World Kidney Day 2022: Kidney Health For All

in Nephrology

Apr 19, 2022

World Kidney Day is a global campaign to spread awareness about kidney disease. This campaign was launched in 2006 and is celebrated on the 2nd Thursday of March every year.

Theme of World Kidney Day 2022

Every year it has a theme, and the theme for this year is KIDNEY HEALTH FOR ALL. Unlike other organs like the heart (which causes chest pain), Brain (which causes weakness, etc.), Liver (loss of appetite, yellow urine, etc.) which can bring immediate attention, kidney disease remains silent for long periods. When they start producing symptoms it is usually very late except in a few types of kidney failure. Hence they are called “SILENT KILLER.”

Kidneys are AMAZING ORGANS. They are silent workers in our bodies. They continue to work round the clock but are very shrewd because they do not cause symptoms. So, we have to be smarter than them to pick their diseases early. Early detection can improve the outcomes of kidney disease.

This global campaign aims at spreading awareness about the diseases of the kidney because of late presentations of kidney disease. Late detection has limited medical treatment options.

Types of Kidney Diseases

Broadly, kidney diseases can be divided into two groups: Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) and Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). Acute Kidney Injury is a disease that has come up all of a sudden, and the chances of improvement in their function are good. On the other hand, Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is a slow, insidious onset of kidney failure which is usually detected late.

The two most important causes of CKD worldwide, including in our country, are Diabetes and Hypertension. Individuals with a long-standing history of Diabetes, with or without Hypertension are at risk of developing kidney disease. Individuals who usually use painkillers on regular basis for years are also at risk for kidney failure. Some diseases of kidneys run in a family and have a genetic origin.