Kidney disease and its alarming rise

It is sad to know that every year 40,000 people die in our country of kidney disease. The treatment cost is so high that the poor people cannot afford it. If someone from a poor family falls victim to this deadly disease, the entire family is thrown into great financial hardship. In our country 18 million people are suffering from kidney disease and the numbers are alarming.  The number of kidney patients is on the increase day by day; on the other hand the common people have very little knowledge about the disease. Many patients are not getting life saving treatment like dialysis because it is costly and poor people simply cannot afford it. We do not have even adequate numbers of dialysis machines, which is hampering the treatment process.

We need to create awareness among the common people so that they can remain safe from this deadly disease. To save our kidney, we have to manage diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. In many cases the kidney problem is a secondary illness affected by the above mentioned health problems. We should drink plenty of water to replenish dehydration and refrain from taking excess salt. We should also develop healthy habits like eating at the right time, do regular exercise and avoid smoking and alcohol beverage.  We must not forget that 'prevention is better than cure.'

Faisal Ahmed

Mahakahli, Dhaka