According to Dr. Onome, Treatment of the underlying disease may be the first step in correcting the kidney abnormality. Some causes of kidney failure are treatable and the kidney function may return to normal. Unfortunately, kidney failure may be progressive in other situations and may be irreversible.
If the kidneys fail completely, the only treatment options available according to Dr Onome may be dialysis or transplant.
The treatment of Chronic Kidney Disease in Nigeria is not as simple as it is in some developed countries of the world.
Due to cost and un-accessability, a lot of patients die before they are ever attended to.
Most dialysis centers are situated in cities, placing a further burden on patients who often have to travel long distances to a dialysis center.
Unlike some African countries like Rwanda and South Africa, there is no government funding for treatment in Nigeria. This leaves the entire burden to individuals who most often can’t bear the cost for too long.
A typical renal patient has three to five hours dialysis treatment three times per week, and dialysis can only replace about 10% to 15% of the function of healthy kidneys.
In Nigeria, according to Dr Onome, each session of dialysis treatment will cost an average of N25, 000.00 (twenty- five thousand naira). N75, 000 per week and N900, 000 per annum, a cost much more than what the average Nigerian worker can bear.
As for transplants, there are about nine centres in Nigeria, and it costs about 3 to 4 million naira.
After the surgery, transplant patients must take immunosuppressant drugs, which keep their bodies from fighting and destroying the transplanted organ and these drugs must be taken for life with a combination of other drugs, which are usually not in stock by regular pharmacists due to the cost implication. In most cases, they are often imported specially for the patients’ use
Major Causes Of Chronic Kidney Diseases
Kidneys are two bean-shaped organs located close to the back inside the human body. Although this pair of organ is relatively small, they are among many other things responsible for ensuring that the blood circulating in our body is free from harmful organisms, waste products and excess water.
Seeking answers to the myriad of questions regarding kidney disease, LEADERSHIP Sunday met with Dr Oyoyo Victor Onome, a health expert. According to him, kidney(Renal) failure is a medical condition in which the kidneys fail to adequately filter waste products from the blood. The two main forms are acute kidney injury and chronic kidney disease.
Causes of acute kidney injury, according to Dr Onome include conditions when the blood supply to the kidneys is suddenly interrupted by accidents, injuries, or complications from surgeries in which the kidneys are deprived of normal blood flow for extended periods of time. Drug overdoses, accidental or chemical overloads of drugs such as antibiotics or chemotherapy are also a cause.
He stated that causes of chronic kidney disease are numerous, the most common causes are diabetes mellitus and long-term uncontrolled hypertension.
Other causes include: Polysystic kidney disease, Overuse of common drugs such as aspirin, ibuprofen, and paracetamol.
Emmanuel Dike, a medical practitioner also listed diabetes, smoking, alcohol and HIV/AIDS as some of the causes of kidney failures .
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