Why youths are dying of kidney failure----Dr Awe

Following the scourge of kidney failure epidemic among youths in Nigeria, Doctor Awe Albert Olaiye, of the Medical Director, Bishop Awe Medical Centre, 36 Kwaru Family Way Custom, Bus stop Abaranje Road, Ikotun, Lagos, told Emeka Ibemere, in this interview on why the disease is ravaging the younger ones.  

 Let’s look at Kidney failure scourge in Nigeria among youths.

To start with, kidney is responsible for clearing by-products, especially waste products from the body by getting rid of all these waste products is the normal function of kidney. So, if the removal of these wastes is now impaired; that is what is called kidney failure.

When the work of kidney cannot be done how it’s supposed to function, so it becomes a kidney failure. That means the kidney has failed in its function to clear away the waste from the body. Then before we go into why it’s common among the youths, maybe we look into the symptoms of kidney failure.

What you see in a person suffering from kidney failure.

One of the earlier signs or commonest signs that people will notice from that person, is swollenness, which is called idema; the legs will start swollen that means the body is not getting rid of all the water as its supposed to, then the rate at which that person urinates will reduce; at least pass out about 2.55 urine every day. Now, water comes out through the urine and then also through sweat.

During the raining season when people do not really sweat the person will pass small urine but during hot season, when the person is sweating more that means, the rate at which that person urinate will reduce, so that one I would say people should take note of it.

The rate at which that person urinates will reduce, and then if it is not properly managed, the swollen will increase from the legs upwards until that person has swollen face and the tummy too; to the extent that when you put your finger on the body of the person it will go in and will not come up immediately. The elasticity would have been affected. Then, there will be pains especially at the back we call it the lumber area, that that is where the kidneys are. Occasionally the person will start urinating something like blood while some will start urinating very concentrated urine because the water is not there, so it is best to manage this kidney failure at an early stage. We have chronic kidney failure, we have acute kidney failure. Acute means it hasn’t lasted, just very short period while chronic means over a long period of time before the kidney will finally packed off.

Why is it affecting the youths?

You see, youths of today are into drugs. When I say drugs, I don’t mean cocaine, marijuana, cannabis or heroine. It’s not compulsory that it must be them, even analgesics, trama, it’s a kind of pain relieving tablet, and the way some undergraduates, and other people use them is abnormal. Instead of 50miligram some can take as much as six or seven tablets grind them and mix it with alcohol to drink.

All these things, they have their effects on the kidney. And antibiotics too, have their own effect on the kidneys and that means they are damaging the kidney little by little. Then, the way people use antibiotics these days are alarming. They go to chemist shop or pharmaceutical shops and by them and take. Some after having sex with man or woman without waiting, if there is a reaction so far they have sex without use of condom, they rush for antibiotics as preventive measures.

Some even in this hospital, I have noticed that when they have malaria they go for antibiotics like Amoxille to treat malaria instead of going to the hospital.

Then, this new craze for herbal drinks that are flooding the country and even some tablets that coming into this country. Someone who has tried to look for job all over Lagos and didn’t get and the worse is that this person didn’t go to school talk of passing WASEC, will now go back and start producing herbal drinks and start selling them and people are buying and drinking it.

You hear all sorts of name, ‘Gonokoka is different from gonoria’ and these boys just start drinking them. Agbojadijadi, sumgbolaja, something bitter, something power, and others are now rampant and the government is not doing anything to it, so everybody is drinking it and it also cause all these kidney damages.

Then there is another thing, our mothers these days, some as soon as baby is delivered, they will go and buy paracetamol, Chloroquine, and Ammpiclous, every morning as soon as they get the baby, they give Paracetamol, chloroquine, Ammpiclous, B’codeine; in the evening the same thing and in the night, the same thing. They continue giving the baby all these drugs and most of these drugs may also damage kidneys and affect all other organs.

So like Paracetamol, people just look at it as a minor or ordinary pain reliving tablet but you don’t give it for more than three days, because it has a damaging effect on the kidneys and it has scientifically proven. Most antibiotics affect kidneys and some like Eritromacine, Septromacine, and as we notice that the kidneys are not hundred percent okay, we run away from these drugs when we notice that. Most antibiotics, we use them to fight serous case;  we use antibiotics like in the case of typhoid and some sever cases, that we increase it to 10-14 days but some people keep on using these things continuously like that and then, there are also some drugs that doctors don’t really prescribed.

Like some girls, because they are too slim and would want to add flesh would go and use some drugs to be fatter not knowing that these drugs affects the kidneys and other organs in the body, so there are different drugs but alcohol, the rate at which its being used by youths is also at dangerous level.

The take of alcohol now is on the high side. And worse now is that these companies’ advert now targets at youths. Even in their promos; they are doing it looking at the youths-‘drink one gets two free’ and by these most of them drink more than one bottle, so these are real things. Then, the food we take now and what we eat now is what we see. Nobody is educating us on nutrition again.

Then nutrition was okay because then you have missionaries and they always give tips to nursing mothers free of charge and educate them on every anti-natal day on how to educate their children on what they eat. As at that time poverty level was as not high as it is now and that is why even in our house we have daily menu or time table on what to eat but this time around, we just eat anything.

Again parents of these days don’t have time for their children any more. For example, parents that wants to leave home by 4.30-5am, what can he or she cooks, its either rice or bread and he or she comes back very late and brings in fast-foods or garri and soup, that is all. So, all these beans, moi-moi, plantain that can nourish the body, mothers are not cooking it for their children any longer.

So, it’s these foods that will nourish the failed kidneys and other organs, nobody prepares them again for their children. Infact now, fruits, nobody eats them unless during Islamic fast or lent season that’s when you can see people taking fruits and this is not good.

So if we can improve on our diet and stop taking drugs that are not prescribed by doctors, stop all these concoctions called herbal drinks, stop all high intakes of alcohols, and if one want to take alcohol take it moderately. And people must learn to go to hospital at earlier time, when you notice that your body is not working as it’s supposed to work, report to doctor and allow him to take decision and advice you on what to do.

  What can the government do to check rate of kidney among youths.

We need more education on this. Again, all these drugs once they are coming in into this country should check it. Previous governments allowed all sorts of herbal drinks, foods and its only NAFDAC and what it does is just take the thing and experiment it with rats and as long as that rat didn’t die that means its safe for human consumption but if its like unorthodox drugs, we have standard organisation of Nigeria, and you bring your drugs, say valium, they now take it to laboratory and ask how many milligram and they check if it corresponds and if it doesn’t they tell you. But when the thing is coming into the country as food, there is no standard organisation for foods.

 So they are now moving these drugs under foods and if NAFDAC, said anything if its food, let it pass through laboratory or Standard Organisation of Nigeria, and here the importer will release the contents and all the contents you listed are in the food or they are not more contents as you listed, then they can know what to do. They have to also discourage over the counter drugs. Government once tried it but after some time the policy just fizzled away. It was that before a pharmacist gives you drugs, he must see the doctor’s prescription but now, nobody is doing that again and I believe its because of poverty; this is because if pharmacist insist in prescription of a doctor and damned the consequences of you not buying from him, he won’t care but in a Situation where since one week, he has not sold anything and you come without prescription, he will sell to you, so these are the areas that the government can look into and help reduce the kidney disease epidemic.