There are ways to nourish yin and tonify the kidneys, but don't fall into misunderstandings

The incidence of chronic kidney disease is increasing worldwide, but the public generally lacks knowledge about the prevention and treatment of the disease. Many people have misunderstandings about kidney disease, which makes many simple conditions complicated, delaying treatment or aggravating the condition. Some people also use inappropriate treatment measures, which worsens the condition. It is necessary to correct this and benefit the treatment of kidney patients.

Myth 1: Using more antibiotics

Some patients equate nephritis with general inflammatory diseases (such as pneumonia, enteritis, cystitis, etc.) and generally use antibiotics for treatment. As a result, not only is there no obvious effect, but sometimes it makes kidney inflammation worse. In fact, there is an essential difference between the two. Nephritis is caused by abnormal immune system, while inflammatory diseases are caused by bacterial infection. The latter can be treated with antibiotics, while the treatment of the former is mainly to remove antigenic substances and prevent abnormal immune response. Immunosuppressants can be used, which are completely ineffective against antibiotics. On the other hand, many antibiotics are more or less accompanied by nephrotoxicity. If they are abused without indication, they can cause antibiotic renal damage and aggravate kidney disease.

Misconception 2: Trusting folk remedies

After getting sick, they don't go to regular hospitals for treatment, but use "folk prescriptions". The so-called "folk prescriptions" are the experience accumulated by predecessors. Although some of them have cured some cases, their treatment mechanisms still need to be studied and confirmed by modern medical knowledge and methods. Some are symptomatic, not curative, and some are even fake drugs. The reason why patients with nephritis cannot use "folk prescriptions" casually is that: there are dozens to hundreds of types of nephritis, and the causes, nature and severity of different types of nephritis are completely different, and the treatment methods are also completely different. It is obviously inappropriate to use a "folk prescription" to treat all types of kidney disease; furthermore, some Chinese herbal medicines are nephrotoxic, such as Stephania tetrandra, Aristolochia, etc. The abuse may aggravate kidney lesions.

Myth 3: Avoid salt

There is a folk legend that nephritis patients should avoid salt for 100 days, but in fact there is no scientific basis for this. Salt is an essential element for the metabolism of body tissues, and many physiological functions of the human body depend on the participation of such substances to a large extent. Under normal circumstances, if there is no obvious edema and hypertension, 3 to 5 grams of salt should be supplemented daily; for those with severe edema or hypertension, salt intake can be appropriately reduced to 1 to 3 grams per day. It is not advisable to completely ban salt.

Myth 4: Eating kidney to nourish the kidney

Some people think that eating animal kidneys can nourish one's own kidneys, but this is actually a misunderstanding. Although animal kidneys have a high protein content, they are not suitable for consumption because, in addition to cholesterol, such foods also contain high levels of purine, which not only does not serve as a nutritional supplement, but also increases the burden on the kidneys, causing adverse consequences.

Myth 5: No water

Many kidney disease patients are reluctant to drink more water, fearing that drinking water will increase urine output and increase the burden on the kidneys. In fact, it is just the opposite. The body's daily metabolic products are all removed from the body through urine. If you drink very little water, insufficient urine output will cause waste to accumulate in the body, increasing the burden on the kidneys.

Myth 6: Nephritis is an incurable disease and there is no confidence in treatment

In fact, nephritis can not only be treated, but most cases can be cured or completely controlled. The reason for this misconception is that, firstly, the symptoms of nephritis itself are very hidden and difficult to detect in the early stage. When a large amount of kidney tissue is irreversibly damaged and function is lost, it is too late to seek medical treatment. Secondly, the basic pathogenesis of kidney disease is ignored. Some patients' symptoms are relieved after treatment, and the maintenance period treatment and follow-up are ignored. However, the condition is still chronic at this time. When they feel unwell and go to see a doctor again, the nature of the disease has changed fundamentally.

Therefore, every kidney patient, regardless of the condition, should go to a regular nephrology department for regular checkups and receive the most appropriate treatment under the guidance of a specialist, which is the best protection for the kidneys.