A number of XU faculty and staff attended the Renal Health and Disease Prevention Lay Forum organized by the National Kidney Transplant Institute (NKTI)with the Department of Health-Center for Health Development and the Philippine Information Agency Region 10 on June 20 at the Dynasty Court Hotel.

The forum aimed to raise people’s awareness on renal disease and prevention of kidney infections.  Dr Susan Jorge, assistant program manager of NKTI’s Renal Disease Control Program, described kidney disease as a very silent problem.
“90% of the time, there are no symptoms. Symptoms appear when 90% of the kidneys are already damaged,” she shared.

Dr Jorge said that people should take care of their kidneys as these organs not only remove waste from the body but perform other important tasks, particularly stimulating the production of red blood cells, regulating blood pressure, keeping constant the acid/base concentration of the blood, and strengthening bones by maintaining the body’s calcium levels.

Based on the renal registry presentation of nephrologist Dr Susan Oliveros, the number one cause of end stage renal disease (kidney failure) in the country is diabetic nephropathy, a complication of diabetes mellitus, followed by hypertensive nephrosclerosis, a complication of high blood pressure. She said that most incidents of kidney disease in Region 10 are found in people from 51 to 70 years old, with female predominance among patients.

Urologist Dr Raul Andutan imparted that among the preventable and reversible causes of kidney infection, the urinary tract infection is one of the most common reasons for hospital admissions. Moreover, he said that 2.3% of Filipinos, roughly 2 million, unknowingly have urinary stones, a form of urinary tract obstruction.

Ways of preventing urinary tract infections and urinary tract obstructions, thereby cutting the risk of kidney infections, are as simple as drinking plenty of water, emptying the bladder as soon as the urge to urinate occurs, voiding after sexual contact and avoiding excessive consumption of salty food and animal protein.

While undergoing dialysis can be expensive, the good news is that kidney disease is easily preventable through yearly urine examination.

“Urinalysis is the simplest diagnostic procedure to determine if there is a problem with the kidneys,” said Dr Jorge.

XU employees need not fret as Dr Augusto Guitarte, health services director, said that the urinalysis is part of the annual physical examination among XU employees.