In recent years, the prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) has been increasing year by year and has become a major threat to public health worldwide. It is estimated that chronic kidney disease affects more than 8500 million people, responsible for more than 3.1 million deaths in 2019. Currently, kidney disease is the 8th leading cause of death, and if left unaddressed, it is expected to become the 5th leading cause of life loss by 2040. Due to the strong compensatory function of the kidneys, only 1 2 nephrons work normally to meet the normal physiological needs of the person. In the early stage of kidney disease, most patients do not feel anything, even if some patients have backache, poor appetite and other discomforts, most of them are attributed to fatigue, sub-health, etc., and rarely think that it may be kidney problems. Therefore, many patients with chronic kidney disease have already reached the middle and advanced stages of their illness when they are diagnosed, and they have already missed the best opportunity. In order to raise the public's awareness of kidney protection, here, let's learn about the eight health "killers" that are most likely to cause kidney damage in daily life, hoping to help everyone stay away from kidney disease and have a healthy life.
One of the "killers": drugs
As the saying goes, "medicine is poisonous". All drugs, whether they are Western medicine or traditional Chinese medicine, may have a certain amount of *** The kidney is one of the most important organs in the human body that excretes drugs and their metabolites, so the chance of being damaged by drugs is also the greatest. Common drugs that can damage the kidneys include anti-infective drugs, antipyretic analgesics, chemotherapy drugs, diuretics, and certain Chinese herbal medicines.
Warm reminder: to avoid drug-induced kidney damage, rational use of drugs is the key. Especially in the elderly, with the increase of age, the renal reserve capacity gradually decreases, the kidney cells age, the ability to clear poisons decreases, and the drug-induced kidney damage is more likely to occur. When using drugs with nephrotoxic effects, the pros and cons should be weighed, and the dosage and duration of treatment should be individualized as much as possible, and the combination of multiple drugs should be avoided.
"Killer" No. 2: Medical Contrast Agent.
In recent years, with the widespread development of modern contrast technology, the application of intravascular contrast agents has become more and more common. To do enhanced CT, it is necessary to create a contrast agent; To do angiography, it is necessary to create a contrast agent; "Installing a stent", it is necessary to repeatedly create a ...... of the shadow agentHowever, as this new technology is being rolled out around the world, more and more patients are suffering from kidney damage due to the use of contrast agents. The incidence of contrast nephropathy in the general population is 06% 6%, but the incidence in specific populations (such as the elderly, diabetic nephropathy, chronic kidney disease, etc.) is as high as more than 20%. At present, contrast nephropathy has become the third highest number of acute renal failure acquired in hospitals**.
Warm reminder: To create a shadow agent, you should also be "leisurely", and if you can, you won't fight. Adequate hydration is done before and after the use of contrast agents to reduce the incidence or severity of contrast nephropathy. Those who have pre-existing renal function decline or risk factors for renal impairment (such as hypertension, diabetes, arteriosclerosis, etc.) should avoid unnecessary contrast examinations or**.
Killer No. 3: Infection.
In daily life, colds, pharyngitis, tonsillitis, urinary tract infections, ** infections and other diseases are very common. However, these seemingly inconspicuous infections are the "enemies" of the kidneys. Because the vast majority of kidney disease is caused by an immune response, and infection itself is an immune response. Repeated infections trigger a series of inflammatory responses in the body, stimulating the body to produce a large number of antibodies to "fight" foreign antigens (bacteria, viruses). Subsequently, the immune complexes formed by the combination of antigens and antibodies are deposited in the glomerular basement membrane and activate complement, eventually leading to the development of kidney disease.
Reminder: A variety of bacterial and viral infections can lead to the occurrence of nephritis. Prevention is the key to avoiding kidney damage caused by infection. For people with pre-existing kidney disease, the prevention of infection is even more important. Because every time you experience an infection, there is a chance that your condition will be aggravated or aggravated.
Killer No. 4: Diabetes.
In recent years, the prevalence of diabetes in China has been rising rapidly, and it has become another chronic disease that seriously endangers people's health after cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and tumors. Diabetic nephropathy is the most common chronic complication of diabetes and one of the leading causes of death in people with diabetes. Surveys show that about 1 in 3 diabetic patients have kidney disease. In most Western countries, diabetic nephropathy has become the number one cause of end-stage renal disease**.
Warm reminder: Diabetic patients should check their kidney function and urine routine regularly. The kidneys of diabetic patients are more susceptible to damage from various foreign factors, such as medications, infections, etc., than normal human kidneys. If the above conditions exist, patients should go to the nephrology department in time to avoid aggravating kidney damage due to improper **.
The fifth "killer": high blood pressure.
