Specialists Give Tips for Curbing Diabetes

By Hilda Mhagama

AMID the ongoing efforts to curb non-communicable diseases, doctors have prescribed changing of
diet and exercises as among major measures that could help to slow down the progression of kidney diseases.

According to doctors, diabetes is one of the diseases that could cause kidney complications but the good news is that there is a lot one can do to prevent the problem, including keeping blood sugar and blood pressure under control.

The remarks were made by Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH), physician - internal medicine specialist, Dr Garvin Kweka, during the just ended 44th Dar es Salaam International Trade Fair (DITF).

"Take care of your kidneys and they will take care of you, losing weight is one of the measures one should take if he or she is overweight," he said.

He added that active physical activities also help to control blood sugar and blood pressure.

"We must quit smoking and take medication as directed," he further explained.

Dr Kweka said it was true that the country had made major strides in kidney treatment over a couple of years but Tanzanians should be aware that such treatments are costly even for those who have health insurance.

He further said that when kidneys are diseased or damaged; they do not produce enough hormones called erythropoietin (EPO) that send a signal to the body to produce more red blood cells.

As a result, the bone marrow makes fewer red blood cells, causing anaemia; when blood has fewer red blood cells, the body is deprived of the oxygen it needs.

According to him, one patient will need injections of a genetically engineered form of EPO that costs between 60,000/- and 120,000/- depending on a supplier.

Dr Kweka explained that Tanzanians should be aware that these services are very expensive, saying one session of haemodialysis costs 300,000/-, and that it is applied three days a week.

He said high blood pressure can damage blood vessels in the kidneys, hindering the organs' ability to remove waste and excess fluid from the body. Excess fluid can, in turn, raise blood pressure even more.

On treatment, he said, dialysis and kidney transplantation are treatments for severe kidney failure, and there are two types of dialysis - haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis.

The government was spending over 83m/- for sending one patient and an escort donor to India for a kidney transplant, including medical care and transport.

The same procedure costs only 21m/- at MNH. Data show that 6.8 per cent of the Tanzanian population has kidney complications and about 800 patients need dialysis in major hospitals countrywide at present.

Statistics by the World Health Organisation (WHO) show that 4,704 Tanzanians died of kidney failure in 2014.