How to Prevent Chronic Kidney Disease

This hub lists things you can do to prevent yourself from having chronic kidney disease or CKD. I have written my hub about chronic kidney disease before so if you need to know what CKD means, please read that hub from the link above first.

1. Get yourself checked

As you probably know, a lot of us walking by each day not knowing that we have kidney problems. The thing about CKD is that many times there is no symptoms or signs to tell us that we have it. The only way to know is by means of check-up. So be sure to get at least yearly check-up especially about kidney function. Simple blood test and urine exam are normally adequate.

2. Drink good amount of fluid

This is general recommendation. Some people can not do this, though. For example if you already have some kidney impairment that limits your ability to excrete excess water, it may not be a good idea to drink too much water. Or it you have other medical conditions, drinking a lot of water may not be good. However general rule of thumb is most people should benefit from drink at least 2 liters or 8 glasses of fluid per day. And did I mention that water is the best fluid, ever?

3. Avoid potential medications that can hurt the kidneys

For example : high doses or chronic uses of antiinflammatory medications like Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), Naproxen (Eleve), Aspirin, indomathacin,

Long-term use of some antibiotics e.g. gentamicin (this is most likely given in hospital since it is IV medication)

4. Know conditions that lead to kidney damages and learn what to do

In USA, the most common cause of kidney failure is diabetes. So if you have diabetes, you need to learn about kidney damage from diabetes (diabetic nephropathy).

The other common cause of kidney damage is high blood pressure (hypertension). You need to have tight control of both blood sugar and blood pressure respectively if you have conditions above. The details on what to do if you have diabetes or hypertension deserve to be written in other hubs.

Kidney stones can lead to kidney damages, too. Especially if stones block urine flow or cause frequent infections.

This is by no mean a complete list. You may want to read more from this reference: What You Must Know about Kidney Disease

5. Do not smoke. If you already smoke, then quit.

Smoking is harzardous to overall health. It damages vital organs including heart (heart attack), lungs (emphysema, COPD, cancer), brain (stroke), sex organ (impotence) and of course the kidney (kidney failure). The list goes on and on. So quit smoking.

6. Do not use illicit drugs

Those agents likely will cause complications e.g. infection (IV drugs causing sepsis, or drugs used by snorting or inhaling causing pneumonia) that can lead to kidney damages. Cocaine may cause heart attack that decrease blood supply to the body overall and also to the kidneys.

7. Develop healthy life style

Maintain healthy weight, eat healthy diet, exercise regularly, have adequate sleep, keep bad cholesterol level in check, etc.

8. Take medications that are prescribed to you by your doctor

There are certain medications that have been shown to have protective effect for the kidneys. Studies show that patients who take them delay progression of CKD compared to those who don't. However follow-up tests are mostly required. So make sure you take your medications and follow up with your doctor.

Learn more about how to prevent chronic kidney disease at 100 Q&A About Kidney Disease and Hypertension