NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 10 – Garsen Member of Parliament Danson Mungatana has stressed the need to put up of more renal facilities in provincial hospitals across the country.
He said that this would reduce the inconvenience suffered by kidney patients who currently have to travel to Nairobi to the only renal unit at the Kenyatta National Hospital.
He was speaking after flagging off a walk in Nairobi aimed at raising funds to assist people having kidney problems on Saturday.
"There is the need for the government to set up more renal centres across the country because it does not make sense to travel all the way from North Eastern to Nairobi for dialysis every week," he said.
The MP also emphasised the need for Treasury to inject more funds to go towards this endeavour.
"The government is simply not doing enough. People are dying. Statistics given to us suggest that at least 14 people die every month at Kenyatta National Hospital," the former assistant minister stated.
"Renal failures and some difficulties related to the kidneys are prevalent. We need to invest more by putting in new machines."
Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) can develop slowly and show few initial symptoms. It may be the long term result of irreversible acute disease or be part of a disease progression.
Symptoms of kidney disease can vary from person to person. Some people with kidney disease may not even feel sick, or they may not notice the symptoms. If the kidney function fails, the waste products accumulate in the blood.
Very mild levels of azotaemia may produce little or no symptoms, but if the kidney failure continues, then symptoms will become noticeable.
Symptoms of kidney failure include high levels of urea in the blood, which can result in vomiting and diarrhoea, which may lead to dehydration, nausea, weight loss and Foamy or bubbly urine.
Failure of the kidneys to remove excess fluid may cause, swelling of the legs, ankles, feet, face and shortness of breath due to extra fluid on the lungs.
Acute Kidney failure usually occurs as the result of a sudden interruption in the blood supply to the kidney, or as a result of a toxic overload of the kidneys.
Some causes of acute failure include accidents, injuries or complications from surgery where the kidneys are deprived of normal blood flow for an extended period of time. Heart-bypass surgery is an example of a situation in which the kidneys receive reduced blood flow.
Drug overdoses, whether accidental or from chemical overloads of drugs such as antibiotics or chemotherapy, may also cause the onset of acute kidney failure.
Unlike in chronic kidney disease, however, the kidneys can often recover from acute failure, allowing the patient to resume a normal life.
People suffering from acute failure require supportive treatment until their kidneys recover function, and they often remain at an increased risk of developing future kidney failure.
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