Healthy kidneys flush out the rubbish from your blood. Here are some of the big jobs that your kidneys do, and why it is not good to have kidney disease.
Healthy kidneys flush out all the rubbish in your blood. This keeps you healthy. If you have sick kidneys, your body can’t filter your blood properly – and that means you can get ill.
Here are some of the big jobs that your kidneys do, and why it is not good to have kidney disease.
They keep in the good things and get rid of the rubbish. Sick kidneys are like walls with holes in them. They can’t do their job of filtering the waste.
Healthy kidneys help keep your blood pressure at the correct level, and that means you feel good. Sick kidneys cause high blood pressure, which damages your kidneys. You may feel ill and have headaches.
Healthy kidneys keep the salt and water in your body in balance and that helps you feel good and allows your body to work better. With sick kidneys, salt and water builds up and you may feel tired or unwell, your feet might be puffy, and you can feel sad or confused at times.
Healthy kidneys help keep your bones strong, which means you can do almost anything and not be afraid of bones breaking. Sick kidneys can’t keep bones strong, so your bones become weak and may break easily.
Healthy kidneys help make your blood strong, which makes you feel good and gives you lots of energy to work and enjoy life. Sick kidneys can make your blood weak and that can make you feel very tired and sleepy.
If you start getting sick kidneys, there are no warning signs. Your kidneys can be almost totally damaged before you know it. If you have not had a Kidney Health Check this year, act early and visit your doctor soon.
To share this information with your family and community, you can download our fact sheet, What do kidneys do? You can also download this poster.
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