Chronic Kidney Disease in SA: 'Patients are being diagnosed too late'
Hundreds of thousands of South Africans are said to suffer from this disease due to lack of access to information, challenges with screening, and receiving the correct treatment.
FILE: A nurse takes a patient's blood pressure in hospital. Picture: Reinart Toerien/EWN
Gugs Mhlungu spoke to Campaigning for Cancer CEO, Lauren Pretorius.
Listen to their conversation in the audio clip below.
Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) reportedly affects more than 850 million people globally.
Closer to home, hundreds of thousands of people in South Africa are said to suffer from CKD due to lack of access to information, challenges with screening, and receiving the correct treatment - this includes dialysis.
"We're seeing a lot of patients getting diagnosed in later stages. The problem with this is as you move along the stages, your kidney function becomes worse."
Lauren Pretorius - Campaigning for Cancer CEO
CKD is when your kidneys fail to function properly.
Some of the essential functions of the kidney include:
• Removal of waste or toxins build-up from the body
• Producing hormones to build Red Blood Cells which carry Oxygen
• Regulating the volume of blood in the body
• Producing hormones that regulate Vitamin D production
Some of the symptoms of CKD are:
• Chest pain, if fluid builds up around the lining of the heart
• Fatigue and weakness
• Swelling of feet and ankles
• Shortness of breath, if fluid builds up in the lungs
• Urinating more or less
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Loss of appetite
• Sleep problems
• Dry, itchy skin
Diabetes Mellitus, High Blood Pressure, HIV, and High Blood Cholesterol are some of the leading causes of CKD in South Africa.
To reduce the risk of developing CKD, Pretorius recommends smoking less (or quitting altogether), reducing your alcohol and salt intake, and eating nutritious meals.
In most cases, those suffering from CKD will undergo dialysis to help clean waste build-up from the body - but if this is not done, it can lead to death.
"With Chronic Kidney Disease, there isn't a cure unless that patient has a kidney transplant."
Lauren Pretorius - Campaigning for Cancer CEO
Pretorius says people suffering from CKD are at a higher risk of developing kidney cancer.
Scroll up to listen to the full conversation.