Everyone knows they have two kidneys (usually). You can survive perfectly well on one kidney. I was perfectly fine with one kidney for years. Most people don't truly know what kidneys do, although they know they are important. What's a kidney? What's it do?
Kidneys are bean shaped, fist sized organs located on either side of the spine in the middle of your back, just under the ribcage.
They clean and filter your blood to remove waste products. This includes ridding your body of toxins as well as creating urine.
Blood pressure is regulated through the kidneys. If your kidneys are damaged, your blood pressure can be messed up. On the other hand, if you have bad blood pressure, you can damage your kidneys.
Production of red blood cells is also stimulated by the kidneys. The primary reason I went into the hospital in August/September was because I was severely anemic. My hemoglobin was very low because my one kidney that I had wasn't functioning properly any longer. Bring on dialysis and fix it all.
Kidneys help regulate various substances in your blood. Minerals such as potassium, phosphorus, sodium, chloride, calcium, and many very important others are all controlled through the kidneys.
They keep the volume of water in your body constant also. Damaged kidneys may cause swelling caused by too much fluid, also known as edema.
These are the most important functions of the kidneys. They can also have part in a person feeling tired too often, having cramps, loss of appetite, having trouble concentrating, itching (I had this problem when I was younger, but it wasn't ever diagnosed as a kidney issue, but now that I look back on it, it's obvious that was the cause.)
Now that you know they're not simple organs that you should take lightly, make sure to take care of your own kidneys! There wasn't anything I could do about my situation since I was born with it, but most of the people that have kidney problems get them from other reasons. High blood pressure, bad diets, diabetes, and other things are all causes of kidney disease. It's easy to dismiss the things you see that say check for certain health issues, but this is definitely one that no one should pass up. All it takes to check is usually a simple blood test.
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