Patients with kidney diseases need extra care in Ramazan

Islamabad

It is a must for the patients suffering from any of the kidney diseases or having kidneys with decreased function to assess exactly the severity of their problem before opting for fasting in the holy month of Ramazan so that they would be able to take precautionary measures well in time to avoid life-threatening conditions.

Medically, dehydration is termed as one of the most common causes of acute kidney injury, the sudden loss of kidney function that is also called as acute renal failure that may lead to death if not managed in time. Most of the patients suffering from kidney diseases may suffer from dehydration while fasting and it may be alarming for them.

According to health experts, they may suffer irreparable loss if they do not take extra ordinary care in diet while opting for fasting.

It is important that kidney diseases are considered as the silent killers that affect the quality of life of a patient to a great extent. There are many forms of kidney diseases like urinary tract infection, cyst around kidneys, kidney stones, acute kidney injury and chronic kidney disease (CKD), which is particularly dangerous because a patient of CKD may not have any symptoms until considerable, often irreparable damage to kidney has occurred.

Diabetes and high blood pressure are the most common causes of CKD and according to experts, the diabetics falling in type 1 or type 2 categories of the disease and patients suffering from hypertension should take extra care in diet while fasting. It is worth mention here that medically, fasting is not recommended in diabetics falling in third category of the disease, the patients who use insulin regularly.

It is a must for a patient of decreased kidney function to undergo complete medical check-up before opting for fasting for a month and in case of developing any complication while fasting, the patient should immediately report to the nearest healthcare facility, said Deputy Director at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences Dr. Wasim Ahmed Khawaja while talking to ‘The News’ on Thursday.

Dehydration may cause acute renal failure and it must be avoided while fasting, he said. The acute renal failure is a fatal condition. The most important thing for one to keep in mind that kidneys perform a number of life-sustaining roles in the body from cleansing blood from waste and toxins to maintaining balance of salt and minerals in the body and thus regulating blood pressure, he said.

He added the patients suffering from urinary tract infections, milder kidney stones and cyst can fast during Ramazan but after advice from their physicians. If the kidney stones are silent and are not causing pain, the person can fast but if there is pain due to stone, the patient should seek treatment instead of opting for fasting without medical advice, he said.

Similarly patients of acute kidney injury should not fast because during fasting dehydration can further aggravate the damage to the kidneys, he said. He added also the patient with chronic kidney disease having high blood pressure and high level of blood sugar should not fast.

Studies reveal that kidney damage and decreased function that lasts for more than three months is called CKD. The patients of CKD must undergo complete examination before opting for fasting in Ramazan, he said.

With the damage to kidneys, waste products and excess fluid starts building up in the body causing swelling in ankles, vomiting, weakness, poor sleep and shortness of breath and these symptoms should be taken seriously while under fast, said Dr. Khawaja.

He added that if these symptoms are left untreated, the diseased kidneys may stop functioning completely that is potentially a serious and life-threatening condition.

It is important that healthy kidneys maintain a balance of water and concentration of minerals such as sodium, potassium and phosphorus in the blood and remove waste by-products from the blood after digestion. Kidneys produce rennin, an enzyme that helps regulating blood pressure. 

They also produce an active form of Vitamin D, needed for the health of bones while stimulate red blood cell production.