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UNDERSTANDING YOUR KIDNEYS BETTERBy Glenn EllisThe two leading causes of kidney disease are high blood pressure and diabetes. If you have two healthy kidneys, you have 100 percent of your kidney
function. The human body is so amazing. This is more than you really
need. That
is why some people are born with one kidney, or give one of their healthy
kidneys to a loved one, and are able to lead a normal, healthy life.
So you see, even with declines in kidney function, you can still
be healthy
with 50 percent of your kidney function, if it remains stable. But many
people with 50 percent of their kidney function have a kidney disease
that will continually get worse. You will have some serious health problems
if you have less than 20 percent of your kidney function. If kidney
function drops below 10 to 15 percent, you cannot live long without
either dialysis
or a transplant. Damage to the kidneys may happen quickly, as the result
of injury or poisoning. But most kidney diseases are slow and silent.
It can take many years for the damage to become apparent. |
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Glenn Ellis writes and conducts seminars and workshops on health issues of particular interest to the African American community. |
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copyright © 2003 Strategies for Well-Being |
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