Docs see rise in cases of renal trouble

CHENNAI: An increase in the incidence of diabetes and high blood pressure has caused a rise in the number of people suffering from renal failure, say doctors.
“Diabetes is one of the most common causes of kidney failure. We see almost 1,000 new cases of diabetes a day. There has been an increase in the number of people suffering from high blood pressure too,” says Dr S Kanakasabai, dean of Madras Medical College.
Dr Rajan Ravichandran, director of Miot Institute of Nephrology, says that one in three adults in India suffer from high blood pressure. “Many of these people are diagnosed with hypertension at a very young age. They are prime targets for kidney failure,” he says. Doctors also say that since the onset of kidney failure is slow and asymptomatic in most people, treatment is delayed till the disease reaches advanced stages when a kidney transplant is the only way out.
More than two lakh people in India suffer from renal failure every year and doctors say that a change in lifestyle and an increase in the consumption of high salt in junk food are also responsible. People suffering from kidney disease or renal failure lose their capacity to excrete salt and potassium through their kidneys causing them to accumulate in the body.
“An increase in the consumption of analgesic drugs may also be the reason, says Dr Kanakasabai. “These days, many people consume over the counter analgesics for everything from a mild headache to a slight fever,” he says. “These drugs get deposited in the kidneys and put undue load on them,” he adds.
According to Dr Ravichandran, alternate medicine may also play a role in renal problems as many ayurvedic drugs contain heavy metals that tend to get deposited in the kidneys. “These heavy metals have a soothing effect on the body and a lot of people turn to them for skin problems, joint pain or mental problems,” he says.