World Kidney Day: Why Is It Celebrated?

The goal of this day is to raise awareness and spread information about the disease.

World Kidney Day is celebrated annually on March 11th. The goal of this day is to increase awareness of healthy living habits for the people affected by chronic kidney disease.

But to understand the dynamics of this day and the disease that damages the kidneys, we will briefly introduce the main character.

The kidneys play a very important role in the body as they filter the blood, discard excess fluid along with toxins, balance the substances in the blood and have a relevant effect on blood pressure. By understanding this, we can generally look at what is causing a malfunction.

Celebrate World Kidney Day

World Kidney Day was developed to raise awareness and recognize the importance of the kidneys for the body. The goal is to create preventive awareness, provide timely information on risk factors and develop an understanding of the best way to deal with a major kidney complication.

The phrase chosen for the event in 2021 makes the goal of “living well with kidney disease ” clear. The day was originally made possible by the International Society of Nephrology (ISN) and the International Federation of Kidney Foundations (IFKF).

Goals for World Kidney Day

The goals of World Kidney Day are several and important in their correct goals, so that the information reaches all points and thus achieves the desired global awareness. Among the most important are the following:

Bring valuable data to various medical sectors on diagnosis and successful prevention of the disease.
Highlight the risk factors that trigger the disease.
Point out kidney transplants as a highly effective way to fight kidney failure.
Encourage the public to take on the responsibility of being a donor as a heroic gesture that can change the world.

Ask health authorities to invest in tests that can determine kidney problems.

Themes from previous years

Every year since 2006, World Kidney Day has a theme that they focus on to improve its progress. As previously mentioned, “living well with kidney disease” is the theme for 2021. At the same time, we find it interesting to highlight previous years’ themes to note the development of the anniversary:

2006: “ Are your kidneys okay? “The goal was to issue a warning about early identification of kidney failure.
2007: “ Chronic kidney disease: Common, harmful and treatable. “Expressed that it is a difficulty that one can live with, but which has alarming negative effects if it is not treated in time.
2008: “ Your amazing kidneys! Highlighting the role of the kidneys in the body.

2009: ” Protect Your Kidneys: Keep Your Blood Pressure Low.” The importance of controlling blood pressure so that the blood vessels of the kidneys are not damaged.
2010: “ Protect Your Kidneys: Control Diabetes. “Shows that high blood sugar is harmful to the kidneys.
2011: ” Protect Your Kidneys: Save Your Heart.” Shows the connection between kidney problems and heart problems.
2012: “ Donate – Kidneys for Life – Receive. Highlights donation as a good solution.
2013: ” Kidneys for life – stop kidney attacks!” Stop kidney damage from preventative activities.
2014: “ Chronic kidney disease and aging: Your kidneys age, just like you. “Increasing incidence of chronic kidney disease in the elderly.
2015: “ Kidney health for all. “Search for health balance to treat the various disorders of the kidneys.

Themes from the last 5 years

2016: “ Kidney Disease and Children : Act Early to Prevent It!” Constant care of the kidney health of the youngest to avoid long-term problems.

2017: “ Kidney disease and obesity. “Obesity as a risk factor due to disadvantages of cytokine synthesis in adipose tissue.
2018: ” Kidney and women’s health : Include , value , strengthen .” Aimed at female patients to take part in the fight against kidney failure.
2019: “ Kidney health for everyone everywhere. “It sought to value justice in the treatment of all those affected by kidney problems.
2020: “ Kidney health for everyone everywhere: From prevention to detection and reasonable access to care. “It had a broad focus to address many areas of the celebration.

What is chronic kidney disease?

Chronic kidney disease is the gradual reduction in kidney function that can occur over different periods. The deterioration is characterized by damage to the nephrons (small filters that cleanse the blood), which can resist the work of some damaged kidney cells.

However, there comes a time when the filtration process is deficient and the blood notices it.

Causes

Among the main causes are high blood pressure, diabetes, glomerulonephritis and chronic pyelonephritis. On the other hand, there is a probability associated with hereditary factors. Some drugs can also cause chronic kidney failure if taken for a long time.

Ultimately, the cause that most likely leads to chronic kidney failure is diabetes. According to studies, one in three cases of kidney problems in people with this problem is related to excess blood sugar.

The importance of early diagnosis

The efforts since the start of World Kidney Day to perfect the early diagnosis phase are due to the fact that it gives specialists more room to work on slowing down the deterioration. Let us keep in mind that the symptoms can be silent until kidney failure reaches 90%.

It is clear that time acts as the main ally, so derivative complications do not affect the treatment needed in each patient. Thus, early diagnosis saves lives.

Treatment and recovery

The first thing to note is that the disease cannot be cured. However, patients’ options are to slow down or stop the deterioration. The initiatives that are being led are as follows:

Detailed diet and medication as the case may be. This helps regulate the acidity that was previously the responsibility of the kidneys.
Dialysis. It does the work of purifying the blood, which the kidneys can no longer perform. This option is reserved for critical cases.
Kidney transplantation. This is considered the only resort when kidney disease reaches the end stage. At this point, the kidneys cease to survive.

The recovery time depends on the treatment and the degree of the disorder. Despite this, the follow-up of the disease must be recurrent, as neglect can endanger the patient’s life.

How can I contribute to World Kidney Day?

The goal is to raise awareness and disseminate information. Therefore, the best way to contribute is to share the information from the networks using the official poster. Additionally, sharing a personal experience can help raise awareness.

Another form of support is in the form of donations and events to raise money. Meanwhile, support that can be given from a distance is increasing every year.

Things to keep in mind

Early diagnosis is the most important tool for treating chronic kidney disease. For this reason, it is not an option to wait for symptoms. Action is needed.

In this sense, it is also a good idea to adopt habits to reduce your risk, e.g. by eating a low-salt diet, avoiding tobacco, reducing alcohol consumption and exercising in everyday life.

Life is in the kidneys!