In recent years, the prevalence of hypertension has been on the rise. High blood pressure not only hurts the "heart", but also hurts the "kidneys". Hypertensive nephropathy and uremia caused by hypertensive nephropathy are also on the rise. In the United States, uremia due to hypertensive nephropathy accounts for 1 4 of all uremia patients. Kidney damage from hypertension is positively correlated with the degree and duration of blood pressure increases. To prevent the development of hypertensive nephropathy, hypertensive patients should strive to keep their blood pressure in the normal range (140 to 90 mmHg). If hypertensive nephropathy is already present, lowering blood pressure remains the top priority, and the blood pressure reduction target will be more stringent (below 130 80 mmHg). ACE inhibitors and angiotensin receptor antagonists are the two most commonly used classes of antihypertensive drugs in patients with kidney disease. These two types of drugs can not only lower blood pressure, but also reduce urine protein excretion, reduce glomerular hyperperfusion, hyperfiltration, and delay the progression of kidney disease to a certain extent.
Reminder: If you are a patient with high blood pressure and want to know if your kidneys have been damaged, you may wish to recall: Is the number of nights waking up more than before? If so, hypernocturia due to hypertensive nephropathy should be suspected; Is there foam in the urine? If present, proteinuria due to hypertensive nephropathy should be excluded; Has your blood pressure become harder to control lately? If so, you should be alert to whether kidney disease is worsening your hypertension. Of course, the easiest way is to go to the hospital for a kidney test, including tubular function, urine microalbumin, blood creatinine, etc., in order to determine whether you have hypertensive nephropathy.
The sixth of the "killers": hyperuricemia
Long-term disturbances in the body's purine metabolism can lead to hyperuricemia. In addition to gout, hyperuricemia can also cause kidney damage. When the blood urate concentration is too high, it can be deposited in the kidneys, causing kidney damage, which is called hyperuricic acid nephropathy. The disease is common in Europe and the United States. In recent years, with the change of people's dietary structure, the prevalence of hyperuricic acid nephropathy in China has been increasing year by year. Clinical data show that about 1 3 of patients with hyperuricemia have renal impairment in patients with a long course of disease. In patients with hyperuricic acid nephropathy, 17% to 25% will eventually progress to kidney failure. Correction of hyperuricemia is the key to the prevention and treatment of uric acid renal damage. There are three ways to lower blood uric acid: reducing uric acid synthesis, reducing uric acid reabsorption, and increasing uric acid decomposition.
Warm reminder: Adults should adhere to the physical examination every year to understand their blood uric acid level. Once the blood uric acid is found to be high, the patient must go to the hospital to receive the relevant **. You must not ignore it because you have no symptoms. In particular, people with pre-existing gouty arthritis should not only deal with arthritis, but also pay attention to kidney protection.
Killer No. 7: Obesity.
Many people know that obesity is the main culprit of diabetes, coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, sleep apnea and insulin resistance. Recent studies have found that obesity can also lead to kidney damage, medically known as "obesity-associated nephropathy". Nowadays, with the change of people's diet and lifestyle habits, there are more and more obese patients, and the prevalence of obesity-related kidney disease is also rising. The disease is characterized by hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and proteinuria. In the early stages of the lesion, ultrasonography may show increased volume of both kidneys.
Reminder: The key to preventing and treating obesity-related kidney disease is to control weight. First of all, obese people should realize that obesity is a disease that must be intervened early. Secondly, obese people should establish a sense of kidney protection and go to the hospital regularly for urine routine examinations in order to detect kidney damage early.
Killer No. 8: Hepatitis B.
China is a large country with hepatitis B virus, and there are more than 1 chronic hepatitis B virus infection300 million people. Whether the liver function is good or not, and whether the viral load is high, is a matter of great concern to every hepatitis B patient. But few people know that hepatitis B can also cause kidney damage. In addition to invading the liver, the hepatitis B virus is also invasive to other organs. If the hepatitis B virus invades the kidneys, it can cause kidney lesions, which is medically called hepatitis B virus-associated nephritis. According to statistics, 8% of 20% of hepatitis B patients have nephritis, of which 50% is directly caused by hepatitis B. Hepatitis B kidney is the most common extrahepatic manifestation of hepatitis B virus. Although there is a certain rate of spontaneous remission in hepatitis B and kidney, some patients, especially those with **, will eventually progress to end-stage renal disease.
Warm reminder: Hepatitis B patients should not only protect the liver, but also protect the kidneys. Since most patients with hepatitis B do not have any symptoms in the early stages of the disease, patients with hepatitis B should have regular urine and kidney function tests to detect kidney damage early.
In conclusion, chronic kidney disease (CKD) has an insidious onset, and most kidney diseases have few or no symptoms in the early stages. Even if symptoms are present, they may be overlooked by patients because they are not specific to kidney disease. When the following symptoms appear, we must be vigilant: Backache: It is believed that backache is caused by muscle strain. In fact, backache can also be an early symptom of kidney disease. When nephritis occurs, the enlarged kidney pulls on the envelope that surrounds it, causing backache. Edema: including the eyes, face, back of the feet, ankles, and even the whole body. Elevated blood pressure: Sudden onset of hypertension in young people should raise suspicion for kidney disease. Urine abnormalities: including foamy urine, dark urine, etc. Foamy urine indicates the presence of protein in the urine, and darkening of the urine indicates the presence of red blood cells in the urine. Abnormal urination: These include increased frequency of urination, decreased or increased urine output, especially nocturia.