidney disease which is a long-term condition that can eventually lead to kidney failure, if left unmanaged/untreated.
What are some causes of chronic kidney disease?
Chronic kidney disease is defined as having some kind of abnormality in the kidney. There are many causes of kidney disease - some kidney diseases are hereditary meaning that they can be passed down through genes. Kidneys may also be affected by other factors such as high blood pressure and diabetes.
How is chronic kidney disease detected? And how is it treated?
Early detection of chronic kidney disease is the key to preventing kidney disease from progressing into kidney failure. Self-tests are able to detect early kidney disease by testing the creatinine in your blood.
Treatment for chronic kidney disease is still under research. Management of pre-existing diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure are the most helpful prevention of kidney disease, since these are leading causes of kidney disease.