Kidney disease is a silent killer.
Most of the symptoms are not apparent until the kidneys lose their functions. The end stage of the renal disease requires dialysis or transplant. Therefore, early detection is vital.
Measures to prevent kidney disease include exercising daily, limiting salt intake and keeping blood pressure in check.
On March 9, the World Kidney Day was observed to create awareness about kidney disease and its associated problems. However, sadly, there was not much hype about it.
In the past 10 years, there has been a 100 per cent increase in the number of dialysis patients who suffer chronic kidney disease, according to the 22nd Report of the Malaysian Dialysis and Transplant Register (2014).
In the last four years, more than 6,000 new patients required dialysis each year in Malaysia. Chronic kidney disease is the loss of kidney functions due to diabetes and high-blood pressure.
At the end of 2015, nearly 40,000 Malaysians required dialysis, of whom 90 per cent needed haemodialysis at least three times a week.
It is time to take better care of our health.
LIONEL PERERA, Port Dickson, Negri Sembilan