World Kidney Day!

Happy World Kidney Day! We are so excited to help empower our community with information about the kidneys. We want to take today to bring you back to the basics and teach you about all the wonderful things the kidneys do within the body. We’ll share the basics, some fun facts, frequently asked questions, and how our team gets involved with empowering others. 

The Basics:
Located in the back, just below the ribcage, the kidneys are fist-sized, bean-shaped organs. They have 6 major functions:

• Control blood pressure
• Manage fluid and electrolyte balance
• Create urine
• Filter the blood of toxins and waste
• Activate vitamin D
• Direct production of red blood cells

Fun Facts:

1. Your kidneys pump approximately 200 liters of blood per day.
2. You can live with only one kidney and still thrive. 
3. According to the Guiness Book of World Records, the largest kidney stone removed measured 5.26in long and 4.26in wide, weighing 1.76lbs. This stone was bigger than the patient’s kidney!
   
   
   

Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: What do kidneys have to do with my blood pressure?
A: Your kidneys play a vital role in your blood pressure management. Your kidneys control your electrolyte balance which, in turn, affects your fluid balance. An increase in fluid volume of the blood increases your blood pressure. Additionally, in some cases, the adrenal glands on top of the kidneys influence certain hormone levels that are connected to blood pressure management within the body.

Q: But I don’t have symptoms and I feel fine. How do I have Chronic Kidney Disease?
A: Your kidneys and body are miraculous machines. Oftentimes, symptoms of Chronic Kidney Disease do not manifest until you are in the later stages. This is why regular lab tests are critical to keep up with as they can detect changes in your kidney function before the symptoms begin. 

Q: How much water should I be drinking?
A: Let’s start by clarifying: we talk about fluid consumption, not water consumption alone. Water is a fluid and should be calculated into your daily intake, but other fluids need to be included as well. Coffee, tea, milk from cereal, and broth from soup are all examples of fluids that should be calculated into your daily fluid intake. There is no set amount of fluid that a person should be drinking per day, as all of our conditions are different. As a general rule of thumb, if you sweat more, you need to drink more. Dialysis and Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) patients are on a fluid restricted diet and should abide by physicians’ orders.

Q: Does cranberry juice work for the kidneys?
A: No! Cranberry juice can help to alleviate symptoms of a Urinary Tract Infection (UTI), but does not cure it or make it go away. Untreated UTIs can cause kidney or prostate infections. These are more serious as it can travel to the blood and cause sepsis. UTIs are generally treated by Primary Care or Urologists for chronic infections.

How We Get Involved:
Our team is working hard at getting healthy for our kidneys. We have embarked on a month-long step challenge that not only includes walking, but nutrition and health tracking. With some knowledge, hard work, and a little friendly competition, we are empowering ourselves to help continue empowering and encouraging our patients. Additionally, we walk with the National Kidney Foundation for their annual Kidney Walk to raise awareness for kidney diseases. Join us or walk virtually this year at Riverside park on Sunday, May 19th, at 7:30am. Learn more at https://www.kidneywalk.org/jacksonville.

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