A kidney disease survivor, Abigail Ashley has stated that young persons, namely children, teenagers and young adults are all at risk of developing a kidney disease.
Abigail adds that her assertion is based on what she observed during a visit to the dialysis centre at Korle Bu.
She told Samuel Eshun on the Happy Morning Show, “My first time at the dialysis department, there were just elderly persons and I questioned God about why he gave me a disease for elderly ones. But now when you enter the dialysis room, 8 year and 10 year olds are being diagnosed with kidney disease. And then I ask myself what went wrong? We have young people being diagnosed with kidney problems”.
The kidney disease survivor made it known that everyone is at risk of the disease. She cited a recent statistic that revealed that as at March 8th this year, “13 percent of Ghanaians had chronic kidney disease”.
According to the US National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), kidney disease can affect children in various ways, ranging from treatable disorders without long-term consequences to life-threatening conditions.
Chronic kidney disease, also called chronic kidney failure, involves a gradual loss of kidney function. Your kidneys filter wastes and excess fluids from your blood, which are then removed in your urine. Advanced chronic kidney disease can cause dangerous levels of fluid, electrolytes and wastes to build up in your body.
Some symptoms of kidney disease include nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, fatigue and weakness, sleep problems, urinating more or less, decreased mental sharpness, muscle cramps, swelling of feet and ankles, among others.
