Kidney failure is very common

People with kidney disease are usually not even aware that they have this disease. If you have diabetes or high blood pressure you could be at a serious risk for chronic kidney failure. Kidney disease is the ninth leading cause of death in the United States.

March 8, 2012, is World Kidney Disease Day to raise awareness in an effort to raise awareness of kidney treatment and early detection and in hopes to make the rest of the population aware of taking better care of themselves.

Protecting your kidneys via taking care of your diabetes or taking care not to get diabetes and in the same vein, taking care of you high blood pressure or taking care not to get high blood pressure too, because both of conditions are preludes to cardiovascular disease.

Diabetes is the leading cause of chronic kidney disease, because high blood sugar is damaging damaging to your kidneys. If you control you high blood pressure and high blood sugar it is possible to not get kidney disease or at least keep slow down the progression and keep it under control.

People who have diabetes should get an A1C test at least twice a year and at best four times a year to measure your blood sugar and to help keep it in check. This type of test will tell you what your blood sugar levels have been over the past three months.

High blood pressure can also damage your kidneys, make sure you monitor it and if diagnosed and given medicines to take by your doctor, please continue to take them. Monitor your food intakeand please exercise, according to your doctor's instructions.

High risk diabetes patients are at risk of developing diabetes 2, which leads to kidney disease. Most of people at risk for diabetes 2 are overweight and can keep it in check by losing 5-7% of their body weight, which ends up being 1-14 pounds for a 200-pound person.





Infections like kidney and bladder can cause damage to your kidneys,

• Cloudy or bloody urine
• Pain or burning when you urinate
• An urgent need to urinate often

Talk with your health care provider if you have any of these signs of kidney infections:

• Back pain
• Chills
• Fever

The final and end-stage of kidney disease is needing dialysis, your are hooked up to a machine for hours, while they filter your blood for you, or a kidney transplant. If you have kidney disease you are more likely to die from cardiovascular disease than you are from renal-failure.

Seven out of ten patients listed high blood pressure or diabetes as their primary cause. A half-a million people each year live on chronic dialysis or need a kidney transplant each year.